Any questions, students?

Did you know there was a bird with blue feet…big, blue, webbed feet? Well, there is. It's the blue-footed booby! And the male blue-footed booby dances for the female, showing off his big, blue feet! The Galapagos is also home to the red-footed booby and the masked booby. (Do they also dance for each other?) Besides the boobies, the islands have frigate birds. The male frigates have a large, red throat sac that inflates like a balloon. Sound attractive? If you were a female frigate, it would! (Why are these birds called frigate birds? Isn't that a type of ship?) Marine iguanas can only be found on the Galapagos Islands. (Marine iguanas? Does that mean they live in the ocean?) These lizards grow to about three feet long and feed exclusively on algae and seaweed. I also hope to see giant Galapagos tortoises. Years ago, people realized these tortoises were in dire need of our protection. Fortunately, the Charles Darwin Research Station was established to help save these animals from extinction. (Why were they endangered? What made the population decrease? How many are left in the wild?) Speaking of Darwin, the Galapagos Islands are the birthplace of his theory of evolution. (What does his theory state? Didn't it have something to do with the beaks of finches?)

In class, we talked about the importance of asking scientific questions. Be observant and ask questions. Be that two-year old who always asks, "Why?”