Some Penguin Problems

by Dr. Kate Biberdorf

  The trainer held what looked like a wand with a red bulb, which was for training. For Finn, she would tap him with the bulb and he would lie down. “He feels like a wet horse,” the emcee said, as the trainer touched him. “He likes rubs. Especially on his chest. He also likes Jell-O with no taste or flavor. And playing with ice.”

  Oh my. I started to write everything down in my notebook. I had so many super-duper facts. Way more than three.

  Lifting up a flipper, Finn waved goodbye, and I was waving goodbye too. Even though I knew he couldn’t see me, I was sure he could hear me. “Bye, Finn!” I shouted.

  That was so wonderful.

  “I bet you’re going to have a lot of questions,” said the emcee. “Which is good. Anytime you see a staffer, do not hesitate to ask us anything. Stay sea curious. And you can learn a lot just by observing.”

  She went on to explain that we’d start with general explorations of the galleries upstairs. “I’d recommend starting with either the Great Lakes or the Wild Reef, which you will need to take elevators to get to. It’s not an aquarium without a shark tank, and there are plenty of them in the Wild Reef.”

  Then we all turned to each other. “Where should we go first, Mrs. Crawford?” asked Julia.

  “I think you all should decide what you want to see.”

  “Let’s try the Wild Reef,” said Birdie, “and then maybe the Great Lakes.”

  “And then the penguins,” said Julia and I practically at the same time.

  Even though the aquatic show had been different from what we planned, it still had been absolutely amazing. I almost touched a sea lion!

  “Okay, everyone,” I said. “It’s time to check out those exhibits.” I couldn’t wait to find out what else we would see.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Quite a Sight!

  Magnetic Field (noun). An area where an object has the ability to have an influence on something else, which it can repel or attract. Think of it like how if you held up a lollipop, you’d attract your friend. And if you held up a dead fish, they’d probably turn and run the other way.

  THE WILD REEF WAS AMAZING. Especially the zebra sharks. I couldn’t take my eyes off them. They were all stripes and spots and swam around so elegantly. They live in tropical waters around reefs. Tala was especially taken with what looked like an eel tucked into some tunnels. She said he was like a magnet, and she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

  We passed by Memito’s grandmother followed by Elijah, Memito, Rory, and Jeremy. Amazingly, Jeremy said he’d gotten the best super-duper fact about a parrotfish.

  “It’s the coolest ’cause it covers itself in slime to go to sleep. Like snot pajamas.”

  “That’s gross,” said Memito.

  “No way! They do it for protection from parasites,” said Jeremy. “It’s awesome!”

  What was also awesome was the Great Lakes exhibit and the jellies, which looked like they were dancing and doing ballet. Those were Birdie’s words, of course.

  But most of all, I couldn’t wait to see my rockhopper penguins. I followed the signs, and sure enough, there they were.

  “Look! Look!” Behind the thick glass, there were so many penguins busy swimming in the water or waddling around. The aquarium had two kinds: Magellanic and rockhoppers. The Magellanics were black and white and had such a cute waddle. And they were about a half a foot taller than the rockhoppers. The rockhoppers had orange beaks and little yellow tufts above their eyes and hopped and bounced around. The water was so clear and blue, and the penguins had all kinds of nooks and crannies to hang out in.

  “I wonder if they play hide-and-seek,” mused Tala.

  “Girls, look,” said Mom. “That penguin is following the other one. Kate, it reminds me of you and Liam when you were younger.”

  Birdie whipped out her phone to take photos for me. “Kate, I’ll send you the pics when we get home. You’ve got to remember this cuteness.”

  “Isn’t this the best?” I shouted to Julia, sure that she would be happy. But instead she was intently reading everything. And looking glum. As Mom moved farther down the exhibit to check out some diving penguins with Tala, I noticed that Julia was definitely frowning.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked her.

  “I know everything,” she said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “We were supposed to find three super-duper facts. Something new that we learned at the aquarium. But with my research, I’ve already learned everything here.” She pointed to the information on the signs posted around the exhibit.

  “Are you sure?”

  She started listing facts. How penguins have fused bones. How they sneeze to get rid of salt in the water that they drink. How Magellanic penguins can swim fifteen miles per hour. How the rockhoppers make nests out of rocks. Wow. She really had done a lot of research after all. I was impressed that she knew way more than she used to back when she wanted penguins to be magenta.

  She started to pace. “What am I going to do?” she asked. “How am going to get my presentation done?”

  “Well, I know lots of facts about penguins,” I said. “I could tell you some facts and—”

  Julia shook her head. “No,” she said. “Those aren’t the rules. We’re supposed to learn something new at the Shedd.”

