My kids are now 15, 12, and 9 (we are deep into the teen and tween years) but I love that they share a sense of adventure and curiosity to find out more about the world outside of our kitchen science experiments. Exploring science when we travel has always been a goal of ours (thanks to this science blog) and this trip to New England had so much science that even surprised this south Texas girl! It was time for us to get out of our comfort zone and discover science you can find just about anywhere – especially on the coast of New England.
We visited several places along our journey from Portland, ME to Boston, MA. You can use this list to jump to a specific place in this post or feel free to read straight through!
- Portland Head Light in Portland, ME
- Lobstering in Portland, ME
- Whale Watching in Gloucester, ME
- New England Aquarium in Boston, MA
Portland Head Light in Portland, ME
Who would have thought that we would be diving into physics when we visited the Portland Head Light? After the morning fog lifted, day 1 of our science travel turned out to be a gorgeous day as we took in some views the Atlantic Ocean.
Photo by Allie
The light keeper’s house is now a museum which walks you through the history (and science) of the Portland Head Light and houses one of the Fresnel lenses that was used in the lighthouse in 1958.
What is a Fresnel lens anyways? Fun fact: In the 1823 Augustin-Jean Fresnel, a physicist and mathematician, conducted experiments on prisms to bend light from a single light source to improve the range and efficiency of lighthouses. The Portland Head Light is still a working lighthouse but now uses an aerobeacon. But the science of refraction in a Fresnel lens was used until 1958.
We also learned that over the years the light house was rebuilt to raised and lower the height – but finally settled on a height consistent with Fibonacci numbers and it’s idea of perfect proportions. (I’m a sucker for Fibonacci as evident here!)
Here I am contemplating the science of the Portland Head Light in the same place Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once contemplated the Portland Head Light in his poem “The Lighthouse“. (You may also remember another poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that made a guy named Paul Revere famous.)
Lobstering in Portland, ME
After touring the Portland Head Light in the morning, we went on a Maine lobstering tour with the Lucky Catch Cruise.
During this tour, we learned how to pull up lobster traps, determine if a lobster was big enough to keep, and even how to tell if they were a boy or girl! Did you know that federal lobstering laws require that female lobsters carrying eggs must be notched – or marked on the tail – and thrown back so that they can reproduce more lobsters. (If you are curious – this one below is a boy!)
Fun fact: Did you know that lobsters can regrow their claws? See the little red claw on the one below? I had no idea that a lobster can regenerate lost limbs, claws, and antennae! They also shed their shells (or molt) and then turn around and eat their shells for the minerals to help harden their new soft shell!
We all had fun catching and learning about lobsters on this hour long boat ride. All in all we caught about 3-4 lobster and a crab. We even saw a bald eagle while we we were lobstering!
But one of my favorite moments was when we got to see these guys sunning themselves on the rocks… this was one of my favorite sightings of the entire trip!! Fun fact: Did you know that harbor seals molt once a year? They shed their coats and rest on rocks soaking up the sun during the molting process!
Honestly, this lobster cruise helped us appreciate this amazing lobster roll that we had while in Portland, ME. We highly recommend the brown butter lobster roll at Eventide Oyster Company…🤤 it was so incredibly delicious! The whoopie pie was a nice dessert too!
Whale Watching in Gloucester, ME
On day 2 of our New England adventure, we drove from Portland, ME to Gloucester, ME and boarded a ship with the 7 Seas Whale Watch which we highly recommend!
I suggested to a friend in Texas who is also whaling in July to be sure to bring light jackets and sunscreen! One of us who really loved whale watching got a bit sunburned on the adventure. Another one of us (who actually loves riding in boats) got a bit seasick 🤢so bring some mints, crackers, or motion sickness medicine just in case.
This whale touring company took us on an hour boat ride in the Gulf of Maine to Jeffery’s Ledge where the whales feed. They claim to have a 99% chance of seeing either humpback whales, fin whales, minke whales, dolphins, or other wildlife. I didn’t appreciate how close we would be getting to the whales and for how long we would be observing them. The guide was incredibly knowledgeable and the crew was extremely helpful – especially when a few of us got motion sickness.
Thankfully, it was a gorgeous sunny day and we spent about an hour learning and watching three humpback whale swimming around our boat. At one point we were so close, we could feel their spray that they aspirated when they breeched out of the water!
Fun fact: Humpback whales are identified with their fin patterns! Our guide knew which whales we were watching and their names – Chromosome, Whirlwind, and Tripod. She suggested looking at Happy Whale – a citizen science site that logs whale sightings. Another fun fact: Female humpback whales will travel to warmer waters to birth – so Tripod has been seen in the Dominican Republic before returning to the North Atlantic!
By the end of our afternoon trip, Allie was able to identify each whale by their tale fins and I could definitely spot the whites of the whale fins before they surfaced. This was by far one of the top most memorable experiences we’ve had as a family….
New England Aquarium in Boston, MA
We traveled from Portland, ME and spent a few days in Boston taking in the sights and sounds of Harborfest and the week long Fourth of July celebrations. The New England Aquarium is located on the North End of Boston, so after taking exploring historic Boston – we decided to head indoors and check out some more sea life. We were greeted by African and Rockhopper penguins which were awesome because Andrew knew a ton about Rockhopper penguins from a school project.
We said hello to Myrtle the Turtle who has been at the New England Aquarium since the 1970’s! The aquarium also supports The Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance Act – a project that rescues sea turtles some of who get get trapped in Cape Cod trying to swim to warmer waters.
We found the Giant Pacific Octopus who has to be in a special double walled tank to keep it from escaping and they apparently also give it puzzles to play with! Allie knew a ton about octopuses because she read the “Soul of an Octopus” which was about a scientist at the New England Aquarium who studied octopuses.
We wandered into the shark section (and after singing the really annoying “baby shark” song) we saw coral catshark egg cases! These things blew my mind watching the baby sharks in the eggs. Fun fact: The dark spot below in the egg case is the egg yolk and once the baby shark grows and absorbs the yolk it will hatch. This one will hatch in October 2025! Mind.blown. 🤯
If we didn’t think we could find out even more about lobsters – can you see the blue one below!? Another fun fact: Lobsters can be orange, blue, or even multi-colored depending on genetics and diet.
There are so many places on this trip that I haven’t even listed here – especially those we did in Boston, MA – like walking the Freedom Trail, visiting Paul Revere’s House, going to a Red Sox game, visiting Harvard, and touring the MIT Museum. But as the kids are getting older – we are absolutely loving exploring new places with them and hope that your next family vacation is inspired by some of our science travel too!
Leave a Reply