Maxwell P. and Mildred H. Harrington Professor of Marine
Studies George Luther with Coast Day 2008 visitor
Tabitha Curry after a presentation of his chemical magic show.
Photo by Kathy Atkinson
Coast Day, the University of Delaware’s annual celebration of the sea, attracts everyone from seafood lovers to people who want to know more about the coast. But if there’s one group that’s sure to enjoy this special day, it’s children.
Activities for kids at Coast Day provide a hands-on view of the ocean and coastal environment and include opportunities to do things such as touch live marine critters, learn all about Delaware rocks and fossils, and see robots used to perform marine science research.
The free event will be held Sunday, Oct. 4, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at UD’s Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes. It is sponsored by the University of Delaware's College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment (CEOE) and the Delaware Sea Grant College Program.
Families making the trip to Coast Day will want to make the Information Table at Cannon Lab their first stop. There they can pick up their Coast Day events program and Treasure Hunt map, which lets kids answer questions related to Coast Day events and win cool prizes.
Families can use the event program and see which activities are especially kid-friendly. Exhibits and demonstrations that kids will love are marked with a special children’s activity icon.
These activities include one that lets kids 12 and under sign a safe boating pledge and receive a personal floatation device (available on a first-come, first-served basis). Another exhibit focuses on the Coast Day 2009 theme, “Climate Change and Our Coast.” Climate Connections demonstrates several aspects of climate change and gives guests, including kids, a chance to explore how they can help deal with climate change in their everyday lives.
Families with kids should also check out the magic show, “There’s Magic in the Atmosphere.” It features UD Professor of Oceanography George Luther, who uses his bag of glowing and exploding chemical magic tricks to not only amaze his audience, but also explain various marine-related phenomena. See the show at 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
For more information about Coast Day, visit www.decoastday.org or call 302-831-8083. Additionally, the full lineup will be available through the event program, which will be posted on the above web site beginning Sept. 18.
For more about CEOE, visit www.ceoe.udel.edu. To learn more about Delaware Sea Grant, visit www.deseagrant.org.