Guide 7B Complexity
Resources
Additional activities, a behind-the-scenes gallery, recommended books, and more.
About this Guide
In it to win it
This part of a term, Mark and I often yell out “In it to win it!” There are always things to do and potential distractions from doing great work, but it helps when you have a partner who supports going the extra mile (or sometimes just a few feet) to get things done well. We are cheerleading for you too, we are all in it to win it!
Lesley
Additional Activities
Media Adventures
Coral reefs and their variety of invertebrate species are an incredible opportunity for media production. One of the best way to learn about a subject is to color in outlines of what you are trying to learn. Its how we learned human anatomy, and you can create your own line sketches for others to color in.
Adopt a Reef
Different coral reefs often have different species. If you set up a marine tank, you may want to choose a specific part of an ocean and stock the tank with algae and invertebrates that were originally from that region. You can maintain tank temperatures and chemistry in a range that is likely to keep the organisms healthy.
Adopting Clownfish
If you decide to get clownfish, go for hatchery raised fish. They have been bred to tolerate a wider range of conditions, don’t need the anemone hosts (which can be expensive and difficult to maintain) and the breeder can ship a bonded pair together.
Interpretive Signs
We spent many years zipping past the interpretive signs, but now really appreciate the time and thought put into these informative and often engaging displays. They maximize the potential experience by pointing out opportunities and potential hazards.
Found Objects
If you spend a lot of time outdoors, you are bound to find a lot of potential collectibles. The question is whether to keep them and if so, how to organize them so they are usable. Similar to constructing the portfolio for this course, organizing around themes or outcomes can reveal new relationships between objects.
Marine Tank
Thinking of setting up your own marine tank? It can be an expensive hobby and the best way to start is to get educated by people who know what they are doing. Online forums like Reef2Reef have large libraries of information and experts eager to assist. Local clubs often have swaps-and-shares, a great way to get inexpensive or even free invertebrates.
Behind-the-Scenes
Missing Diving
Its been a few years since we’ve had a chance to “swim with the fishes,” but this course has us daydreaming up new diving adventures (with an underwater camera, of course).
Acclimating
With aquatic animals, slow acclimation to a new temperature and water chemistry is critical. This is the flame scallop our snowflake clownfish have adopted when it was almost ready to add to the tank.
Anemone can pop up unexpectedly in an established marine tank. The larvae get dispersed into the water and attach in a variety of locations. One of the best (and worst) aspects of marine tanks is the unexpected surprises.
Recommended Books
Every book by Edward Tufte is worth reading, this one is a good place to start.
If you have tide pools nearby, you are really lucky: grab a regional guide and visit often!
Even with all of the incredible information online, our copy of this book still gets a lot of use.
Build a Library
Whether its digital or print, collect resources that assist in exploring, describing, and explaining the natural world.
Complexity Product Page
Complete this guide’s products before advancing on to the next guide
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Module 7 Overview
This Guide
7B: Complexity