Biology students travel to the Oregon coast to study and take classes

A dozen Brigham Young University biology students spent the entire month of May studying marine biology at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology.

Dr. Russell Rader led the group of 10 students and two teaching assistants on the month-long journey.

Nothing can quite compare to actually field experience in any field, graduate biology student and teaching assistantRiley Rackliffe said. Its rare for an inland university to have a chance to hold class in a tide pool crawling with biodiversity.

The OIMB is located on the shores of Coos Bay and offers easy access to many different marine life environments along the Oregon coast. Professors hold classes in buildings on the campus in addition to being able to explore ecosystems a few steps away.

One moment wed be looking at all of the organisms and then wed go back to the classroom and learn more stuff about them that I had no idea about, said Carrie Ingram, a biology education major from Walkersville, Maryland.

Lexi Balleck, a junior studying biology conservation, said she felt the trip fit her style of learning.

I am very much a hands on learner so I loved getting to actually go out into the ocean and seeing all the animals and the things we are learning about instead of just sitting in the classroom, Balleck said. We got to go play with everything we were learning about. It was a lot of hands on, playing with the animals and seeing the coast and everything.

Students were able to experience unfamiliar terrain and discover new caverns of mother nature.

Dr. Russell Rader poses with a new found friend.

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BYU students study marine biology in the northwest - Biology students travel to the Oregon coast to study and take ...