Save the Sea Otters

By Katherine, Castle, Sona, Tara

The Issue: Sea otters were killed for their fur. Sea otters aren't just cute — they play an important role in their environment. Sea otters eat sea urchins, and sea urchins eat kelp, and kelp forests are where lots of animals live. Without sea otters, the sea urchins would eat all the kelp.

SHOW TRANSCRIPT

[Castle] Hello, we are the "chicken nuggets." We are a group from the American Museum of Natural History's science program.

[Sona] Our topic is human consumption and sea otters being killed for their fur.

[Tara] This is a cruel act, which we wish to stop, but we need your help!

[Katherine] Here is our solution.

[Castle] Spread awareness by starting fundraisers, talking to somebody on the board of your governor, making websites and reaching out to people in the WWF.

[Sona] A way all of you can help is by spreading the word and talking to people that you know to help these cute furry friends.

[Tara] Please observe this skit of a sea otter and someone who wants its fur.

[Castle] I need another fur coat, cause is getting really chilly around here. Oh, look at here! I'll kill one of these sea otters for their fur.

[Katherine] No, don't kill the sea otters! Sea otters are very important to our environment. Sea otters eat sea urchins, sea urchins eat kelp, and kelp forests are places where many creatures live. In other words: It is an ecosystem! So please, don't kill the sea otters, because if you kill multiple, then all the kelp will vanish, and that would be terrible! Thank you for watching our presentation. We hope you enjoy the rest of your day.

Meet the Team: We chose sea otters because they are very important to our environment and it is not a topic you hear people worrying about.

Katherine | Age 9

Favorite plant or animal: Panda

Favorite books: Flora & Ulysses and Wonder

Favorite ice cream flavor: Cookie Dough

Favorite thing to do/hobby: Read and create cool stuff

Favorite place or object in the Museum: The area with the great Blue Whale—the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life

What you like most about science: You get to learn about topics and then try to help the topics.

Advice to kids who think science is boring: Try finding something that you find interesting. Science is in almost everything: sports, baking, and even how things are made! Once you find something interesting, find topics related to your interest and then learn about it!