Ecology

Festival participants will discover and learn about the science projects performed at Cabrillo National Monument with hands-on, inquiry-based activities that highlight our herpetofauna (reptile & amphibian) monitoring and Science Explorer's Club. Participants will take data about our native reptiles & amphibians as well as exploring other science themes (tidepool monitoring, bird monitoring, etc.).

Hands-on interaction with Animal Ambassadors from Reptile and Arthropod worlds.

Kids will have fun hands-on Science demonstrations with our STEM experts in chemistry, marine biology, and/or zoology. Kids are you ready to be a scientist? Come find out what the Elementary Institute of Science is all about!

1. Transform the agave plant into a DNA sequence and explore biodiversity of closely related plants. 2. Tiny translucent worms may hold answers to human health and longevity. Observe them under the microscope and find out why. 3. Sea urchins and fish have much in common with humans. Observe egg fertilization and early embryo development of purple urchin and zebrafish. 4. Gender differences affect decision making. Identify female and male fruit flies and learn why they scientists study them.

In the “Making Waves” tour, kids and adults will be introduced to marine plankton and encouraged to think critically about what makes them unique and important in providing much of our oxygen and key players at the base of the marine food web. This event will include the JCVI Mobile BioLab, a modified motor coach, outfitted with advanced laboratory equipment. We will have multiple types of microscopes onboard enabling participants to visualize the microscopic work of marine phytoplankton.

Kids get to practice hands-on science by observing bugs collected from the San Diego River! Kids can identify the bugs under a microscope and use the identification to help determine the health of the River!

The Goldstone Apple Valley Radio Telescope Project (GAVRT) is a partnership between NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the Lewis Center for Educational Research, a K-12 Charter School in Apple Valley, California. GAVRT trains educators on the basics of radio astronomy, technical topics pertinent to the project’s science observation campaigns, and telescope operations. Once trained, educators schedule time on the radio telescope for their class to collect data on a strong radio source.

Visit Cabrillo National Monument's Science Education Team to learn about San Diego's ecology with a fun activity suitable for all ages! You'll use your powers of observation to recognize and understand native plants and pollinators, and how invasive species impact our environment. There will be a station with live local plants and a pollinator box, plus an activity that simulates the sensory systems of ants through identifying their "pheromones". Be a scientist with the National Park Service!