Intro
Everyone in my grade had the day off to visit and learn about their parents work, for “Take Your Kid to Work Day” or TYKTWD! However, my two friends and I aren’t interested in what our parents do (they work from home) so we decided to do something else! Read more to find out…
Where I Went
Like I mentioned before, I didn’t watch my mom work from home because that’s low key boring.. I went to the Seymour Salmon Hatchery, and worked as a volunteer, shadowing one of the workers! This was especially interesting for me, since I love marine biology. Therefore, this experience gave me an opportunity to see AND try a different areas of marine biology, that I haven’t thought about before! 🐟
My Favourite Parts
Honestly, every part of my day was interesting, new, and fun! I really enjoyed population counting which was when we put on waiters and did a salmon check throughout the creeks and rivers. I was in change of note taking, and checking off the different sections. For example, I would take certain notes if the salmon was wild or hatchery, (we could tell by the clipped fins) or the gender. In addition to this, I LOVED getting the salmon from out of the tubs with nets, to see if they were ready to spawn. I was pretty bomb at this.
Something I learned!
I’m passionate about fish and marine biology, but I knew almost nothing about salmon hatcheries before this experience… so everything was a learning experience! I got to see the entire process of fertilizing salmon eggs firsthand. We began by selecting adult salmon ready to spawn, then gave them a hard knock on the head to stun them. One of the workers the cut the main artery and we let it sit in a bin too bleed out. Later, I had the role of holding them head-up over a clean bin, while my friend Emilia carefully made a large cut to release the eggs. After that, we mixed in the male’s milt for fertilization, soaked the eggs in a safe cleaning solution, and finally placed them into incubation. Working and learning at this salmon hatchery had so many fascinating aspects that made it very unique and engaging. My day was packed with new interesting things, hands-on learning, and overall I thoroughly enjoyed every moment!
Retrieving the Salmon From the Bleeding Process:
Extracting the Eggs:
Mixing the Milt with the Eggs:
Using the Cleaning Solution:
How This Helped
The purpose of “Take Your Kid to Work Day” (TYKTWD) was to help us see if a certain workplace matched our interests and to get a sense of how different work environments operate. Visiting the salmon hatchery did exactly that! I was already excited about it because I’m interested in exploring various areas of marine biology. Having several fish at home, I’ve always been fascinated by aquatic life, and this experience deepened that interest even more.🌊
Youtube Video:
By the end of my experience I made a short video sharing my experience with the public! If your interested in checking it out, click on the link below.
Link: https://youtu.be/9eoiar9mKKQ
Later on, I sent a thank you email to Megan, the person I was shadowing on TYKTWD. This is the Email I sent.
Conclusion
Overall, my “Take Your Kid to Work Day” at the salmon hatchery was an unforgettable experience! Not only did I get to learn more about marine biology and see a different side of it, but I also got to experience hands-on work. Each part of the day was exciting, and gave me a real glimpse into the world of marine biology and the important work done at hatcheries. Thank you for reading about my experience, and stay tuned for future posts!