We were lucky to be treated to a trip to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, 
Maine, to participate in their program, LabVenture– Lobster:Untold Tales. Students became scientists as they rotated through a series of four 20-minute investigations focused around lobsters, their importance, habitat, survival, and lobstering in the Gulf of Maine.
Students, please let us know what you thought? Answer the following questions and post your comment below:
- What is at least one thing you learned about lobsters during your visit?
- Why are lobsters important to the Gulf of Maine?
- What is at least one thing you learned about being a scientist or scientific investigations as you did your study?
Science 6 at FMS 
1) I learned that lobsters can live up to 70 years old and the chance of catching a blue lobster is one in a million. Another thing I learned is that lobsters can be cannibalistic.
2) Lobsters are important to the gulf of Maine because they are a food source for people and are also part of the Maine economy.
3) I learned that before you embark on a journey with research you should find out how much research other people have already done.
1.One thing I learned about Lobsters at GMRI was that if a lobster has lots of protein it could have a different color than other lobsters.
2. Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they give us a food and they decompose dead species.
3.When you are doing scientific investigations you need to form a good Hypothesis and ask lot of Questions that you want to know.
I didn’t know that they can be up to 70 years old! That’s a cool fact!
Gulf of Maine Research Institute
One thing I learned about lobsters during my visit is that cutting their tails when they have eggs is like cutting our fingernails then they throw them back.
Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they help break down dead animals and they are part of the food chain.
One thing that I learned about being a scientist or doing scientific investigations is learning how to a hypothesis and all of the steps to find a conclusion. Plus to hold a live lobster.
I would always imagine that getting a part of my tail cut off would hurt but I guess not 🙂
Lab venture
1. One thing I learned about lobsters was when the females have eggs they cut a v notch on the back of their tail.
2. Lobsters are important to the gulf of Maine because they keep up the food chain. And they are good for us too eat.
3. One thing I learned about being a scientist is if you talk about observations with other scientists and you disagree with them there is no right or wrong answer sometimes. Maybe you could be right or you could be wrong. No scientists know yet if you are right or wrong. Another thing I learned about being a scientist is taking pictures and also taking down notes.
One thing that I learned was that lobsters are cannibalistic.
One reason why lobsters are important to the gulf of Maine is they brake down things that have died.
One thing that I learned was you have to look closely at the thing you are researching and take pictures.
Lobsters are cannabalistic? Ahh I didn’t know that!
Two things that I learned about lobsters during my visit was that lobsters are cannibalistic and that it is one in a million chance of seeing a blue lobster.
Lobsters are important to the gulf of Maine because they break down dead things.
One thing I learned about being a scientist is that you have to look very closely at everything and use the scientific method.
1 One thing that I learned about lobsters is that the flap their tail to make dust and that way they can get away from predators.
2 lobsters are important to the gulf of Maine because that they break down dead sea creatures.
3 One thing that I learned about being a scientist is that you look really closely at the thing your researching and take pictures of it.
Lab Venture
A couple of things I learned were how a lobster trap works, why they have two different claws, and how they use their tail.
Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they help break down all the dead things, they are also an important part of the food chain, and they are a food source for people.
I learned that you have to follow the steps of the scientific method to figure out the answer to your question but sometimes you have to do it more then once.
1.One thing I learned about lobsters during my visit was that they could only swim backwards.
2.Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they help break down dead things, are a food source, and they are apart of a food chain.
3.One thing I learned about being a scientist or doing scientific investigations was that you have to take pictures and notes. You have to take your time to investigate. If you rush you may write something you don’t really want.
Lab Venture
1. I learned at the juvenile lobsters are considered krill. And they swim up to the top of the water. I also learned that lobsters that have already been caught have v-notches that tell other lobstermen that they have already been caught. 2. Lobsters are important because they create jobs for lobstermen. In addition, they help break down dead thing at on the ocean floor 3. Doing research on lobsters helps people get to know them.
