Jane Stevens at UC Santa Cruz Long Marine Lab - This weekend, there's a most unusual event called the Teachers' Squid-Focused Weekend In-Service. The person who will be leading this focus on squid is TOPP's Bill Gilly, a professor of marine and organismal biology at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station.

According to the Camp Ocean Pines site, "Gilly saw his first live squid in 1974 and went on to study the behavior and biology of squid for more than three decades! Recently, he has been studying Humboldt squid (which can reach to 8 feet long overall and weigh over 100 pounds) by applying pop-up satellite tags to learn about their vertical and horizontal migrations. Come hear about these predators living in cold, dark waters where oxygen levels are low, and how they, in turn, are preyed upon by marlin, swordfish, sperm whales and other deep-diving marine mammals. Science teachers can sign up for a weekend at the camp to be guided through a jumbo Humboldt squid dissection!"

Gilly will also be doing two public lectures: one at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1 at Cambria Vets Hall, and the other at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2., at the Avila Beach Marine Institute.

Camp Ocean Pines's terrific lecture series is held during January and February, and provides a unique opportunity for people to meet some of TOPP's scientists in person. Lectures are held on Friday nights in Cambria and on Saturday nights at the Avila Beach Marine Institute. As Camp Ocean Pines executive director Chris Cameron notes, "at $5.00 per person, these lectures are cheaper than a movie, and much better for your mind!"

Last, but not least, in this series is George Shillinger, who will do a presentation about leatherback turtles and the Great Turtle Race on Feb. 8-10.