Adrienne Mason’s Contributions:
New Reads for Coastal Kids Are Packed with Fun and Facts
These 10 coastal-themed books deliver more than pretty pictures.
Jun 28, 2024 | 2,000 words, about 10 minutes
Peeking into the Ocean’s Microscopic Baby Boom
Springtime delivers the world’s tiniest zoo babies.
May 2, 2024 | 2,500 words, 14 photos
Ten Coastal Kids’ Books Offer an Ocean of Adventure
From the poles to puddles, this season’s selection of books wanders our fascinating world.
Nov 17, 2023 | 3,000 words, about 15 minutes
Are You Giving Flowers with a Side of Plastic?
A flower arrangement delivers all sorts of messages, but it can also deliver plastic waste to our environment, especially when it includes floral foam.
Feb 13, 2023 | 2,600 words, about 13 minutes
Lord of the ’Rhynchs
There and back again: a taxonomist’s quest to reveal the world’s tiniest realms.
Feb 27, 2018 | 3,700 words, about 19 minutes
Spineless Beauty
These tiny marine creatures are enormously photogenic.
Aug 21, 2017 | 850 words, 18 photos
The Foragin’ of Species
An unprecedented three-week scavenger hunt sets a baseline for marine biodiversity.
Aug 21, 2017 | 1,500 words, about 7 minutes
Life Interstitial
What does it take to live between the grains of sand?
Apr 28, 2017 | Interactive infographic
Here Be Tiny Dragons (and Other Micro Beasts)
Researchers reveal the microscopic life in between the grains of sediment.
Apr 18, 2017 | 5 min
An Ocean in the Parlor
Home aquariums were the newest fad in the natural history-crazed Victorian era. Philip Henry Gosse wrote about it in the Atlantic Monthly.
Mar 24, 2017 | 4,100 words, about 20 minutes
The Japanese Art of Sharing News
A mélange of art, news, and propaganda, woodblock prints spread the word on everything from tsunamis to the latest fashion.
Oct 24, 2016 | 900 words, about 4 minutes
Art and Accounting in the Age of Whaling
Hand-carved stamps helped whalers keep track of their catches and assess the success of their voyages.
Aug 8, 2016 | 1,200 words, about 6 minutes
Where Dead Whales Go to Live
Take a peek behind the scenes at the Smithsonian Institution’s marine mammal warehouses.
May 2, 2016 | 3 min 30 sec
The Micro Monsters Beneath Your Beach Blanket
Little things live big lives between grains of sand.
Mar 21, 2016 | 1,700 words, 8 photos
Out of This World: the Minnesota Seaside Station
More than a century ago, a group of students traveled from the American Midwest to Canada’s Pacific Coast to study seaweeds. Botanical Beach has been a unique outdoor classroom ever since.
Jan 25, 2016 | 3 min 15 sec
How Ecosystems Got a Keystone
One day in 1963, ecologist Bob Paine started plucking sea stars off rocks and tossing them into the sea. His study helped show how a species may be small in number but significant in its impact.
Nov 6, 2015 | 3 min 45 sec
Book Review: Rain
Since the first water fell and began to cool a fiery planet, rain has shaped our world. Writer Cynthia Barnett explores our relationship with rain.
Jul 17, 2015 | 500 words, about 2 minutes
No Sea Stars = Mussel Beach
Researcher Monica Moritsch tracks changes in an intertidal neighborhood when its main predator is gone.
May 20, 2015 | 3 min 15 sec
The Subterranean Cartographers
An intrepid team of scientists explores and maps the lava tubes of the Galapagos Islands.
May 4, 2015 | 500 words, about 2 minutes
The Pirate Naturalist
Talented navigator, diligent observer, and bad-boy buccaneer, William Dampier may be the most accomplished travel writer and naturalist you’ve never heard of.
Apr 22, 2015 | 500 words, about 2 minutes