Rachel, i thought that u did a fab jopb!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 : )
I had no idea they could only swim backward! Nice job!
What I learned at the GMRI is that if a lobsterman catches a female with eggs then he would put a v-notch on the tail so if other lobstermen catch it then they know that it is a female.
Lobsters are important to the gulf of Maine because they help decompose dead species.
One thing I learned about being a scientist is that you have to form a good hypothesis.
LABVENTURE
One thing that I learned on my trip is that the female lobsters have a wider tail than the males, also that if lobstermen catch a female with babies they cut a “v” in their tail and put her back in the ocean. Did you know that there are only 1 out of 3million lobsters is blue.
Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they are a very good source of food for people who live near the Gulf of Maine. They also play an important role in the ecosystem. They help clean up the seafloor and they are a source of income for lobstermen.
One thing I learned about being a scientist is that they have a really hard and important job. One thing I learned about scientific investigation is that there are five steps. 1. The question 2. Hypothesis 3. Observation 4. Investigation, and last but not least number 5 is Conclusion. I also learned that scientists have to actually go out and collect the evidence before finding the conclusion.
One thing I learned about lobsters at GMRI was that as larva the lobsters have a lot more legs than they do as adults. Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they are a good food source, they play an important role in the ecosystem, they provide income for fisherman, and they help clean up the sea floor. One thing I learned about scientific investigations is that a good system helps a lot when trying to get the answer to a question.
Cool! I like your first fact! I didn’t know that before the trip!!!!! 🙂
Me neither that cool!
Lab Venture
Something that I learned on my visit to GMRI is that lobsters swim backwards! They swim backwards for protection because they use their tail to sweep up the sand-that is lying on the bottom of the ocean-so predators that are looking for lobsters get lost in the sand, giving the lobsters just enough time to hide under a rock! I did not know lobsters were that smart!
Lobsters are very important to the Gulf of Maine because they are a great food source to people who live by the coast and even people who don’t live by the coast! They also are important because it gives lobstermen an industry and a job to do. Lastly, they help clean up the sea floor.
One thing I learned about scientific investigations is that there are 5 steps in making a scientific method. First is the question, then you make a hypothesis, the third step in the scientific method is observation. The next one is the investigation and lastly, the conclusion.
Female lobsters have a bigger tail to store more eggs. Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they help clean up the sea floor. One thing I learned about being a scientist is that you have to make observations in order to find out information.
I did not know that. Good job!
When I heard that at the Gulf of Maine place I was kinda weirded out
Good Job!!! 🙂
Things I learned about lobsters is that they swim back words and when there young they have more legs then when they are young. lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because There a good food source for people, they provide a job for lobstermen they keep some populations from over growing and taking over. Just because someone else has a different idea doesn’t mean that there wrong.
And lobsters eat any thing
They don’t eat sharks 😉
They don’t eat humans either. JK
Something I learned was that a female lobster has a wider tale for storing eggs. Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they provide a job for people and they help clean up the sea floor. One thing about being a scientist is that you have to make videos and share your ideas.
One thing I learned about lobsters during my visit is that if they catch a female lobster with babies/eggs they put a v shaped punch in their tail so the babies don’t die. Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they help clean up the sea floor. One thing I learned about being a scientist is that you and another scientist that disagree can both be right, you could both be wrong, or one is right and one is wrong.
One thing we learned is that lobsters swim backwards.
Lobsters are important to Maine and industries because we
can sell them to other states and make money and that their
a good food source for people on the gulf of Maine and
provide an income for fishermen in Maine. One thing I
learned about doing scientific investigations is that
you have a lot to study about until you get to your final
conclusion.
I learned that females have a wider tail that they can hold there eggs. Lobsters are important to gulf of Maine because they can be made into food and they also play an important role in the ecosystem.
One thing I learned about scientific investigations is that you always have to have a conclusion after all the details you explain. The 5 steps to figure out the observations that you look at.
