This morning was a late
morning for us to recuperate and sleep in.
We also got to enjoy a continental breakfast in our hotel. At around 10:30, we walked a block over the
Alaska Sealife Center. Part museum, part
animal exhibit, part research facility, the Alaska Sealife Center is a unique
institution that merges animal research and rehabilitation with public access
to the animals. We walked through the museum
portion, reading about Alaskan wildlife and conservation. We also were able to see a gallery of
gorgeous paintings by V Rae. However, it
was the sealife displays that grabbed everyone’s attention. Students sat for extended periods of time watching
puffins swim and seals play in the water as well as getting hands on with some
crabs, sea cucumbers, and starfish in the hands-on section. After an hour or so to ourselves, we joined
back together as a group for a behind the scenes tour of the center. We learned about the animal rehabilitation
process and the other scientific research that is unique to the center. The steller seal lion colonies we saw during
our Kenai Fjords tour are also being monitored by the center via remote
cameras. They study the sea lions to
understand mating patterns and group dynamics.
Lunch was on us for the
afternoon. Students enjoyed everything
from Chinese food to smoke house barbeque.
With recommendations from Susan, a few individuals enjoyed the best
gelato outside of Italy at Sweet Darlings.
In the afternoon, we bussed over to exit glacier for a short hike just
over a mile. Along the path, signs
marked the distance of the glacier for specific years. While we couldn’t walk on the icefield,
seeing the glacier up close gave us a good perspective on size. The glaciers we saw during the Kenai Fjords
tour were three to four times as massive as Exit Glacier.
In the evening, everyone
hunkered down to finish their papers and journals before the bus ride back to
Anchorage.
(C) 2014. All photos below are the
property of Benjamin Bogard. All rights reserved.
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