Hey Squeaks! Welcome back from your big
vacation to California! Did you have fun? [Squeaks squeaks] That’s awesome! What was your favorite part? [Squeaks squeaks] You really loved exploring
the beach, huh? Well that would explain why you’re still
wearing that snorkel and towel… I’d love to hear more about your
trip! Did you take any pictures? Maybe you could share them with us so
we can see what you got to experience! [Squeaks squeaks] Oh wow, that’s a beautiful
picture of the beach! Tell
me about what it felt like
when you first got there! [Squeaks squeaks] Oh, wow! It sounds like you used
a lot of your senses all at once! So you heard the ocean waves crashing on
the beach and you smelled the sea air? Isn’t it amazing how loud the waves are?
You can even hear them before you see them, sometimes! All of that water is so powerful. And there’s nothing quite like the smell
of the ocean! What else did you do? [Squeaks squeaks] Oh, you felt the sand under your wheels
as you were
rolling along the beach? And it felt really soft, eh? You know, the sand you saw at the beach
comes from a lot of different places… and did you know that some of it comes from
rocks being broken down into tiny pieces. You’re right, Squeaks. “Soft” isn’t the first
word I think of when I think about rocks, either! But a lot of sand is made of rock! Those crashing waves that you heard when you
first got to the beach break down rocks on the shore into smaller and smaller pieces. The
waves make
those pieces of rock smoother, too, and since the sand doest
have sharp edges, it feels soft! In fact, if you scoop up a
handful of sand and look closely, you’ll notice that there are still some
slightly bigger rock pieces in there! And what else do you see in that handful of sand? [Squeaks squeaks] That’s right! There are bits of shells
in there too! Those come from creatures that live in the ocean, like clams
and snails. The water helps break those shells into smaller and smaller pieces,
too! [Squeaks squeaks] Ah, Squeaks says he’s been to other beaches
that don’t have soft sand. And you’re right, there are lots of different kinds of beaches! Some beaches don’t have sand at all! Instead, they might have big rocks to climb on,
or they might just be made of pebbles. But the beach you went to had soft sand… oh!
Did you get to build a sand castle on the beach? That’s great! Sand castles are my
favorite thing to build at the beach! What a great castle, Squeaks. You did a
really
nice job with all that soft sand! [Squeaks squeaks] Ah, but the ocean waves eventually knocked it down? That’s happened to
me at the ocean before too. Sometimes, a wave is so big that
the water makes its way further up onto the sand than you think it will,
and knocks down all your hard work! But then you get to build a new
castle, so that’s pretty fun, right? [Squeaks squeaks] Well, besides it knocking down your castle, what
did you think of the ocean water once you got to swim in it? It’s
a little bit different than water
you might find in a lake or in the bathtub, right? You’re right - the ocean can be
very cold! Not only is it cold, the water is very salty too! That’s why you can’t
drink ocean water – it’s too salty for our bodies. Hey, did you know that salt
comes from rocks, Squeaks? [Squeaks squeaks] Our planet is made up of lots of different
kinds of rocks and minerals. Salt, like the kind you put on your food, is a mineral too, and
we find it in lots of places, all
over the world. Rainwater helps break off tiny
pieces of the rocks and minerals, which wash into our rivers and streams. All rivers run into the ocean, so
those tiny bits of rocks and minerals eventually make their way to the ocean,
including that salt that we can taste! And there are /a lot/ of rivers on our planet! Because there are so many rivers dumping salty
materials into the ocean all at once and since the ocean has been around a really, really long
time, the ocean gets saltier the o
lder it gets! [Squeaks squeaks] Great question, Squeaks! River water doesn’t
taste salty because rivers are always moving, and rivers and lakes are always
being refilled with fresh, unsalty water every time it rains or
snows, which means less salt in the water. But when the river meets the ocean, it
drops off all the salt it’s carrying, and that’s where the salt stays! [Squeaks squeaks] But there’s more than just salt in ocean water! [Squeaks squeaks] That’s right, there are animals living
in that water! So many different animals! Marine mammals like dolphins and whales, lots
of fish, crabs, clams, the list goes on and on. There’s so much ocean on our planet
and it’s home to a lot of life! But there are also lots of teeny, tiny
animals and plants in the ocean. So small that you can’t see them with just your
eyes, you need help from a microscope! [Squeaks squeaks] Squeaks! We have a friend who I know could tell
us more about the tiny creatures in the ocean! [Squeaks squeaks] Y
es! Let’s call up our
friend Grady the Tardigrade! Howdy, pardners! How’re y’all doin’ today? Hi, Grady! We’re doing great! Squeaks
just got back from the beach, and we were hoping you could tell us more about the
tiny plants and animals that live in the ocean. Well golly! I’d be happy to! These here varmints are known as plankton! Plankton are very small living
things that live in the water. As you can see, there’s a lot of them. In fact,
if you scooped up a handful of ocean water, there w
ould be millions of
these ‘lil fellers in there! There might be more plankton in that water
than there are humans living in a big city! But you can’t see most of them with just your
eyeballs. You’d need a microscope for that! A microscope is a special science tool
that uses lenses you can look through to help you see things that are really small
- things like me and my plankton pals! And even though these critters are small,
they’re mighty important to our whole planet! Some of these plank
ton are similar to plants.