One thing I learned during my visit about lobsters is that 1 in 30 million are the color blue versus the reddish brown normal color. Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they provide a job for fishermen. One thing I learned about being a scientist is that they can fight about the answer to a question and can both be right.
One thing I learned was that lobsters have at least 9 adaptations, the tail, the shell, the eyes, the appendages, the spikes, the claws, the mouth and the antennae. Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they’re an important source of income for many Mainers. One thing I learned about being a scientist is that you might have to check something many different ways.
LABVENTURE
Something that I learned about lobsters during my visit is that 1 in 30 million are blue, when they catch a female that is laying eggs they cut a V cut in the tail so that when other people catch the same one they know that that one just laid eggs.
Lobsters are important to the GMRI because they are good food source, they play an important role in the ecosystem, and they help clean up the sea floor.
One thing that I learned about being a scientist is there are 5 steps to being a scientist. Sometimes scientist can disagree and both be right or wrong.
I didn’t know lobsters could live up to 70 years old. That’s really cool.
LAB VENTARE One thing I learned at GMRI is how to tell a male and a female apart a female has a bigger tall and the end of there tall is softer and one more thing I learned was that when they are small they have more legs. Lobsters are important to the Golf of Maine because they provide a food to us and other animals. I learned that scientists can be both be right and they will sometimes fight.
Lab venture
Something I learned was that baby lobster rely more on sight than their other senses. Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they play an important role in the ecosystem. One thing I learned about being a scientist is that some times when scientists disagree they can both be right.
GMRI:
One thing I learned at GMRI was also that if a lobsterman catches a female, s/he puts a v-shaped notch on her tail. Lobsters are important to the gulf of Maine because they are important to the food chain! One thing I learned about being a scientist is that sometimes people can be right or wrong in ALOT of different ways. 🙂
LabVenture! Again… Sorry
One thing that I learned about lobsters at my visit to the Gulf Of Maine Research Institute is that 1 in 1 million lobsters are blue! Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they are a reliable food resource for humans and other creatures. One thing I learned about being a scientist or doing scientific investigations is that most scientists disagree on a lot of things, but both can be wrong or right!
One thing that I learned about lobsters during our Lab Venture field trip is that their larva is much different than the mature lobster.
The larva itself when it’s first born is about as big as the matured lobsters eyeball. That’s about the size of a pea. Another interesting thing about the lobster’s larva is that it has many different features than the matured lobster. First of all the tail is much different it is more the shape of a dolphin or a fish. That surprised me a lot.
I think that lobsters are very important to the Gulf of Maine because many humans rely on them. Lobstermen, for example make an income off of these creatures. They also might rely on them for food. Also lobsters are very important to the food chain they have no natural enemy (besides the humans) but they eat many things and keep them from becoming invasive.
I think that being a scientist or doing these types of scientific investigations are very hard and they take a lot of effort and concentration. They also take patience and teamwork and I think that if you were to become some sort of scientists all those qualities will be very important.
Something I learned about lobsters during my visit to the Gulf of Maine Research Center was that in Maine if you are a lobsterman or woman you can’t catch lobsters with eggs, lobsters with V- notches (lobsters who have had eggs,) lobsters that are to big or lobsters that are to small. Another thing that I learned was that when you cut a V- notch in a lobsters tail, they couldn’t feel it. It’s like us cutting our fingernails. Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they are a good source of food. You also can’t find them in such abundance almost anywhere else so they also serve as a great way to bring money into Maine. One thing that I learned about is a scientist is that you need to be very observant. It’s really important to take lots of observations, and really look at things carefully.
At the Lab Venture program on Monday, one thing I learned was that full grown adult lobsters cannot move forward. They flap their tails to get away from predators. Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because lobstering can create jobs for people, plus the fact that it is a delicacy for people all over. I learned that when during scientific investigations, you have to be very precise and capture all the details. You have to have a good explanation and be prepared to present it to other scientists.
