Scouts set sail on an Introduction to Oceanography boat cruise and dive into hands-on lab work to earn their Oceanography Merit Badge! Scouts must attend with an accompanying adult (parent, guardian, or Troop Leader). Adults count toward program capacity, and the adult fee is $85. Scouts will literally and figuratively get their hands wet as they investigate the living and nonliving components of Long Island Sound, while participating in our flagship environmental monitoring program aboard the R/V Enviro-Lab. Scouts will study living organisms in the stern of the boat by hauling a trawl net, doing a plankton tow and pulling a lobster pot. In the bow of the boat, they’ll learn how to use a wide range of oceanographic equipment as they investigate physical and chemical aspects of the estuary, including temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, pH, and CO2. In the lab, scouts will make their own plankton net, collect a sample and observe plankton under the microscope. Scouts will also investigate the underwater topography of the sea floor.