Interview with Dr. Sarah Oktay

Located only 26 miles south of Cape Cod, the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMB) Nantucket Field Station is situated on 107 acres of land abutting Nantucket Harbor.  On an island best known for its pricey homes, great sailing, and tasty scallops, Nantucket also offers people the opportunity to see endangered grey seals, invasive plants, and lots of mosquitoes.  Few know the Island’s natural resources better than Dr. Sarah Oktay, Managing Director of the University of Massachusetts Field Station. 

We recently contacted Dr. Oktay to learn more about how she brings her work at the Field Station to students on Nantucket.

You are the Director of UMass Boston’s Nantucket Field Station.  What, exactly, does that entail?

I run all the research, outreach, and educational programs here at the Field Station. We run 10-13 college classes during the summer (Ecology, Biology, Instructional Design, Art, etc.). In addition, year round, the Field Station hosts writing retreats, researchers from around the country, weekend environmental science, entomology, and geology immersion courses for New England colleges, Elderhostel-type week-long programs, and programs for inner city middle-school and high school students. We also do field and lab demonstrations and teach classes for about 900 kids each year (pre K-12). Several interns do research here at the Nantucket-based lab that range in age from 7 to 70+.

We also conduct symposiums on many topics; and we are open to the public every day, so each day is an opportunity to teach people about water quality, biodiversity, invasive species, coastal processes, proper use of fertilizers, mosquito biology - you name it.  I also give about 25 public presentations a year and am considering doing a local public access "Bill Nye the Science guy" type show.  In addition, I conduct numerous research projects in collaboration with island scientists and with the Town Biologist. We've even started having community members come in and do simple experiments and measurements of their own, such as evaluating whether their septic systems are leaking.

You do so much work out in the field.  Why did you get involved with talking to classes?

Two reasons: I found that as young people become interested in what is actually done in a science career, versus what they imagined, they quickly see themselves more likely to become a scientist. When we can, we bring the students out into the field to collect actual data so they can see how we use math and geology, and they realize that there is no need to be intimidated by science - that it all makes sense and can be fun.

Much of what they think about scientists comes from television.  When I brought three Massachusetts middle school and high school groups down for a one-week science immersion class, the kids were amazed to see what we do on a daily basis, and they were equally excited to find out that it wasn't all `boring lab stuff.’  In fact, when you bring kids to a lab or out in the field, or you bring the lab to the kids, you'll find that even the simplest devices or techniques can be pretty entertaining if explained correctly. Students love hearing about melting rocks in a muffle furnace, or being able to create a water tornado (vortex) in a beaker with a stir rod.  Some of my Boys and Girls Club class groups even come close to crying when it's time to leave!

Everything looks cool under a microscope. I'll have the kids collect rocks on the trails and then look at the crystals and inclusions under a microscope; they love that hands-on experience which is harder (and more expensive) to replicate in a traditional classsroom.  I try to work with teachers as much as possible to bring the students out in the field with me. Even during the past two very cold weeks, I've done beach profiling outdoors with 80 fifth graders.

The second reason I love interaction in classrooms or during field trips is that when you connect with the kids, they become the conduit to their parents. Many of the kids bring their families out to the field station so that they can share their experiences and what they know with their parents, grandparents, and siblings. They become docents or ambassadors for science and nature. I think this same desire to share and even `show-off’ what they know could be extended to online experiences. And the more these kids appreciate what we may be trying to do in science, the more they'll understand our role when they get older.

What is the best part about visiting schools?

Kids are so appreciative when you spend time with them.  They get so excited, and they really absorb the information quickly.  My favorite office decorations are thank-you gifts from school groups. Last year a class wrote a poem about me that really touched me.  I have been so impressed with their attentiveness and questions that, this year, I've decided to set up a mini-internship for 7-13 year olds. Who wouldn't want to try and share our knowledge with these kids?  Plus the teachers are overwhelmed and really appreciate it when you try to help them with the myriad of things they have to impart every day.

Having spent many hours visiting schools, do you have any tips for other scientists just starting to talk with students?

First of all, be yourself, and have fun with it. Let kids know science can be cool.  When I go into a class, I dress exactly the same way I would for the lab or field work, even wearing waders or oceanographic gear if the situation calls for it. 

Kids are very flexible and very forgiving if something goes wrong, so don't let working with them intimidate you.

I often have `drop-ins’ so I keep a set of bones and feathers, and shells and fossils in a box that’s handy all the time. 

Show lots of pictures (gray seal photos really do the trick!) or equipment during your visits. One of my more popular demos (for kids, teachers and parents) is a set of sand sieves with a sample in them so that everyone can feel what really fine silt feels like. I have seen 3-year-olds up to 80-year-olds enchanted by the soft feeling of really fine particles.

The more visceral or hands-on the experience is, the more memorable it can be for the students. I even have dead creatures in a freezer here at the field station that we look at to talk about things like avian flu, or mosquitoes, or lead poisoning for classes that are old enough to handle those types of topics.

I discuss almost the same things whether I am talking to 3-year-olds or a group of Rotarians - I just adjust the language and description to fit the audience.  I can tell if I am really getting through if the teachers and parent chaperones get excited, because that excitement also transfers to the kids.

I also make sure to thank the teacher for arranging the visit.  They have a lot on their plate and it's important to make sure they know you appreciate their hard work!

One thing we haven't discussed is talking one-on-one with students.

The COSEE-NE program Telling Your Story does an excellent job helping teachers and scientists connect. In addition, in this online age, I'd say that a large part of my interactions with students is one-on-one through emails and phone calls. Many teachers don't have the time in their schedules to devote to outside activities or non-MCAS-related topics. I probably talk to about 60 kids a year from around the country, on topics ranging from science fair projects, to internships, to specific science questions on wide-ranging topics from invasive plants and animals to beach erosion and global warming. 

I really like Pat Kremer's suggestion of setting up an email clearinghouse system to connect teachers and students with scientists. Out here on Nantucket we have a web camera and a weather station, both of which can be used in the classroom and could be ideal for using on an interactive website.