Swimming Into a New Semester

Marine Biology Class Got Damselfish 

Photo by Karl Callwood on Unsplash

On Feb. 22, bags and bags of Damselfish arrived at Langford Hall for the yearly Damselfish project. For decades, in the second semester, the Marine Biology class gets in groups and all receive two fish. In the project, the students must take care of the fish and make sure it does not die before the end of the year. 

Many students get excited about this project because not only do students get to take care of a fish but also learn about marine life. Many students in the class are seniors and have an interest in Marine Biology and plan to major in it. 

“I am really excited because it gets me prepared for when I am in college since it [Marine Biology] will be my major,” senior Emma Zaidan said. 

Many students take this course to prepare them for the outside world and for college. Other students take this class due to an interest in marine life. Maclay has been doing the fish project for years and the project, as well as the class, has gained popularity. The first year Maclay did this, the class was very small, and few people took it. As the years have gone on, more and more people have been interested in the class. This year, two periods have been dedicated to Marine Biology with a full class in both. Many students are getting more interested in the class due to it being something different to learn about. 

“Overall, I think it is something that provides a good hands-on look that you would not see otherwise,” upper school science teacher Ariel Evans said. 

Many students are used to sitting in a classroom for 80 minutes at a time writing down notes, but in Marine Biology that is not the case. Many projects in the class are hands-on so that students can experience what they are learning rather than memorizing it. Having hands-on activities makes many students enjoy the class a lot more and easier to learn the material. 

“I like the more hands-on projects because they help me understand more about what we are learning about and are exciting to do in class,” junior Taylor Harbin said. 

Maclay offers this class as a second-semester class where students will not just be taking notes but also experiencing everything. It is a great class for people interested in Marine Biology for college but also great for students who want hands-on experiences with marine life. The Damselfish is one of many projects done in this class and each project makes Maclay, as well as Marine Biology, extra special.