Marine Science and Aquaculture
Explore all workshops in the Marine Science and Aquaculture learning track below!
4-H Aquarium Club
Thursday, July 6 & August 3
5:30 pm
Open to all youth
Maximum 10 attendees
The 4-H Aquarium Club is open to youth ages 5-18 who are interested in being members of a community of youth aquarium hobbyists! This group is for youth who already have an aquarium hobby, or who are looking to start one, to come together to talk about their love for fish and aquaria. The club is led by aquaculture experts Dr. Scarlett Tudor from UMaine’s Aquaculture Research Institute, and Melissa Malmstedt from the UMaine Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR).
Seaweed Lava Lamps
Friday, July 28
10:00 – 11:30 am
Open to Maine youth ages 9 & up
Maximum 10 attendees
Do you know all of the amazing properties of seaweed? In this workshop, you will learn about some of these wonders by harnessing seaweed’s “gelling” abilities to make Seaweed Lava Lamps right at home! This workshop will be led by 4-H Aquaculture Interns. Youth must register by July 17 for supplies to be mailed to attendees’ homes.
Squid Dissection
Friday, August 4
10:00 – 11:30 am
Open to Maine youth ages 9 & up
Maximum 9 households (each youth will receive their own squid)
Youth will learn about the anatomy of a squid during this hands-on dissection, led by Melissa from UMaine Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR). Your frozen squid will be mailed to your home before the workshop along with some basic dissection tools. We’ll meet on zoom to do the dissection together as a group! Register by July 26.
Virtual Touch Tank
Friday, July 14
11:00 am – noon
Open to youth of all ages
Maximum 15 attendees
Melissa and interns from the UMaine Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR) will introduce participants to some of Maine’s common sea creatures! Youth will visually explore and learn about some of Maine’s sea creatures. Register by July 13.
Whimsical Watercolor
Wednesday, July 5, 19, 26, and August 2
12:30 – 2:00 pm
Open to Maine youth of all ages
Maximum 10 attendees
In Whimsical Watercolor, learners will explore watercolor supplies and materials. In each class, artists will be shown various painting techniques. Exploration time will be given for learners to practice and get more comfortable. They can then use this as inspiration as they continue their watercolor journey outside of class. Register by June 12.
- Week 1: Intro
First steps will include learning to load the brush, control our water, and mixing colors. We will then continue with techniques like wet on dry, wet on wet, a wash, scumbling, lifting, splatter, layering, dry brushing, charging and blending, adding details, creating blooms, and painting silhouettes. We will learn how to paint water, sky, and sand and create a bookmark. - Week 2: Animals
We will continue using our new techniques to help us paint animals. We will be creating whimsical fish, jellyfish, and a turtle. Learning to control the paint and drying time will be our focus this week. - Week 3: Items Found at Sea
We will be sketching a sand dollar, shell, and palm tree. Learning to paint items found in nature can be daunting since we need to learn how to show details on something that is mainly one color. - Week 4: Aquatic Scene
Artists will compile the techniques practiced previously to create a scene complete with water, the sky, a palm tree, rocks, and small turtles crawling toward the water.