Labventure,
One thing I learned about lobsters was that the chance in catching a blue lobster is 1 in a million and if you put out less lobster traps its likely that lobster men make more money.
Lobsters are important to the gulf of Maine because they provide a source of food and they can be sold for money. One thing I learned about being a scientist is you must check all resources to see if it is correct. I also learned that when making a hypothesis you must know what you want to say before you take it on video.
I learned how much protein lobsters affects there colors. I also learned that when a lobster is in danger one of the possible moves they could do is whip there tail and make a cloud of dust in front of it and slip away under a rock. A female’s tail is larger then a male’s, because they hold the eggs, which can hold 5o,ooo and at least 1,ooo of them survive.
Labventures
I learned that lobsters can be different colors and the young lobsters can eat almost anything that can fit in their mouth. They are scavengers.
Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine, because they give money to lobster men and is a go food source.
Most of the work we did was guess and check until we found the answer. Scientists do this all the time, I think that’s amazing! –Zoe F
One thing I learned at the Gulf of Maine about lobsters was that the female lobsters had bigger wider tails for holding about 50,000 eggs of which only 1,000 usually survive.
Why I think lobsters are important to the Gulf if Maine is that they provide food for humans and other animals they reduce the population of other animals and plants and keep the food in balance. Second is that I provides lobstermen with money to help feed their family’s.
One thing I learned about being a scientist or doing a scientific investigation was that you had to get in and involved to get the full answers and it is fun doing it that way.
(1) I learned that lobsters can live up to 70+ years old! Also, I learned that lobsters will eat anything that is yummy to them.
(2) one reason lobsters are important to the gulf of Maine is that it is beneficial to lobster man and their families. Also, they are delicious for many people!
(3) One thing I learned about being a scientist and doing scientific investigations is that it takes a lot of work to find out what something may do or eat, like finding out what a lobster LIKES to eat would be very hard to find out!
I loved going to the gulf of Maine research center and I hope to go to similar places!
1. One thing I learned about lobsters during the LabVenture field trip was that the larvae are as big as a mature adults eye, which is about the size of a pea. I hadn’t known that! Also, I learned that the female’s tail is wider than the male’s so she can carry her eggs. She carries about 50,000, but only about a thousand survive to become an adult.
2. Lobsters are important to the gulf of Maine because they belong to many food webs and food chains. Sometimes humans are even at the top of one of their food chains. Lobstermen make a living out of catching and selling them.
3. One thing I learned about being a scientist is, it’s hard! Most of the time your research doesn’t go as planned, and you can get frustrated. When a project does go right though, you want to punch the air in victory.
One thing that I learned about lobsters during my visit is that they can live up 70 years old! And I learned that every one lobster in a million is blue. Also that from what lobsters eat when they are young determines their color when their older.
lobsters are important to Maine because they play a important part in the food chain. And it gives jobs to people in Maine. And it also gives us something to eat! Yum!
one thing that I learned about being a scientist or doing scientific investigations is that it can be hard sometimes, and you have to concentrate a lot.
COOKIES!!!!
1.One thing I learned about lobsters on our trip to the Gulf of Maine research institute was what small lobsters eat. One thing small lobsters eat is plankton.
2.One reason lobsters are so important is that they are a large part of the Maine water front economy. Another reason lobsters are important to the gulf of Maine is that they are part of our marine ecosystem.
3.One thing I learned about being a scientist is that you have to observe every thing about the field you work in, or you may miss some vital information.
1.The one thing I learned about lobsters was that the female carries 1,000 eggs and when the lobsterman captures on he clips her tail to let other lobsterman know that she is or was a mother.
2.They are important because they keep up the food chain and also decompose dead things.
3. one thing I learned was that you have to study them carefully and when you do the
report you are saying what you think is write or wrong.
One thing I learned about lobsters during our visit it that they like to live or stay under things for protection and when a predator is coming after them they flap their tail to “kick” it.
Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because the people who work at the Gulf of Maine Research Institution have to study them and if there were no lobsters than there wouldn’t be anything to study and they keep the lobster population under control. Also the lobsters keep the population of other animals down when they eat them.
One thing I learned about being a scientist is that they do a ton of work and they study some pretty interesting things.
That is what I learned when I went to the Gulf of Maine Research Institution.
Lab Venture
Christian Potts
1. I learnt many things about lobsters at the gulf of Maine research institute. But the most memorable is that females can carry thousands of eggs and that if a female is caught carrying eggs they have to let her go then the lobsterman has to put a v-notch in the female’s tale to protect her from being caught again.
2. Many Mainers that have a job as a lobsterman depend on them for a salary. Also Maine needs them because they are a common food source for humans and other predators. And they keep the food chain in balance.
3. The scientific process I didn’t know how that worked now I do.
1) What is at least one thing you learned about lobsters during your visit?
One thing I learned about lobsters is where they like to live. They like to live underneath rocks and corals.
2) Why are lobsters important to the Gulf of Maine?
They are important to the Gulf of Maine because people like to cache them and eat them if there was no lobster’s people wouldn’t be happy.
3) What is at least one thing you learned about being a scientist or doing scientific investigations?
You do a lot of work if you are a scientist epically if you are studying something.
A one thing I learned is that lobsters are most abundant on the gulf of Maine. Lobsters are important to the gulf of Maine in many ways like they give lobsterman jobs; they also get us a lot of money. One of the things that I learned about being a scientist is that you need to do everything in order. I learned a lot of things at GMRI.
One thing I learned about lobsters is what the larva eats. I learned they eat plankton. Lobsters are important to the gulf of Maine because, if we had no lobsters, then nothing would eat the plankton and that species would over populate. When I visited the gulf of Maine research center was how lobsters reproduce, and how they swim.
(1) I thought that was fun! It was interesting to learn what lobsters eat how they live and I never knew that they shed! I thought they kept they same shell. And that they can eat each other, and also that they’re cooler is caused by the amount of protein in their body.
(2) Lobsters are important to the golf of Maine because they are a species in the food chain so things have to eat then and they have to eat other things. Or else the population will over grow.
(3) One thing I learned about being a scientist and doing scientific investigations is that you can’t be afraid to hold and examine a lobster and how it works and functions. But you also need to be committed to your job, and be interested in what you are doing.
1. One thing I that I learned about lobsters in my trite to the gulf of Maine research Is that the female lobster can have hundreds to thousands of eggs at once and that the fisherman can’t keep the females that have a V-cut in their tales.
2. Lobsters are important to the gulf of Maine because they are food for us and they aloud us to have more jobs, witch means money for the lobsterman.
3. one thing I learned about being a scentist is that it isn’t all that boring and it isn’t all that easy, you do need to research things but it will give you more info.
1) One thing I learned about lobsters during my visit was that there is an abundance in the Gulf of Maine, but they stretch all the way down to North Carolina.
2) Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they give jobs to lobstermen and give jobs to the people that sell the lobsters that were caught by the lobstermen.
3) One thing I learned about being a scientist or doing scientific investigations is that sometimes you have to work in a team to try and find what you’re looking for.
One thing that I learned about lobsters in my visit is the V-notch. When a lobsterman catches a lobster that has a V-notch they have to throw it back into the ocean. Lobsters are important to the GMRI because they provide jobs for the lobstermen and attract tourist. One thing that I learned about being a scientist or doing scientific investigations is that it’s not all about formulas; it’s also about the environment.
First, One thing I learned while at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute is that juvenile lobsters eat closer to the surface than full grown lobsters.
Next, lobsters are important because they provide jobs for lobstermen and are a big tourist attraction.
Last, one thing I learned about being a scientist is that you have to be patient and try again and again.
