Today in Ari’s class’ parents WhatsApp group, someone mentioned that a scientific research ship was moored in the Galway docks and was open to visitors. Nathalie quickly booked a couple of free tickets and when the time came, we told Ari that we were going to visit a boat that sailed around the world studying sea creatures – just like the Octonauts!
First there was a fifteen minute talk by a media crew member whose job it was to take photos and make videos and films about the project – like Dashi in Octonauts! – and she showed us photos of when the ship travelled across the North Pole, and also when it explored up the Amazon River. She told us interesting things about the ship, like how they didn’t have to worry too much about drinking water out at sea because they had a desalinator on board to make sea water potable, but they had to carry a lot on the Amazon because the water wasn’t safe to drink.
After that we went to the stern of the boat where a researcher on the scientific team showed us the “rosette” which they used to sample seawater at different depths. Ari followed the explanation, clearly following much better than I would have expected of a five-year-old.
Then they pointed out the filters and nets they use to capture different types of plankton, and the microscopes they used to analyse them.
At one point Ari whispered in my ear “You’re right, daddy, she’s a real-life octonaut!”
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