They make their food with photosynthesis, and help make the oxygen that we all need to
breathe, just like the plants on land! And some of these critters are
animals. They eat the other plankton, and are also food for bigger ocean creatures. Did you know that the blue whale, the largest
animal on Earth, mostly eats tiny plankton called krill? They gulp down 16 tons of krill every
day. 16 tons is as heavy as four elephants! It’s amazing that there’s so much
happeni
ng in the ocean that we can’t see! Yessiree, the world sure is cool like that! Well,
pardners, I need to get back to wrangling this here herd of zooplankton! It was great talkin’
with y’all! Have a great day now, ya hear? Bye, Grady! Thanks for chatting with us! Wow Squeaks, did you have any idea all that was happening
in the same water where you were playing? [Squeaks squeaks] We really learned a lot about
the beach today and how you can use all of your senses to experience it! [Squeaks squ
eaks] Oh! Hi there! Squeaks and I were just sorting the seashells and sea glass that Squeaks
found during his trip to the beach. [Squeaks squeaks] Where did they come from? Great question Squeaks!
They were probably washed ashore by waves. [Squeaks squeaks] Yeah, waves! Not only are
those waves fun to play in, they also bring all kinds of things from
deeper in the ocean right up to the shore. [Squeaks squeaks] The up and down motion we see in
the water is called a wave. The top of a wave is
called the crest,
and the bottom is the trough. And one neat thing about them is that the
water itself doesn’t move forward with the wave. The water moves up and down as
the wave travels through the water. Think about when you floated in the
water. When the waves went past you, you bobbed up and down instead of just
moving all the way back to the shore. [Squeaks squeaks] Yeah Squeaks, that’s right! We can
see waves in lakes and ponds too, not just in the ocean. Any time there is a
body o
f water and wind, you can have waves. [Squeaks squeaks] Great question! There are a few
different reasons that waves can happen. And one of them is around
us any time we go outside: Wind! As the wind passes over the water’s surface,
the wind tugs on the water, creating waves. The size of the wave depends on the
strength of the wind and how long it blows. So lots of wind can make really big waves! Most of the waves we see on the
beach are caused by the wind. But can you guess something else
that can make waves? [Squeaks squeaks] I’ll give you a hint: It’s big and
round, and we can see it at night time. It's the /Moon/! [Squeaks squeaks] I’ll tell you how! The Moon makes
waves when its gravity pulls on Earth. Gravity is the force that
pulls things together. It’s everywhere! Here, let’s all stand up,
and jump up as high as you can do safely! When you jumped, you didn’t just float away.
You fell back down! That happened because Earth’s gravity pulled you down. Everything on
Eart
h is held down by it, including the ocean. The heavier something is, the more gravity it has, and planets are pretty heavy. That means
Earth’s gravity is tugging on the Moon. But the Moon has gravity too, and the
Moon’s gravity is tugging right back! [Squeaks squeaks] Our moon’s gravity pulls on Earth as it orbits
around us. It pulls on us, the land, the Fort, and even the ocean. And even though it
doesn’t pull hard enough to move us, or the ground, the water it pulls on /does/ move. Which m
eans that sometimes when you’re at the
beach, the moon is pulling the water closer to where you are on the shore, which is called high
tide. You might notice that the beach isn’t as big as usual at high tide - that’s because
the ocean is covering more of the beach! But if the moon is pulling the water
at a different place on the planet, the water will move away from where you
are on the beach. That’s called low tide, and low tide can mean that all sorts of things
that are usually underwate
r are visible!. [Squeaks squeaks] Yeah, Squeaks, that’s why your
footprints from early in the day got covered up by the water by the
time you left. The tide came in! [Squeaks squeaks] You want to know about the really big waves? Let me tell you about the biggest
kinds of waves that ever happen! They’re called tsunamis. Tsunamis are
really big waves caused by one-time events, like an earthquake or underwater volcano
erupting. When the waves hit the shore, they can be 30 meters tall - that’s
as tall
as two fire trucks stacked on their ends! [Squeaks squeaks] Good question! Tsunamis don’t happen
just anywhere. Tsunamis are more common in some parts of the world than
others, like the Ring of Fire in the Pacific Ocean. That’s because there
are lots of underwater volcanoes there. [Squeaks squeaks] That’s right, when big waves hit the
shore, they can bring lots of cool objects to the surface with them! That’s
why the time after a big storm can be a great time to look for things was
hed up on
the beach. Like Squeaks did on his trip! How about you? Have you ever found anything
cool at the beach? Or played in the waves? [Squeaks squeaks] Oh yeah, Squeaks, waves are
pretty amazing. Maybe we can even learn to surf and ride waves next time we go! [Squeaks squeaks] Hey Squeaks! You sure have been reading that book about sea monsters a lot
since we got back from the beach. [Squeaks squeaks] Oh, our trip to the ocean inspired you, so you’re doing research for a
special art pro
ject, huh? What is it? [Squeaks squeaks] You’re designing your own sea
monster?! That’s such a great idea! You know, I bet you could get some
inspiration from real animals, too. [Squeaks squeaks] Well, even though “sea monsters” aren’t exactly
real, there have been lots of really big, strong animals that have lived in the ocean. And even though they aren’t alive anymore, we can
learn what they looked like from their fossils! Fossils are anything that tells us about
life in the ancient past.