Lab Venture
1. I learned at the juvenile lobsters are considered krill. And they swim up to the top of the water. I also learned that lobsters that have already been caught have v-notches that tell other lobstermen that they have already been caught. 2. Lobsters are important because they create jobs for lobstermen.3. Doing research on lobsters helps people get to know them.
David Lee science
1.One of the tings I learned about lobsters was that baby lobsters are named plankton.
2. One of the reasons that lobsters are important is because the Gulf of Maine is a huge place and they are an important part of the ecosystem.
3.I learned that being a scientist you don’t always get the answers you think you are going to get.
NICE DAVID!
(1) One thing I learned about lobsters during my visit is that they start out as larva.
(2) I think lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they provide jobs for lobstermen and they attract tourists.
(3) Something I learned about being a scientist or doing scientific investigations is that you should always have a hypothesis.
One thing I learned about lobsters during my visit was how to tell a male from a female lobster. Male: Has hard, shelly swimmerets. Female: Has soft, feathery swimmerets.
Lobsters are important to the GMRI because the lobsters attract tourists.
One thing I learned about being a scientist or doing scientific investigations was that being a scientist isn’t all about the chemistry and stuff like that, it could also be about something like the lobster experiments/investigations!
From my trip to the GMRI, I leaned that baby lobsters are classified as plankton as well as eating it, adult lobsters have two different types of claws- a blunt one for crushing and a sharp, spiked one for cutting and tearing.
I think lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they provide lobstermen and the sellers of lobsters with jobs and are a key part of the Gulf’s ecosystem.
I learned that scientific investigation could be used to do anything that involves acquiring knowledge and is a very good way to sort out the steps to researching information.
1) One thing I learned about lobsters during my visit was that juvenile lobsters like to live in cobble areas such as Kettle cove.
2) Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they offer many jobs such as lobstermen, sellers of the lobster, or merchandise to tourists or locals.
3)One thing I learned about being a scientist is that I learned how to take good photos and document my information on video. Also, one thing I learned about I learned about doing a scientific investigation is that I learned how to make a hypothesis.
GMRI:
1) What I learned during our visit is that if a female has babies it has to be thrown back and they put a v-notch in their tail and you have to throw a fish back if it is to big.
2) Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they are food for people and other animals also it helps lobsterman to make money.
3) One thing I learned about being a scientist or doing scientific investigations is study your species very carefully and give good reliable information.
Bailey coffin
One thing that I leaned about lobsters is that the lobster men/women must put a notch in a females tale finn.
Lobsters are important to the golf of Maine because the lobstermen have to make money.
One thing that I learned is that they have to work hard to get and the info.
One thing I learned about lobsters during my visit is that juvenile lobsters swim up to get their food in the water. Also I think that lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because they give us food and they give a job to catch them and sell them. Another thing I learned about being a scientist is that you need to look at all your information and check your information over again, and that is what I think about being a scientist.
(1). I leaned that the difference between a male and female lobster is that their “swimmerets” are soft and feathery on the female and stiff and hard on the male.
(2). Lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine for two main reasons the first is that its part of the ecosystem. It allows for complete balance, with out who knows what would happen? The other reason is tourists; tourists come to Maine to eat Maine lobster, which helps keep the Maine economy flowing.
(3) I leaned about forming a hypothesis, which gives you a question to focus on. This allows for more focused research.
Thanks Gulf of Maine Research Center!
LabVenture,
One thing I learned about lobsters is that juvenile lobsters swim to the surface to get their food. Also, lobsters are important to the Gulf of Maine because it draws tourists to the gulf, and provides jobs for lobstermen. Studying lobsters helps people to know what the species are so in the future there will be no trouble figuring out how they live later on.
1. One thing I learned was that the lobster eats krill.
2. The lobster is important because they make jobs for people they also bring tourists to Maine.
3. One thing that I learned about being a scientist is that you always do not agree on something that another scientist.