LIHUE — Kauai’s beaches, and whales bring the five-weekend The Ocean Around Us to a close starting Friday evening at the Kukui Grove Center near the exhibition area.
“How to Think Like A Beach: An Overview of Kauai’s Dynamic Beaches” by Dr. Chuck Blay will open the weekend at 6 p.m. today. It covers some of Earth’s most spectacular beaches, including Hawaii’s longest, largest in terms of sand volume, and most dynamic beach, which is located on Kauai.
“Lying near the middle of the planet’s largest ocean, high energy waves and currents that approach from all directions constantly generate, mold and remold the volcanic island’s highly-variable sandy perimeter,” the geologist and oceanographer said.
Blay has been investigating Kauai’s beaches for more than 30 years. In the mid-1980s, he mapped the island’s perimeter, mostly on foot, in order to better understand the origins of the shoreline’s many geologic features.
Saturday’s focus is on whales and other marine life.
Training for the Sanctuary Ocean Count for the February month takes place from 10 a.m. to noon, led by Jean Souza of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.
Free hands-on activities for children follow from 1 to 3 p.m.
A new updated poster of Hawaii’s marine mammals will be distributed.
Starting at 2 p.m., the screening of award-winning films, “In the Wake of Giants,” and “Northern Wake,” on the disentangling large whales from life-threatening entanglements, will be shown. Ed Lyman of the Hawaiian Island Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary provides the narration, and following the films, first responders will be available for discussion.
