Bay Day
Have you ever wondered what’s inside a scientific ocean buoy? Take a close look at the critters and seaweed that colonize the bottom of our NOAA data-collection buoy when we pull it out of the water for its yearly servicing.
On Bay Day, we’ll provide microscopes, hand lenses, and activities that get you up close and personal with the animals and plants that call San Francisco Bay their home. Scientists and educators will be on hand to identify and catalog the marine organisms, both native and invasive species that live in San Francisco Bay.
On loan to us from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the CO2 buoy has been anchored between Piers 15 and 17 since April 2013, collecting data on water temperature, salinity, and CO2 levels in the atmosphere and the Bay. Every year, we pull it out of the water to calibrate and replace the sensors and to clean off corrosion and marine organisms.
Watch a crane hoist our data-collection buoy from the water! The buoy spends its time measuring water temperature, CO2 levels, and salinity in San Francisco Bay—and accumulating all kinds of fascinating aquatic life. Get up close and see the species that have gathered on its underside over the past year.
With Mary Miller
Learn all about our data-collection buoy, on loan to us from NOAA. Mary Miller will talk about why it’s important to measure carbon in the bay, and what carbon capture strategies scientists are trying to slow down climate change.
Mary Miller is a science writer, producer, and former director for the Exploratorium’s partnership with NOAA. She’s spent time with fascinating minds in Antarctica and Greenland, on the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer, and at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and various NASA facilities.
With Jim Pettigrew
What instruments does the buoy carry, and how do we keep it clean? Come learn about the technical aspects of the buoy from Jim Pettigrew, field manager at the Romberg Tiburon Center at SF State.
Jim Pettigrew is field manager for the Coastal Ocean Currents Monitoring Program at the Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies at SF State, where he is also a lecturer in geography.
With the Living Systems Lab
Discover the organisms living on our data-collection buoy! Staff from our Living Systems Lab will bring their microscopes to the deck of our outdoor gallery and offer an up-close look at the variety of algae and marine invertebrates that have collected on the buoy’s bottom.
The Living Systems Lab is the Exploratorium’s working biology laboratory. The lab cares for and cultures a variety of living organisms for the exhibits in our Living Systems Gallery.
With the Explainers
Start an algae herbarium with this make-and-take activity. Using algae samples taken from the underside of our data-collection buoy—and some professional plant-preservation supplies that we’ll provide—you can press and preserve your very own piece of seaweed.
With Vivian Altmann
Limited capacity and recommended for families with kids ages 4 to 7.
Join us for Storytime Science and enjoy a science-themed storybook read-aloud followed by a related activity geared toward young children (and their grown-ups). We’ll be making extraordinary things out of ordinary objects. Come hear a story, get hands-on, and learn something new with the Exploratorium’s own Vivian Altmann.