Keefer Brown - Making a Difference

Keefer Brown preparing to handover his gift

(pictured here with his mother, Kim Brown and Seward City manager, Dr Phillip Oates).

Today we had the privilege to host a remarkable young Alaskan.  Twelve year old Keefer Brown, of Wasilla, Alaska presented the Alaska SeaLife Center with a donation of $1,300 which he has raised over the past summer to promote harbor seal research and rehabilitation.    Keefer was accompanied by his parents and grandparents who helped him to design and market a range of candles which he had decorated with items he found on the beaches of Seldovia, such as shells and seaweed.  Keefer spent much of this summer chatting with visitors and tourists alike at the Herring Bay Mercantile in Seldovia and at the Seldovia Harbor ramp selling his candle creations. 

Keefer's Candles (photo courtesy Kim Brown)

Initially, Keefer’s goal was to raise $50 to “adopt” a harbor seal through the ASLC SeaStars program. However, once he discovered the interest of visitors and the community in marine issues, he quickly raised his fundraising target by several orders of magnitude. Such was his success in fundraising that he also managed to convince visitors to also donate to marine research and education! He recounts with his wry sense of humor how he had to explain to one visitor just what a donation actually means…. clearly he is an amazing communicator, an exceptional entrepreneur and a practicing philanthropist.

Keefer learning the tricks of the trade - a budding mammalogist in the making?

Keefer’s is most passionate about protecting the environment and its wildlife. He walks the talk in the way he lives his life – he makes healthy food choices, practices recycling and uses strict criteria to determine what he purchases so as to avoid over consumption. His absolute favorite animals are harbor seals, although he also learned today, while visiting with Maxwell and Mocha, that spotted seals can also be pretty cute.

Keefer, his parents and our talented Mammal staff learning about  harbor seals

His mother, Kim Brown describes Keefer as a “wonderful young man who is always ready with a smile and possesses an unfailing kindness that touches everyone he meets.” Those qualities were evident in abundance as we spent the day wending our way around the SeaLife Center – he was enthralled by everything that we do and has endless enthusiasm to learn more. He faces a tough choice as he moves forward with his career education – paleontology or marine biology or both?

Keefer enjoying the antics of our harbor seals in their main exhibit

Words cannot adequately express just how moving it was to receive this generous gift from Keefer – the closest analog to how I think we all felt during this morning’s ceremony was that we were witnessing a true environmental hero emerging just like being ringside at the annual CNN heroes program  – Keefer is an inspiration to us all. Perhaps Mayor Willard Dunham, who has been a driving force in establishing the Center, summed it up best when he noted with just a hint of a proud tear in the corner of his eye, that “seeing Keefer’s commitment today reminds us all of why the SeaLife center was built and of how inspirational it has become to young Alaskans”.

Keefer with Seward Mayor and long serving ASLC Board Member, Willard Dunham

I have asked Keefer and his parents to be our guests at the 2011 Alaska Marine Gala – I hope you have the chance to meet him there.

Ocean Today Kiosk at ASLC to Develop Local Content

Describing OTK design and development to Coastal America Partners

(all photos by Nate Chambers who was also a member of the OTK design team)

Yesterday, Alaska region representatives of the 16 Federal agencies who comprise the Coastal America partnership (see http://www.coastalamerica.gov/) met at the Alaska SeaLife Center to review the new Ocean Today Kiosk (OTK). Installed in the early summer, the ASLC OTK is the latest addition to the national OTK network. The OTK network began with a major installation on the floor of the Sant Ocean Hall at the Smithsonian Institutions’ National Museum of Natural History in 1998 and now comprises some 17 aquaria who are designated by Coastal America as Coastal Ecosystem Learning Centers.
The kiosk provides informative, entertaining and up-to-date short videos from researchers, managers and educators under the four main headings of:
• Ocean news

• Ocean Life

• Ocean Science and Technology

• Recent Discoveries

Smithsonian staff work closely with NOAA staff to generate content for the kiosk and content and updates are then ‘pushed’ out to each OTK daily.

