Ocean Commotion

Exhibitor Information

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Ocean Commotion is finally back in person! Join us Tuesday, October 25 at LSU’s Pete Maravich Assembly Center for a day of sharing environmental and coastal knowledge with K-8 students. As a reminder the event runs from 7 am – 3pm (this includes set-up and tear-down). Students will come in two waves: middle school from 8:45 – 10:45 am, elementary 11:30 am – 1:30 pm. Parking, lunch and a t-shirt are included for your presenters.

Register your exhibit:
https://lsu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bDwUCjxLb0q9VQi.

We hope that you will be able to join us this fall!

For exhibitor related questions about Ocean Commotion, contact Emily Maung-Douglass at [email protected] .

2022 Exhibits and Exhibitors

What is Your Wingspan?
Louisiana Sea Grant
How do you measure up? Compare sizes of birds and their wingspans and measure your wingspan and find out which birds are similar to your size.

Where Do I Live?
CEGO
Explore the various zones of the ocean and place animals in the area that you think the animals live in. Participants will discuss ocean food webs and connectivity concepts (such as keystone species).

Touch the Moon
Louisiana Art & Science Museum
The moon rocks! Your students will have fun exploring various types of rocks actually collected from the lunar surface. Related hands-on activities will accompany the presentation.

Oyster Exploration
Louisiana Sea Grant Oyster Research Lab
See live oysters feeding, explore oyster anatomy and learn about oyster farming in the state and what it’s used for.

Water Pollution
Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program
Learn the importance of water quality in our local watersheds using an interactive educational model. the discussion will include how pollution is carried by rainfall runoff and ways we can do to protect our watersheds.

Native Neighbors
Baton Rouge Zoo
Get to know the Baton Rouge Zoo’s ambassador animals and learn biofacts of species found in Louisiana.

Marine Fishes and Research from the LSU Museum of Natural Science
LSU Museum of Natural Science, Fish Lab
The Fish Lab from the LSU MNS will exhibit preserved specimens of blobfish, anglerfish, sharks and other marine critters to the general public. We will also talk about our research.

Sensory Safari, A Feel Trip
Safari Club International (SCI)
Explore all sorts of marine specimens and articles including a mounted penguin and life-size polar bear rug.

Something’s Fishy
Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries
Identify some of Louisiana’s fish ID species using real specimens and learn how biologists age fish.

Marine Biology Touch Tank
Discovery Hall Programs – Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Explore and learn about a variety of preserved marine animals using sight and touch! Get up close with some of our marine neighbors.

Learn About Weather and the National Weather Service!
NOAA National Weather Service
Learn about clouds, rainfall, and flooding using cloud charts and balloons. See how the meteorologist make predictions about the weather.

Flood Fighter Challenge
LaHouse Home and Landscape Resource Center
Flooding is a problem in all parts of Louisiana. Students will discover through hands-on play that it’s hard to keep water on one side of a barrier and then will experiment with different options to keep properties from flooding.

Energy in Our Oceans
Louisiana State Energy Office
Test your ocean knowledge and brush up on your recycling skills! Everyone is a winner!

Coastal Wetlands in Jefferson Parish
Jefferson Parish
Learn how Christmas trees recycling program is helping protect our coast. There will also be an interactive storm surge model demonstrating the importance of wetlands.

Zonation and Life in the Ocean
LSU EnvironMentors
In this exhibit, students will have the opportunity to learn about how light and food allows organisms to live within certain zones of the ocean. They will get to take their pictures with some of the interesting plankton and animals that live in the deep sea.

Plankton Drop
LSU EnvironMentors
Walk the length of a life-sized model of a fin whale and learn how different types of whales feed and what they eat.

Comparative Anatomy
LSU EnvironMentors
Whales and dolphins seem completely unrelated to us, yet they have extraordinarily similar internal structures. Discover the resemblances and see that we’re not so different after all.

Gyotaku
LSU EnvironMentors
Create your own version of the traditional art that Japanese fishermen used to record their catch. Just roll a rubber model of a fish with tempera paint and press it onto paper.

The Nitty-Gritty of Sand
College of Human Sciences & Education Ambassadors
Students will examine beach sand samples from around the world. They will locate where their sand comes from on a world map and then use a Scope-On-A-Rope (microscope) to examine it!

