THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 13, 1995 TAG: 9510110260
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04P EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Kelly Sears, 8, hoisted a black cloth book bag in front of him and made an announcement: ``This is a new world record for a third-grader collecting seashells.''
Many of the 100-plus clam shells he was referring to were five or six inches across.
Classmate Brittany Dillard made up in uniqueness what she may have lacked in numbers.
``I have a turtle's backbone, a piece of it, a skate's egg case and a fish's backbone,'' she said.
Both Kelly and Brittany are third-graders at Pembroke Elementary School.
They had just finished the day on an Eastern Shore field trip to collect marine biology samples.
The two young scientists are part of Joe Alfonsi's class, the last of the four third-grade classes at the school to visit the Eastern Shore.
They made the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel crossing just recently.
Nick Savage of the Virginia Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach led the expedition. He helped the students drag the water close to shore for marine life samples and taking them on a beachcombing expedition.
Pembroke third-graders have been studying marine biology in general and the Chesapeake Bay in particular since the start of school.
``We've incorporated other subjects into the study,'' said Alfonsi. ``For example, spelling words taken from our study of the Bay.''
Georgia Dinsmore, a guidance counselor at Pembroke, became interested in marine science when her 12-year-old daughter, Ann, took a summer sea camp at the Virginia Marine Science Museum.
That led Dinsmore to call Elizabeth Nuckols at the museum and set the program in motion.
The Pembroke teachers took a workshop at the museum during the summer.
Besides collecting shells, the students brought back live creatures that now reside in aquariums in each classroom.
They made a short collecting trip to Rudee Inlet before their Eastern Shore visit.
And they visited the museum and learned about the fragility of the ocean's ecosystem.
Kenneth Moore learned about pollution and, he said, ``don't put plastic bags in the water because some birds think they're food and when they try to eat them, they can die.''
Kenneth said he also learned that raccoons eat baby sea turtles.
Rachel Kaczmarek got another thrill, the bridge-tunnel, on the ride over.
``We went over those big bridges. One way was real high and we went under the water twice. They made a big hole to drive through,'' she said.
Kenneth wasn't that impressed.
``I lived in New York,'' he said. ``And I've been over it before.'' ILLUSTRATION: Stephanie LeBeau and Kyle Blakely show off the puffer fish their
class netted during a field trip on the Eastern Shore.
Staff photo by CHARLIE MEADS
Ian McNatt helped collect the marine animals that now reside in the
large aquarium in his classroom.
by CNB