The world lost a great marine scientist yesterday. Dr. Eugenie Clark studied sea creatures by swimming in the oceans with them. This piece from the New York Times tells about her life better than I could. I think a key quote, though, for anyone who has or works with kids, is this:
Her mother worked in Lower Manhattan, and when the girl was 9 she began leaving her on Saturday mornings at an aquarium near the Battery. Fascinated, Eugenie persuaded her mother to buy her a 15-gallon tank and kept fish, toads, snakes and a small alligator at home.
That’s how becoming a scientist often works. A child (or an adult) finds something interesting about the world and figures out a way to learn more about it. And perhaps she spends her whole life studying these fascinating creatures or concepts. Eventually her life ends, but the legacy of what a person learned can live on in what she accomplished and what she shared with others.
In honor of Dr. Clark, I’ll leave you with some Lerner Publications titles on ocean animals–animals we know much more about because of her and other marine scientists. Share these with a kid you know…maybe she or he will become the next Eugenie Clark.