Check Out the New 3-D Model!

3D Model at Visitor Center. Photo: Pete Winch

By Pete Winch

The  Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center at Crissy Field has a new teaching tool in the form of a 3D model of a section of the Farallon Islands. It is an educational and outreach prop for the Visitor Center marine science programs.

The 3D model is approx 3.5 ft long by 2ft wide by 3.5ft tall. It is constructed out of wood, chicken wire, and paper-maché and is populated by animals made out of clay and plastic. The top section shows the islands above the water with seabirds like Common Murre and Tufted Puffin, and Harbor Seals resting on the kelp  covered rocks.

The middle section portrays the shallow water/rocky intertidal ecosystem.  Rockfish hide in seaweed, and sunflower sea stars and abalone scour the rocks for food.

A humpback whale and calf rest near the surface and sea nettle jellies drift past a sunfish.

The bottom section of the island shows the shelf and the ocean depths.  A sperm whale cruises for squid, while the skeletal remains of a baleen whale is scavenged by hagfish.

The model was developed and constructed by Visitor Center naturalist Peter Winch, to help illustrate marine science themes like bathymetry, upwelling and organism adaptations. The Visitor Center teaches K through 6th grade and many of the younger grades are challenged by maps and pictorial diagrams.  The model helps students visualize the sanctuary in three dimensions and is used in the introduction of each program to highlight the diversity of the Farallones.

The Visitor Center programs are proving immensely popular with our spring summer semesters almost fully booked with over a hundred classes scheduled.  The Visitor Center also offers programs for community groups like senior centers and the developmentally disabled, so feel free to contact us if you have any questions about our programs.

Visitor Center Manager   Justin Holl      415 561 6625 ext 308

Visitor Center Naturalist  Peter Winch   415 561 6625 ext 310