Science Students Visit BOCES Outdoor Learning Lab
North Babylon High School Science Research students recently spent the day at Western Suffolk BOCES Outdoor Learning Lab in Caleb Smith Park. Half of the students participated in a dolphin necroscopy, an autopsy of an animal that washed up on the shores. Students actually dissected the animal and studied the features to determine that it slowly starved to death based upon the thickness of the blubber and lack of other internal or external signs of injury or disease. This was so fascinating that one student remarked, "Definitely sparked more of my interest in becoming a surgeon."
The other half of the group spent time learning how a soil scientist determines the physical and chemical composition of soil as well as investigating pond organisms, water quality and the permeability of various soils.