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EDEP Program Fall 2013| Week 3: Surf’s Up! Exhibit Guide
Exhibit Description
Surf's up! The Florida Museum celebrates the state’s famous coastal waters with the exhibit Surfing
Florida. Developed by Florida Atlantic University, the exhibit features photographs and interpretive
graphics on the state’s surfing history. The Florida Museum extends the story with surfboard
collections, stories from the University of Florida Surf Team and a display showing how surfboards
are made.
There’s much more to surfing than surfers! Explore the science of waves and animals of the surf and
beach. Surf Science mixes Florida Museum and UF research with specimens and interactive
experiences. Learn more about the Florida Museum’s famed International Shark Attack File and
shark research programs, discover animals that surf, examine different types of Florida sand and
view specimens from the Museum’s fish, mammal and marine invertebrate collections.
Vital Information
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A Photographic History: View historical photographs from as far back as 1938!
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Surf Culture: See the evolution of surfboards from the ’60s through the '80s
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The Beach: Take a closer look at the beach and its treasures such as sand, shells, and Florida
wildlife.
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Science and the Surf: See a full-scale shark model, a dolphin skeleton and more! Don’t
forget to check to discover how waves are created.
Make sure everyone is recording things they see and
hear and are interested in in their notebooks!
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Introduction (Front Classroom, 10 minutes), Everyone—Amanda leads
Introduce the Museum and ask questions to determine student knowledge about exhibit content and
discuss how it is important to our project.
Have everyone sit down
 Have children sit in 4 rows with 10 children to a row (hint: these will become their groups for the
program…don’t tell them ahead of time!).
Welcome to the FLMNH. How many of you have been here before?
 We are the official natural history museum for the state of Florida.
 Our exhibits focus on the early native people of Florida as well as the diverse plants and animals
that live in as well as some that have now gone extinct.
 We also have special exhibits once in a while and that is what you are here to see today.
Who can tell me what you think you are going to learn and explore on your visit today?
What type of scientist studies water and its life?
Marine Biologists.
In summary:
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Surf’s Up Tour and Exploration
(Exhibit, 20 minutes), Groups
Guided Programs: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/educators/school-groups/guided-programs/
OVERVIEW
NATURE OF SCIENCE CONCEPTS
Scientists are curious and try to answer questions about the world around them.
Scientists are people who ask why things happen and how things work.
Scientific methods help us to answer questions and solve problems. These methods can involve:
asking questions, investigating (making a plan and carrying it out), collecting data, analyzing data,
making conclusions and sharing results.
Science process skills are skills used in investigations and experiments. They include: observe,
infer, predict, classify, estimate, measure, make and use models, compare and make operational
definitions.
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South Florida People & Environments Exhibit Tour (Exhibit, 20 minutes), Groups
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Mangrove Boardwalk
Stroll through a full-scale mangrove forest and mud flat full of plants, animals, light and
sound to explore the nature of these rich coastal ecosystems.
Natural Habitats Center
Why are estuaries so rich? Delve deeper with a hands-on discovery wall, touch screens,
videos and more.
Underwater Walk-Through
Imagine you are a small fish as you enter a 12-times life-size underwater scene to discover
tiny organisms that sustain the estuary.
Fishing Heritage
This artifact-rich gallery highlights 6,000 years of fishing along Florida’s Gulf coast, including
a 1,000-year-old fishing net and canoe paddle.
Calusa Leader's House
Enter a palm-thatched building and find yourself in a Calusa leader’s house during a political
ceremony in the year 1564.
Native American Legacy Gallery
Get a close-up view of some of the most rare and interesting objects in the Museum’s South
Florida archaeology collections, among them a famous 1,000-year-old painting of a
woodpecker and other works of art in wood.
Today's South Florida Indian People
Learn about the vibrant traditions of the Indian people who live in South Florida today—the
Seminole and Miccosukee.
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Manatee Articulation Activity (Classroom, 20 min), Groups
Location: Front Classroom
Description: Students will examine bones on display and use scientific processes to piece a skeleton
together. Students will try to identify the skeleton and determine if the bones are fossils.
Materials
 Picture of a manatee (covered so students can’t see it)
 Manatee bones, 2 separate boxes with hand and finger bones
 Fossilized manatee rib pieces
 Manatee skeleton laminated cards
 X ray of human hand
Suggested Approach
1. Can you identify the animal these bones belong to just by looking at them? The pieces are
part of a skeleton and need to be put together like puzzle pieces.
2. The first step is to identify the different types of bones. Have students do this. Students
may recognize the ribs, skull, etc. Scientists compare bone fragments to organisms that are
alive today to help them identify various parts.
3. Now the students will try to piece the parts together.
a. Allow students to work at this activity on their own and then give them the laminated
sheet of the manatee skeleton for assistance.
b. Allow students to make adjustments and to complete the skeleton. What type of
animal is it? You may have to give clues such as: this is the skeleton of a large
mammal - it is not extinct and lives in Florida today. How many legs does it have? Can
it walk on land with only 2 legs? What large mammal lives in the water?
4. Show students the picture of the manatee to confirm their findings.
5. Hold up the x ray of the human hand. What is this x ray? How is the human hand similar to
a manatee’s flipper? They both have jointed bones. Their structure helps the manatee
move through the water, bring food to its mouth and hold objects.
