On Tuesday a large group of co op students from several different Environment Canada offices in Gatineau and Ottawa went on a tour of the National Wildlife Research Centre on the Carleton University campus. Their labs mostly do studies on migratory birds because they can be used as indicators of the quality of the environment around them. One type of bird they study, the Arctic Tern, migrates from the North Pole all the way to the South Pole, and I think the scientist said that the amount of distance it travels in its lifetime is equivalent to 3 round trips to the moon and back. They store a lot of specimens in the facility and we got to check out one -40 degree walk-in freezers and some liquid nitrogen storage tanks. They have been able to save a type of eagle which, because of toxic substances, were laying eggs with shells that were too thin so the parents were damaging the eggs when they sat on them. It was a really cool facility and if any students are interested in this type of research, the scientists were clear that they are always looking for students on work terms!
Taking advantage of another cheap Thursday night, some co op students headed to the Museum of Nature to check out some free exhibits. We saw some massive slugs and tarantulas in the Animalium, dinosaur fossils, and exhibits of mammals and birds. There was also an exhibit of amazing rocks and minerals. The colours and shapes really were spectacular!
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| Archelon fossil: a massive extinct sea turtle! |
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