In January, Science Seminar students participated in the annual "Talking Science" event at Rockefeller University, where they learned through lectures and activities about the physics and neuroscience of communication in dolphins. Students heard from Rockefeller University Professor Marcelo O. Magnasco, Ph.D., who presented the talk "The Secret Songs of Dolphins: Decoding Their Mysterious Underwater Conversations." Students then participated in a Q and A session with the speaker as well as an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session with the speaker. Professor Magnasco received many terrific questions from Nightingale students and he was excited to answer them all.

Students then participated in interactive activities led by scientists in Dr. Magnasco's lab, including an activity where students explored echolocation while blindfolded. They also participated in demonstrations on the physics of sound waves and chatted with NY aquarium scientists about the marine life in the NYC area waterways, and examined teeth, bones and pelts from dolphins, otters and whales.

“What I loved most about the trip was being able to visualize vibrations in our real world,” reflected Eugenia D. ’27. “We were able to play around with a Chladni Plate, which allowed us to see the different patterns that the vibrations made with sand. This was very beneficial, as previously, we learned about dolphins' use of echolocation and how they produce different clicks based on their respective task. This has proved to help scientists differentiate between dolphin clicks and analyze their complexity. I entered the seminar with little to no knowledge about dolphin clicks and left more enlightened and curious about the many possible sounds that dolphins use to communicate with echolocation.”

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