Music of the night

One of our students drawing at night
in the Palau Aquarium.

"Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation

Darkness stirs and wakes imagination"

- "Music of the Night" from The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Weber

My first night dive was a revelation - the reef was fuzzy because all the corals had their tentacles out to feed. Megafauna like sea urchins, brittle stars, and sea cucumbers that stayed hidden during the day inched their way out into the open. Small reef fish were all hidden away, but large nocturnal predators loomed. It was magical. 

Coral reef spawning happens at night - not just corals themselves, but worms, snails, and all sorts of species release their gametes by the light of the moon. I wanted our Found Color students to experience this. We had talked about natural cycles in class, such as how the sun's motion through the sky impacts the colors we see in nature. I wanted to tie this concept to science by showing our students that animals have circadian rhythms too. 

Me snorkeling with one of our students off of PICRC's 
dock. We used a black light to observe fluorescence.

Kim and I divided the class: I took students snorkeling one by one, and those who weren't underwater with me drew in the aquarium. Thankfully, PICRC was willing to keep the aquarium open late for us, and they even illuminated the main tank with a black light to make the corals fluoresce. I actually have an underwater black light, so the kids got to see fluorescence on the reef for real. They were entranced by it. I would hand them the light, put the yellow filter over their mask, and within three seconds, each of them would squeal "It's green!" A coral that had been dull beige in the daylight was suddenly glowing neon. 

The main objective of the Found Color class is to teach children to appreciate nature. They think Kim is teaching them to draw, but what she's really teaching them is to pay attention to the details of a coral. More than art or science, we are teaching observation. 

It was extremely satisfying for me to introduce our students to coral reefs at night. If our program succeeds, they'll walk away with a deeper appreciation for the habitats around them - and maybe they'll have picked up a new hobby too. I really enjoyed Found Color at night.