Beth Simmons has coauthored a children's book based on research conducted at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

Sharing Secrets with Children

New book for young readers promotes scientific discovery through curiosity

A seabird, a whale, and a penguin are separated by thousands of miles of Pacific Ocean. Yet the three animals are connected. What’s the link? That’s the mystery at the heart of Sea Secrets: Tiny Clues to a Big Mystery, a new children’s book released in September that was coauthored by Beth Simmons of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego.

The book was the brainchild of Mark Ohman, a Scripps biological oceanographer, and its concept was inspired by research conducted at two of the National Science Foundation’s Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Centers: the California Current Ecosystem (CCE) site, based at Scripps, and Palmer Station in Antarctica.

Simmons, education and outreach coordinator for both LTER programs, said she worked with Ohman, head of the CCE site, and Hugh Ducklow of the Palmer Station program to find a way to publicly promote aspects of the collaborative research between the two sites.

“The book uses the Pacific Ocean as the backdrop to join two seemingly distant sites by exploring their ecosystems and their food webs,” said Simmons, who worked with children’s author Mary Cerullo and illustrator Kirsten Carlson in the book’s creation. “I felt a children’s book is a good way to ignite curiosity and promote science literacy. We used three charismatic creatures to help unfold the mystery.”

Simmons, a former high school teacher with a master’s degree in curriculum design from UC San Diego, said she tapped into the expertise of many blue whale, penguin, and seabird researchers to help form the underpinnings of the story.

The mystery within Sea Secrets draws readers into the world of science exploration, field work, and ocean discovery. The journey starts off the West Coast of the United States in the California Current, the large current originating in the northern Pacific Ocean that flows along the western coast of North America, before moving south to the polar waters of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Clues are revealed throughout the story to help young readers learn basic ecological concepts. Through field sketches, watercolors, and photographs, the book encourages science discovery and promotes the concept of interconnectedness in the environment.

The book was funded by the National Science Foundation and is endorsed as a product of the International Polar Year.

Note: Simmons will be featured at a Sea Secrets book signing event on Feb. 21, 2009 at Birch Aquarium at Scripps.

—Mario C. Aguilera

November 2008