OTK Installation features two display screens and is located on the core visitor traffic route at the ASLC

Technology for the OTKs is sponsored by Panasonic. Funding for the OTK was provided by Coastal America partners, with additional installation support provided the National Parks Service Ocean Alaska Science and Learning Center. The ASLC OTK has greatly enriched visitor understanding of national ocean issues – we estimate that between 15-20% of our visitors pause to interact with the exhibit. Interaction time varies from 1-20 minutes.

Network members are now exploring how to upload local content to share with other network members – the Alaska Coastal America team yesterday approved a proposal to generate one video in each of the four core menu areas ready to share nationally by May 2011.
We welcome your suggestions – what Alaska content do you believe is most likely to have national interest?

And the winner is...

Events Coordinator Julie Jokinen and Aviculturists Heidi Cline and Seth Wagner pictured with Princess Cruise staff and Ididaride tour staff

Photo courtesy of Princess Tours

We were delighted to receive news this week that the Alaska SeaLife Center & Puffin Experience has been selected as the shore excursion of the season in the Port of Seward in 2010.  Awarded by one of our leading tourism partners, Princess Tours, this prestigious award is fitting recognition for the extraordinary efforts of our marketing, education, exhibits and husbandry staff.  Our behind the scenes (BTS) encounters have proven exceptionally popular this summer and so it is gratifying for all staff involved to know that their hard work and expertise is appreciated by our visitors and partners.

For anyone who has not yet been on a BTS, we strongly encourage you to do so - not only are they a great opportunity to learn about our animals and birds, they also provide you with a personalized glimpse into the skill that underpins our animal husbandry program.

Thank you again to Princess Tours and the many visitors who supported our BTS programs in 2010 - we are continuing to work on those programs and expect to offer additional encounters in 2011 - stay tuned!

SeaLife Abounds in Palmer!!

Wineck Barn: The ASLC Pavilion at the 2010 State Fair

(right next to the Red Gate)

(all photos here courtesy of Nate Chambers)

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of showing my visiting family from Australia some of the very best that Alaska has to offer as we toured around the 2010 State Fair in Palmer.  My sister was simply amazed to find jellyfish and other assorted marine life in the midst of an inland agricultural town!

Perhaps she would not have been so amazed if she understod just how skilled our education, exhibits and husbandry teams are at promoting public understanding of marine life - the State Fair exhibit is just the latest in a long line of public outreach events where we magically give the public a chance to experience Alaska's amazing marine life from the comfort of a dry vantage point.

The theme of this years exhibit is "Growing up in Alaska's Ocean Nurseries" and each element of the exhibit picks up on the theme of just how important our oceans are as nurseries for the many species we depend on and enjoy.  The eider exhibit above is just one example of species that has local, national and global significance.

Perhaps the most visually compelling element of the exhibit is the collection of milk bottles (Matanuska milk of course!) that demonstrate the role of milk in mammalian development...

The State Fair exhibit really highlights the amazing creative design skills of our staff and their ability to deliver a high quality education and entertainment experience. For example, I had watched Laurie Stuart draw the whale that is the backdrop to the milk exhibit and was incredibly impressed by her artistic talents - my sister was equally entralled with the story that her drawing told!  That same theme of great story told thru great exhibitry was replicated as we moved through the barn - it really was hard to believe that were in a barn in Palmer... and I guess that is the epitome of an effective exhibit.

If you haven't already been to the State Fair, you really should plan to go and make sure you stop by the Wineck Barn before this amazing, but temporary, exhibit is temporarily dissassembled... if you really can't make it, the good news is that all these exhibits are designed to be re-used; the main tanks (provided with the generous support of the Rasmuson Foundation) will be a mainstaty of future outreach exhibits... their next public outing will likely be at the Alaska Marine Gala in Anchorage on January 16th... stay tuned!