6. Is this a fossilized skeleton? No, this is a real manatee skeleton but it is not fossilized.
Explain that fossilization is a long, slow process. It takes many thousands or millions of years
for a fossil to form. Minerals seep into tiny holes or pores in the shell or bone from the
fossil’s surrounding environment. Eventually, one molecule at a time, the minerals replace
the original material. What is left is a stone that looks exactly like the shell or bone that
once existed.
a. Pass around the fossilized rib bones and have students compare the manatee rib
bone and fossilized rib bone. Feel the difference in the weight of the two bones. The
fossilized bone looks solid and feels heavy/ the bone still has open pores and feels
lighter.
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Activity: Currents and Water Filtration (Classroom, 20 minutes)
Activity: Exploring Ocean Currents
Materials:
 Two cups of water (dyed blue) to be frozen.
 Baking dish.
 Warm water.
Preparation:
Prior to this lesson, the activity leader should dye 2 cups of water blue, and then fill an ice try with
it. Freeze the water prior to the lesson.
Procedure:
For the activity, put the students in groups and give each group a clear baking dish, filled with 2-3
inches of warm water (not dyed). Tell each group you will give them two ice cubes, which will be
placed on opposite sides of the dish, representing the poles. Have the students predict what will
happen. Have them place the ice cubes accordingly and observe and record the results.
The students should observe that as the ice melts, the blue (cold) water flows underneath the warm
water toward the middle (the equator), while the warm water moves toward the ends of the dish as
the cold water warms and rises.
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Activity: Water Filtration
Materials:
 5 Liters of “swamp water” (or add 2 1/2 cups of dirt or mud to 5 liters of water)
 Two liter plastic soft drink bottle with its cap (or cork that fits tightly into the neck)
 2 Two liter plastic soft drink bottles, one with its bottom cut off and one with the top cut off
 Large beaker (2 cups) or measuring bowl that will hold the inverted two liter bottle or you
can use another two liter plastic soft drink bottle with its top cut off so the other bottle will
fit inside of it.
 2 tablespoons of alum (potassium aluminum sulfate available in the spice isle at grocery
stores)
 1 1/2 cups fine sand (white play sand or beach sand)
 1 1/2 cups coarse sand (multi-purpose sand)
 1 cup small pebbles (washed, natural color aquarium rocks work best)
 Coffee filter
 Rubber band
 Tablespoon (for the alum)
 Large spoon (for stirring)
 Clock with a second hand or a stopwatch
Procedure:
1. Pour your “Swamp Water” into the two liter bottle with a cap. Have students describe the
appearance and smell of the water.
2. Aeration the first step in the treatment process, adds air to water. It allows gases trapped
in the water to escape and adds oxygen to the water. Place the cap on the bottle and
vigorously shake the bottle for 30 seconds. Continue the aeration process by pouring the
water into another bottle or the beaker, then pouring the water back and forth between
them about 10 times. Once aerated, gases have escaped (bubbles should be gone). Pour
your aerated water into your bottle with its top cut off.
3. Coagulation is the process by which dirt and other suspended solid particles to chemically
“stick together” into floc (clumps of alum and sediment) so they can easily be removed from
water. Add two tablespoons of alum to the aerated water. Slowly stir the mixture for 5
minutes. You will see particles in the water clinging together to make larger clumps. This
makes it harder for them to get through a filter at the plant.
4. Sedimentation is the process that occurs when gravity pulls the particles of floc to the
bottom of the cylinder. Allow the water to stand undisturbed in the cylinder. Observe the
water at 5 minute intervals for a total of 20 minutes. Write down what you see - what is the
appearance of the water now? At a treatment plant, there are settling beds that collect floc
that floats to the bottom, allowing the clear water to be drained from the top of the bed and
continue through the process.
5. Construct a filter from the bottle with its bottom cut off as follows (see illustration below):
a. Attach the coffee filter to the outside neck of the bottle with a rubber band.
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Turn the bottle upside down placing it in a beaker or cut-off bottom of a two liter
bottle. Pour a layer of pebbles into the bottle - the filter will prevent the pebbles
from falling out of the neck.
b. Pour the coarse sand on top of the pebbles.
c. Pour the fine sand on top of the coarse sand.
d. Clean the filter by slowly and carefully pouring through 3 L (or more) of clean tap
water.
Try not to disturb the top layer of sand as you pour the water.
6. Filtration through a sand and pebble filter removes most of the impurities remaining in
water after coagulation and sedimentation have taken place. After a large amount of
sediment have settled on the bottom of the bottle of swamp water, carefully - without
disturbing the sediment - pour the top two-thirds of the swamp water through the filter.
Collect the filtered water in the beaker. Pour the remaining (one-third bottle) of swamp
water back into the collection container. Compare the treated and untreated water. Ask
students whether treatment has changed the appearance and smell of the water.
Advise students that the final
step at the treatment plant is to
add disinfectants to the water to
purify it and kill any organisms
that may be harmful. Because the
disinfectants are caustic and must
be handled carefully, it is not
presented in this experiment. The
water that was just filtered
is therefore unfit to drink and can
cause adverse effects. It is not
safe to drink!
Coral Activity:
This week, the coral activity will
based off of human impact. The
activity leader and the interns should note the various impact humans can have on the environment
(especially on coral reefs). The materials that will be added to the coral reef diorama they have been
working on will be demonstration of human impact including but not limited to; scuba divers, a
sunken surf board, a surfboard with a surfer on it that could go towards the top, an anchor, some
trash, boats—sunken and fishing, etc.
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Recording in Field Notebooks/Wrap-up (Classroom, 10 min)
Use this to allow children time to reflect on what they have experienced today. Have them write in
their field notebooks what they did and what was their favorite part of the day.
This is also allotted time in case any other activities are running over. You can also use this to give
them time to go back to work on something that they weren’t finished with.
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