Marine Life Galore!!

This week on Tuesday we all got to visit the incredible Palma de Mallorca aquarium! We saw tons of cool sea creatures and sea life like seahorses, jellyfish, tons of different fish species, sharks and more. Students had to complete a "my favorite organism," activity for their marine biology class where they had to find out as much information as possible about their favorite organism in the aquairum, and then share their results in biology class. The coolest exhibit, in my opinion, was definitely the sharks as we got to see how baby sharks are formed in the embryo and the thick egg cases they are in... you could see them moving! 

There was also a fun interactive part of the aquarium that all the students loved, where you could color in or design your own sea creature, and then project it onto a digital screen with your name. Some of the students got pretty creative with their designs!

Then on Wednesday we got to do a biology fieldwork at Parque Natural de Mondrago (a beautiful natural park including white sand beaches and incredible aquamarine waters.) Bea, our lovely marine biology teacher walked us down to the beach stopping to show us a tiny tortoise!!! Though it looks like a real baby, this one was actually about 2 years old already. We moved him out of the main path so he wouldn't be bothered by any other humans and said hasta luego.

Once we were on the beach we were able to split off into groups to do some personalized exploration. A bunch of us went snorkeling where we saw various species of fish, and of course a ton of posidonia, a plant we have been learning about a lot recently. This plant is extremely important to the ecosystem in Mallorca, and is actually responsible for making our waters so clear here! Another group was able to further explore along the beach and natural landscapes of Mondrago as well. Of course, we also got to play some silly games in small groups and enjoy some free time to lounge, swim, take photoshoots, and as always, eat a ton of delicious ice cream. 

These last two days have given us endless opportunities to interact with the local wildlife, and we can't wait to see how many more tortoises we encounter during our time here in Mallorca! :)