What a great day! Everything went well, we had beautiful weather, and everyone had fun. What more could we ask for? Johann wanted to have an ocean–themed party, but when I started planning activities, I quickly realized there was no way we could do it at our house with our space limitations.
We looked at a number of places around town and finally decided on Project Oceanology at Avery Point. They have fantastic oceanography education programs for kids and I thought that maybe they did parties too, so I checked their website. Since their programs are for 4th grade and up, having a party there was a great opportunity to do something for younger kids.
Johann chose the party option entitled “Plankton Pandemonium”. Emily was the young lady who did the activities with the kids and she was great! She got a sample of plankton and put out petri dishes at a number of microscopes so everyone had a chance to see the plankton. There was also a video of plankton the kids could watch. Then the kids made their own “plankton” out of mesh fabric, coffee filters, yarn scraps, feathers, pom-poms, etc.
Since Project O is in a two–story building with an open staircase, once the crafting was done, we held plankton races. All the kids went upstairs and when Emily gave the signal, they dropped their plankton creations. There had to be two heats, because of the number of kids there, and then a tie breaker race. Because plankton have to float to stay alive, the winner of the race was the one who’s plankton stayed afloat the longest.
While Emily prepared the second activity for the kids, we had cupcakes and ice cream. Johann loved having Happy Birthday sung to him. Once he blew out his number 9 candle on one of the cupcakes, I put the platter with all the marzipan cupcakes on the table. All the kids had the roundest, big saucer eyes I’d ever seen! Some of the moms asked me if I was in business making cake decorations and that I should be if I wasn’t. One said the marzipan was too beautiful to eat. Eric explained what each creature was and then everyone chose what they wanted. We chose invertebrates that the kids might not have seen before, to show them there is much more in the ocean besides the high profile fish and cetaceans everyone is familiar with.
Since the weather held, we were able to do the scavenger hunt at the small beach near the Project O building. The kids divided up into teams, got their plastic bins, checklists, and beachcombing guides, and jumped right in! Once the teams had everything on the list that they could find, Emily discussed each item with the kids, explaining more about the animals and answering any questions. Eric said it was a good thing that we had the outdoor activity right after the sugar rush of the cupcakes and ice cream! All the kids had loads of fun exploring on the beach.
Then it was time to open presents. Johann liked everything he got. They were surprised when we gave out our party favor gifts. Eric, Johann, and I dyed the blank tote bags using Eric’s copper dolphin chop and soy wax. We got each child their own copy of The Ocean Book, Aquarium and Seaside Activities and Ideas for All Ages
, a small all–weather notebook for writing down observations, an ocean creatures pencil, and an orca eraser.
In answering questions and compliments, I explained to the moms why we chose Project O and why we did everything we did for the party. Johann said he loves the ocean so much that he wanted to share that with all of his friends. And since this is the first birthday party he’s ever had for friends, we wanted to make it extra special. Johann thanked us for the party on the way home in the car. He said it was the best day of his life.
The adults learned just as much from the party as the kids did. An audible “wow” came from the group when Emily told them that phytoplankton is responsible for most of the oxygen we breathe. We helped instill a new appreciation for the ocean and the organisms that live there. Hopefully from now on when the kids are at the beach or they think about the ocean, they will look at everything in a whole new way.
