New York Aquarium Today

I was surprised to see the Black-Footed Penguins show themselves today, but it was a very sunny afternoon so who could blame them for sunbathing? Despite early rain, many folks came out to the New York Aquarium and really seemed to enjoy the Brazil Flooded Forest exhibit. In addition to this magnificent day, Jennifer and I got our very own Tillandsia plants.

Tips on How to Create Your Own Tillandsia Display

-Get a small plate to place the plant on, the campers used a thin plastic plate.

-Decorate the plate with rocks, bark chips, pebbles and anything else you please.

-Try not to place the plate in direct sunlight because this may be too much for the Tillandsia to handle.

-Water the plant 3 to 4 times a week using a spritzer rather than soaking or watering it down.

-Keep in mind that the Tillandsia does not have roots and so it absorbs water though its leaves.

Orleen

Something about the way the Pied Kingfisher catches its prey not only caught the eyes of the young campers but my own as well. Perhaps it's the way the bird hovers 50 feet over the water, overlooking its prey until the time is right, or maybe it's the way the bird's beak dives through the surface without making too much of a commotion to scare away prey. The Pied Kingfisher knows that this method of hunting requires a considerable amount of energy and so there isn't much room for error, which is why the bird is almost always successful.

--Orleen Lauture

Sea Lions Roar

          Sea lion's vocal communication is pretty unique, they are one of the few mammals that have an intense vocal speech.  They can produce vocal sounds on land and even under water!  During breeding seasons the male sea lions usually bark at one another to establish dominance on each others territory, or to show off to female sea lions.  Female sea lions use a lot of vocal communication with their pups.  When they have to go out to hunt for food, as they return they call out to their pups and the pup calls back in order to find each other again.  Female sea lions also become very aggressive right before and after giving birth, their "threat calls" progress from a bark to an intense squeal to a more forceful belch then after to an irregular growl.  Sea lions are very vocal, they communicate, just like us. 
                                                                                                
                                                                                                                          -Brendan M. 

Instagram Post

          While I was walking around today in Prospect Park Zoo, taking pictures and trying to come up with a theme for today's Instagram post.  I was in front of the Red Panda exhibit taking pictures while at the same time kids were in astonishment by the cuteness of the Red Pandas.  The children began asking their parents, "is it a bear or is it a raccoon?"  I found myself pondering the same questions,  then my teaching fellow had come up with the idea of 'food for thought'.  Thus, 'Food For Thought Thursday' was created.  When I got back to the computer I did some research on what the Red Panda is.  It turns out the Red Panda is not a bear, in fact the word panda comes from the Nepalese word "ponya" which means bamboo or plant eating animal.  However it is related to both a raccoon and bears, yet it falls into its unique genus species called  Ailurus fulgens.  That's what my Instagram post became about.  Food for thought and Red Pandas.

                                                                                                                           -Brendan M.

Three Red Pandas by Brendan M.

August.6.2014

It was a cool summer morning, a Wednesday, the first Wednesday of August in fact.  I spent my early hours of the internship learning and refining my skills at writing codes through a website.  After that I went out on a hunt.  A hunt for clues leading me to even more clues all around the zoo, until I found them all.  My appetite for adventure was already met, but my appetite for food was growing by the minute.  I left the zoo for about an hour and returned satisfied.  I came back into that office and finished up some coding, then I wrote what you're reading now.  Farewell and until next time. 

                                                    -Brendan M.

Building a Website

Building a Website

HTML Coding (CodeAcademy)

          Codecademy is very simple, you sign up (its free) and you start learning right away.  The lessons are very easy but memorizing the codes can be a pain.  If you practice everyday you will become an expert in no time!  A piece of advice I will give to you is, you have to be patient when coding rather than rush through it.  Also double check for any careless mistakes.  I spent around 10 minutes staring at the laptop screen trying to figure out which I can't move on to the next step.  Well it turns I forgot to capitalize one letter on a link and that messed up the whole code.  You will start out with the basic how to write codes for HTML. Then you'll get to the fun part which is CSS, this allows you to give your website style and color.

          For those who will be trying it for the first (like me).  I say it is an amazing opportunity like no other.  Especially in this age in time, where the field of technology is growing exponentially.  Knowing how to code could be very beneficial to you.  It benefited me because I was completely clueless about building a website and now I know the basics of how to do it.  Who knows if you are really good at it, it can become your career.  Just saying, Google how much a web developer makes.  Everyone should try this course on coding and enter it with an open mind.  

                  Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has uses coding to build their various websites, which I noticed displayed as I walked around the Prospect Park Zoo.  They learned how to make the website for people to see it and enjoy it.  Building a website can be very useful and beneficial when it can help the planet become a better place.  Wcs.org/birthday is a website to help kids celebrate their birthdays in a zoo, when they can have fun while also learning about wildlife.  Even helpful campaigns can grow by building a great website such as 96elephants.org.  Helping save the planets elephants can be a big project so they need to have a website that attracts people to it.  Just goes to show the amazing things that code could create, you just have to learn the skills to do it.