Dauphin Island’s Mobile Lab brought marine creatures to Billingsley School this week for students in grades kindergarten through high school.

“Our main objective is to bring the ocean to the students so that they learn to appreciate coastal Alabama,” marine educator Hazel Wilson said. “We give presentations when possible and bring our traveling touch lab sea exhibit to schools across Alabama.”

Wilson said the mobile lab is available for free to all schools due to grants that fund the lab to be able to travel and teach students about the sea.

“What is neat is we were able to come to this school and speak to all of the grades over a period of a couple of days,” Wilson said.

Wilson brought a “beach in a box” and preserved specimens including sea turtles, stingrays and reptiles.

“If you see something you are interested in, I encourage you to pick it up and touch it,” Wilson said.

Wilson placed the preserved specimens on tables at the front of the classroom with small notes encouraging the students to touch the items on the table.

“We essentially bring the sea to the students and our goal is for them to learn something about the sea that they might not have known before,” Wilson said. “A lot of kids who live in Alabama have visited the beach before, but I have come across some students who visit my presentations who have never touched sand. This allows them the opportunity to explore.”

Wilson explained to the group of students that many of the preserved specimens on the table came from fishermen who donated them to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab or were animals that had passed away.

“We like to preserve them and use them for educational purposes,” Wilson said.

Wilson spoke to the ninth graders about the opportunity to take a month-long academic course in marine science for grades 9th-11th grade students interested in the possibility of studying marine science in college.

Students have the opportunity to live at the Sea Lab at Dauphin Island, participate in more than 150 hours of field activities, laboratory work and classroom lectures.

They also have the opportunity to learn about marine animals, marine plants, various ocean ecosystems and more.

The course is offered June 21-July 17, 2015, with enrollment open Jan. 5.

Wilson said there are also various other overnight programs for different grades throughout the summer.

Ninth grader Spencer Simpson said she enjoyed learning more about the ocean and having the opportunity to touch the sea creatures.

“I thought the whole thing was just really cool,” Simpson said. “I have been to the beach a lot, but it is neat being able to touch everything. Normally, exhibits don’t like you to touch things but this one encourages you to, so that was really neat.”

For more information about the Dauphin Island programs, visit www.dhp.disl.org.