Whoo’s In Your Backyard?
Westdale Heights Academic Magnet
Get introduced to native animals that live in your own backyard. Students will learn about the special adaptations that help these animals survive in the wild and what to do if they encounter an injured or orphaned animal. Our exhibit will feature live animals, a wildlife rehabilitator, and student instructors.

LSU STEM Pathways
LSU Cain Center STEM Pathways
The Cain Center offers STEM training to teachers and schools in PBL modules and courses. The goal is to inspire students to identify with STEM professions and develop STEM skills at earlier ages, preparing them for high school and beyond. Come learn about these and other opportunities housed at the CAIN Center at LSU!

Model Motorized Boats
Baton Rouge STEM
We will demonstrate buoyancy by building small motorized boats.

Disappearing Inc.
BayouSTEM
The rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is driving up ocean surface temperatures and causing ocean acidification. Water quality is extremely important for the aquatic organisms that protect and inhabit our estuaries. Using chemical principles, we will demonstrate the change in pH to aqueous environments when adding carbon dioxide to them. This activity uses a pH indicator to create ‘ink’ that disappears when carbon dioxide is added.

Explorers of the Deep: 4-H STEM Challenge – Ocean Robot Test Tank
East Baton Rouge Parish 4-H
In this exhibit, youth prepare their ocean robot for a deep-sea research mission! Participants will “ballast” their ocean robot by adding weights to create sinking and floating behavior of a real ocean robot.

Wetlands Jeopardy & Virtual Field Trip
Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (CWPPRA)
CWPPRA will be hosting a trivia game all about Louisiana Wetlands, handing out fun resources and swag like activity books and stickers, and sharing our WaterMarks360 virtual field trip to the Caminada Headland and Back Barrier Marsh!

Planting the Future
St. Scholastica Academy
Learn about community gardens and the resources that they provide. Participants will have the opportunity to plant seeds and create fertile soil. They will take with them both a planted seed and compost in a bottle.

One Fish, Two Fish, Redfish…Plastic Fish?
St. Scholastica Academy
Students will try their luck at catching fish in an ocean of plastic. They will redeem their fish for a prize. The display will show the effects of plastic pollution on marine life.

The Importance of Biodiversity
St. Scholastica Academy
Students will learn about the real world consequences of eliminating a part of the food chain as they learn about the series of events that lead to parachuting the cats (aka Operation Cat Drop) in Borneo. It is a reminder of the consequences of not using a system-wide approach to solving problems.

Wetland NonSENSE
Youth Wetlands Program
Youth will walk through a variety of artifacts that allows them to experience the wetlands through their senses — See, feel, smell, taste, and hear the wetlands!

3-D Printing to Save Our Animals
Louisiana State University Agricultural Center
Equipment and devices needed to conserve genetic biodiversity can be costly, New tools now relatively inexpensive, can help us fabricate our own devices for reproduction, conservation and safeguarding of aquatic genetic resources (animals, algae).

Physical Oceanography Explorations
LSU Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences – Liang Lab
Using a rotating table, constructed using LEGO and household products, students will see how water moves in the ocean of our rotating earth.

Virtual Reality Trip to Louisiana Coastal Wetlands under the Stress of Land Erosion
LSU Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences – Xue Lab
Using VR headsets, audiences will get an immersed view and stereo audio of two field trips to Barataria Bay and Wax Lake Delta from the headsets and see why wetlands are important habitats.

Fight the Bite
Mosquito Control
Learn about the ways we control mosquitos and how you can help.

Louisiana’s Disappearing Coastlines
Sigma Alpha Sorority
Students will learn about the land loss being experienced on Louisiana’s coast with the goal of allowing students to see the effects of land loss through a hands on activity.

Coastal Marshes
Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society
Why are coastal marshes are at risk? How does the loss of these marshes affect wildlife? Learn the answers to these questions with visual and interactive aids.

Where Do Mosquitoes Come From?
University of New Orleans – PIES
Students will examine mosquito larvae, learn about the life cycle, and see how mosquito fish consume the larvae! They will use learning materials from the GLOBE program to learn how they can hunt for mosquito larvae at home or school to help reduce mosquitoes in the neighborhood.

Fun with Furs and Amazing Alligators
Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries
Identify Louisiana wildlife through furs, skins, and skulls. Pet live hatchling alligators.

more to come …