They can be bones, teeth, footprints, and all kinds of things! In fact, looking at fossils from ancient ocean creatures might be a great place to find
inspiration for your sea monster design. You tell me what features you
want your sea monster to have, and I’ll help you look for real
life inspiration! Let’s get started! [Squeaks squeaks] Ah, ok! Your monster needs to be able to
swim around the ocean…well that makes sense! Let’s start off by checking out this fossil. [Squeaks squeaks] Yeah!
This one has a super long neck. These
fossils came from an animal called a plesiosaur. Plesiosaurs were really big reptiles that
lived around the same time as dinosaurs, but plesiosaurs lived in oceans. This Plesiosaur, called an Elasmosaurus, had a neck that was over 6 meters long!
That’s longer than two cars put together. Plesiosaurs’ long necks and sharp
teeth helped them to catch fish to eat. They also had something to help
them get around in the water… [Squeaks squeaks] Yes, flippers!
Instead of hands and
feet like we have, the plesiosaurs had flippers kind of like a seal. These
made plesiosaurs pretty great swimmers. And plesiosaurs had another giant cousin
in the ocean too. Take a look at this! [Squeaks squeaks] It does kind of look like an alligator! This is an animal called Tylosaurus,
which is a kind of mosasaur. Mosasaurs were also giant reptiles that lived in the ocean. They first evolved
around 75 million years ago!. They were huge like plesiosaurs, but they look
ed a bit different. What
special features do you notice, Squeaks? [Squeaks squeaks] Yup! Instead of a long neck like the plesiosaurs,
mosasaurs had powerful tails that helped them to swim. But they both have really big,
pointy teeth to help them catch their food.. Mosasaurs ate all kinds of other animals
- fish, birds, even other mosasaurs! Did that give you any ideas, Squeaks? [Squeaks squeaks] You monster will have flippers and a long tail to help them swim quickly so they
can catch their
prey! Great! What’s next? [Squeaks squeaks] Your monster needs to be really tough, eh? That reminds me of one of my favorite
ancient sea monsters, the Dunkleosteus! Dunkleosteus is a giant fish from
a group called placoderms. Can you see what special feature is
my favorite about Dunkleosteus? [Squeaks squeaks] Yes, its head is covered in bony plates that
make it look like it's wearing a helmet like a knight might wear! In fact, these animals
are sometimes called armor-headed fishes. Dunkle
osteus were really big, almost as
long as a school bus. And they needed a lot of food for their big bodies! Sometimes,
they would even try to eat other placoderms. Their giant, thick skulls worked like armor, and might have helped keep them
safe from other big predators. What do you think, Squeaks? [Squeaks squeaks] Squeak’s monster will be covered
with bony plates to keep it safe! What’s next for your monster? [Squeaks squeaks] Your monster needs to look ferocious! Hm, well, there’s another
ancient sea
animal we could get some ideas about, one that might be a bit
more familiar. Take a look. [Squeaks squeaks] You’re right, it does look like a shark tooth,
and sharks are still around today too. But they’ve been around for a /really/ long time!.
