Hudson High School juniors and seniors are offered the opportunity to take marine biology as a semester course. Yearly, the marine biology class will take a trip to Stone Laboratory, off of Put-In Bay, Ohio. The Stone Lab trip offers historical buildings and educational activities throughout the stay
Stone Laboratory is a freshwater field station facility on Lake Erie was founded in 1895. Stone lab is currently property of Ohio State university and has been since 1925. During the trip there students experience multiple different classes with stone lab assistants where they learn about Lake Erie and freshwater nature as well as the history and nature of the island itself. The trip takes place overnight so the students sleep in dorms on the island.
The classes provide many different ways where students interact such as trolling fish on a boat and then dissecting them, catching species to test the water quality, holding and learning about amphibians and reptiles, a boat ride consisting of catching plankton and learning about the great lakes, and lastly the classes provide learning about the study of birds as well as using binoculars to search for them around the island.
Gianna Pirtle, a sophomore at Hudson high school who attended the trip was interviewed about her experience. Pirtle mentioned that her experience was great and that the boat trip was by far the best activity we did. On the boat trip students did many tests on the water such as the temperature and the amount of plankton caught. Pirtle said, “The best part was learning more about Ohio’s nature with my friends, we all learned about the different snakes and birds on the island and even held snakes which was fun.” Pirtle explained how her favorite activity was everyone being by the fire, playing volleyball and swimming. There’s a huge social aspect to this trip which was definitely enjoyed. Pirtle finally added, “I would recommend this trip because it’s a great way to build friendships and learn more about nature and Lake Erie.”
(Ellie Firzlaff)
Lyla Sharp, a sophomore at Hudson High School was additionally interviewed in her experience at stone laboratory. Sharp explained, “The marine biology trip had a great balance of learning and fun. We were able to learn about different types of animals and vertebrates that live in Lake Erie, doing fun and interesting labs, like fishing and checking how deep the water is. Along with all the learning we did we had a bunch of fun with our classmates and teachers. We sat by a fire pit with music blasting and people swimming”. Sharp mentioned that she loved Newton, the island dog was the best ever and smart. Sharp lastly exclaimed that, “ I think the trip can definitely impact someone’s thoughts of being a marine biologist, because this is the basics of what your career could be. I think what would be more of an impact if someone would go on the week-long trip they have there.”
Adrienne Betz, a sophomore at Hudson was lastly interviewed about her view on the trip. Betz said that her favorite part of day one was going on the mini cruise ride, “I got to experience what it is like to be a marine biologist. Everyone on the boat got to learn how to check the ocean’s length, sunlight, and we got to catch fish with a net. It felt like summer again with all my friends around me and the wind blowing and being able to be splashed with water”. She also exclaimed that her favorite activity on the boat was fishing. Betz and Sharp got to cast out the net and even though it was definitely hard, she said that it was so fun. Betz finally added, “the trip was most definitely worth my time and was super cool to be with all my friends while on it”.
Any student in marine biology can come on the trip. These trips take place during both semesters of marine biology. Students all have great experiences on the trip and also learn about the biology behind Ohio’s lake erie. This trip is such a wonderful opportunity to socialize while learning about nature and a great experience for those truly interested in the topic.
