Back to top

OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division at Submerge Marine Science Festival

SEPTEMBER 22, 2017--NOAA's interactive booth at Submerge Marine Science Festival in New York City this past Saturday was a splash.  We provided a range of fun activities to expand public knowledge about NOAA's trust resources in local coastal waters, and the effects of pollution and marine debris on those resources.

Kids surround an eel ladder.
Children learning about eel ladders. Image credit: NOAA.

OR&R's Damage Assessment and Restoration Program showcased American eel and blue crab.  Kids and adults alike could observe eel collected from a tributary to the Hudson River climbing a ladder designed to permit passage on dammed waterways and hear about the life history of our native eel from Carl Alderson, Restoration Center master storyteller. Participants also learned from NOAA about the differences between horseshoe and blue crabs through hands-on interactions. Younger participants crafted sea turtle paper bag puppets and paper plate crabs and fish.


This year we collaborated with NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center. Chemist Ashok Deshpande and NOAA student volunteer Jordan Gilruth from the James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory in Sandy Hook, New Jersey exhibited chemistry molecular models of various compounds and talked about contaminants in fish and in microplastics.  The public appreciated and enjoyed the opportunity to construct their own molecular models and take them home, too.


The free annual event, sponsored by Hudson River Park, brings together scientists and environmental educators in an outdoor setting, a pier in Lower Manhattan. This location provides an opportunity to further connect the public to our resources through fishing, kayaking, live scuba dives, marine science research vessel tours, experimentation, touch tanks, theater and music.


For further information, contact Lisa.Rosman@noaa.gov.


Return to OR&R Weekly.

Child holding a blue crab.
Child holds a blue crab. Image credit: NOAA.
Two children working at a table.
Children learning through arts and crafts projects. Image credit: NOAA
Children at a table being talked to by an adult.
Children learning about chemical models. Image credit: NOAA.
Last updated Tuesday, November 8, 2022 1:49pm PST