Sharks first evolved way before the dinosaurs. And in the past, there were sharks much
bigger than the ones we have around now. This tooth is from a Megalodon, the
biggest type of shark that ever lived. Compare it to the tooth from a Gr
eat
White Shark. What do you notice, Squeaks? [Squeaks squeaks] Yeah, the Megalodon’s tooth is much
bigger! Megalodons were enormous! Megalodons could grow at least
45 feet long, or 15 meters. That’s as long as a semi-truck. If you look really closely at the
edges of the Megalodon’s tooth, you might notice one more feature
that helped them eat their prey. Their teeth have serrated edges, which means
they have little bumps along the sharp side, like a bread knife. These made megalodon teeth
super sharp and good at slicing into their prey! [Squeaks squeaks] Ooo, yeah, I think a set of big, serrated teeth
would be the perfect addition to your sea monster! Sounds like you have a lot of great ideas
to make a really fearsome sea monster! It’s got flippers like a plesiosaur,
a strong tail like a mosasaur, boney armor like a Dunkleosteus,
and serrated teeth like a Megalodon! Let’s see how it turned out! Now that is an amazing sea monster, Squeaks! [Squeaks squeaks] Hey there! Squeak
s was just showing
off his imaginary sea monster that he drew based on some sea monsters of the past! I think it’s great! I see that it has sharp teeth, big flippers, and an armored head, like
the animals we learned about before. And I see you drew yourself swimming next
to your monster! Your sea monster is HUGE! But even your imaginary sea monster
doesn’t look as big as the biggest animal that’s ever actually lived! Do
you know what that animal is, Squeaks? [Squeaks squeaks] It’s a kind of
whale called the blue
whale - and they’re still around today! [Squeaks squeaks] Blue whales can get to be over 30 meters long
— about as long as 3 school buses in a row. And, a blue whale’s tongue can
weigh as much as an elephant. And just its heart can be as heavy as a car! [Squeaks squeaks] Yes, you could definitely fit inside
of a blue whale’s heart, Squeaks! So, what do you think these
great, big blue whales eat? [Squeaks squeaks] That’s a great guess! And some
whales, like beluga wha
les, do eat fish. They have sharp teeth
that they use to catch and eat prey. But some whales, like the blue
whales, don’t have teeth at all! [Squeaks squeaks] Weird, right? These whales have something
called baleen instead of teeth. Baleen is a bristly plate that’s stuck to the roof
of the whale’s mouth. It looks like a big, bristly broom inside their mouths! [Squeaks squeaks] That’s a great question! If you’ve
ever seen someone cook pasta, they might have dumped it out of the pot and
into
a strainer when the pasta was done cooking. Water pours out of the strainer, but the food stays inside it.
Baleen works kind of the same way! When a whale that has baleen takes in a
gulp of water and food, they use their tongues to push all the water out through
the gaps, but keep the tasty food inside. But if they aren’t eating fish, what are they
eating? Blue whales eat tiny animals called krill! Krill are so small that we need
a microscope to see them clearly. [Squeaks squeaks] That’s r
ight, Squeaks! Something as big as a
blue whale does need to eat a lot of krill! ANd they do! Adult blue whales can eat 16
tons of krill each day. That’s as heavy as four elephants!
[Squeaks squeaks] Isn’t it amazing that such a huge animal eats
things that are so small, we can’t even see them?! Baby whales are called calves, just
like baby cows. And also like cows, whale calves drink the milk that their mothers
make inside their bodies until they’re old enough to start eating krill. That
’s because all
whales, including the blue whales, are mammals. Mammals are animals like horses, cows,
dogs, and humans. And all mammals feed their newborn babies milk. That’s one of the
special things that makes an animal a mammal! [Squeaks squeaks] Yes, they do look more like a fish than like
the other mammals. But fish don’t feed their babies with milk, which helps us know
that whales and fish are different. And there’s another important feature that tells us that whales are mammals
and
definitely not fish. Whales don’t have gills to breathe in water,
like fish do. They have lungs, just like us! So even though some whales can
hold their breath for over an hour, they have to come up to the surface of
the ocean to breathe every now and then. Now, let’s practice taking a
big breath through our noses. When we breathe, air goes through
our nose or mouth and into our lungs. Whales breathe using their lungs too,
but they do it in a very special way. They breathe in and out throu
gh a hole on
the top of their head called a blowhole. When a whale is ready to take a breath,
it comes up to the top of the water, opens its blowhole, and breathes
out. This is called spouting. That air shoots up into the sky
— sometimes about 12 meters up! That’s about as tall as six grown-ups
if they stood on each other’s shoulders. Then, it breathes fresh air in through
its blowhole, and goes back underwater. When a whale is underwater, they can pinch
their blowhole closed from the ins
ide, and seal it shut so no water gets
inside when they’re under the water. [Squeaks squeaks] But my favorite thing about blue whales
are the amazing sounds they make. Blue whales, as well as
lots of other whale species, can talk to each other from really far
away! Sound travels really well in water, so one whale can hear another whale making
noises even if they’re thousands of miles apart! Whales make lots of sounds,
including squeaks, whistles, and long low booming sounds
that scientist
s call “songs.” Here’s what a blue whale’s song sounds like! [Squeaks squeaks] I think whale songs sound beautiful, too, Squeaks! [Squeaks squeaks] Oh, Squeaks says he still thinks his
imaginary sea monster is pretty cool, but it’s even cooler that there are giant
blue whales out in the ocean right now, singing to each other, eating microscopic
krill, and taking care of their babies!
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