  I sighed. “But you’re learning from me, and we’re at the Shedd.”

  Julia folded her arms. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “You’re not being flexible,” I said in a voice that maybe was a little too sharp.

  “Neither are you,” she said. “You’ve been mad at me ever since I picked penguins as my sea creature to study.”

  “That’s not—”

  “It is,” she said.

  I hung my head. “You’re right. It’s true. It’s just that I love them so much. I even have posters of rockhoppers up in my bedroom.”

  “Well, I didn’t know anything about penguins. And I wanted to learn.”

  “That’s actually really cool,” I admitted. “I’ve enjoyed learning about sea lions, to tell you the truth. I’m sorry if I’ve been grumpy. And I’m sorry that you’re having trouble finding your super-duper facts.”

  Then at that moment Shanice walked by with her crackling walkie-talkie, and I had an idea. “The emcee said we’re supposed to be sea curious and to ask a staff person our questions. Let’s ask Shanice.”

  We both raced up to Shanice and asked her if she knew any more information about penguins. A huge smile stretched across her face. “I do,” she said. “But I know someone who knows even more than me. They are going to be feeding the penguins in about twenty minutes. But the trainers like to get to the exhibit early. Since you all missed that penguin show this morning, I can introduce you to the trainers and you can ask some questions.”

  “Really?” I asked.

  “Yes,” said Shanice. “See, here they come.” And sure enough, she pointed to a couple of trainers starting to enter the exhibit.

  I stared at the trainers with their buckets. Getting to talk to them would be so awesome.

  “Girls,” said Mom. She looked at her phone. “We better leave now if you want to get anything at the gift store. We have less than twenty minutes before we have to board the bus to go home.”

  “Already? Wow. I feel like we just got here,” said Tala.

  “Me too,” said Birdie, looking at her sketchpad. “But I definitely want to get some souvenirs.”

  “Same,” said Tala.

  “I actually wanted to get a penguin T-shirt,” admitted Julia.

  “There won’t be time to talk with the trainers and go to the gift store,” said Mom. “As a group we’re going to have to choose one or the other.”

  “Then I pick staying with the trainers,” stated Julia.

  Mom glanced at Shanice
, and then she studied her phone. “I’ll tell you what,” said Mom. “I’ll stay here with Julia, and whoever wants to go to the gift shop can go. It’s right around the corner, and Elijah’s mom just texted me that her group is there.”

  “I’d like to go to the gift shop,” said Tala.

  “Me too,” added Birdie.

  Mom flicked a glance at me. “Kate, are you going to stay?”

  I studied the exhibit and swallowed. I thought about my promise to Liam to pick out the perfect stuffed animal, hopefully an awesome cephalopod. And how I also wanted a T-shirt. “No, I’m going to the gift store,” I said. “And if you give me your money, Julia, I can buy you the penguin shirt.”

  “Wow. Thanks so much,” said Julia, and she handed me twenty dollars and told me she wore a kids’ large.

  Then Tala, Birdie, and I made our way to the gift shop as I took one last look at an adorable rockhopper who was bouncing along the rocks. “See you all back at the bus!” said Shanice.

  Then I thought about Finn, who had been through so much.

  And he was so playful and had figured out how to adapt.

  I realized something. I already knew a lot about penguins.

  But I didn’t know so much about sea lions.

  And it was sometimes important to adapt. Even if some of the changes weren’t what you wanted.

  I had wanted to do my report on penguins.

  But now I was really glad that I was doing my presentation on sea lions.

  But I still really wanted to get my penguin T-shirt, and Liam his stuffed octopus toy. My heart felt all fluttery and happy thinking about that. Soon enough I’d have a T-shirt like all my friends to celebrate a wonderful day.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  Go with the Flow

  Molecular Flexibility (noun). This is the ability for molecules to be flexible. For example, in a rubber ball the molecules are in long chains and are weakly linked together. That’s why rubber is elastic and bounces—because the molecules can wiggle around to adapt to the motion of slamming into the ground.

  AT THE GIFT STORE, there were so many things to look at. Books, posters, shirts, and lots of stuffed animals. Elijah’s mom was in the book section, buying a stack of books to donate to the library collection at our school.

  Very quickly, I was able to find this adorable stuffed octopus for Liam. It had these cute arms that he would love to snuggle with at night.

  Tala found an awesome poster featuring sea stars. “It will look so perfect in my room,” she said. “Right next to my posters of the constellations of regular stars.”

  And Birdie was over by a section where they had some art supplies with aquatic themes. “Aren’t these colored pencils nice?” she said. The lid had a scene of a coral reef.

  “Definitely.”

  I glanced at my watch. We only had seven minutes before we needed to leave. I raced over to the T-shirt section.

  For the next few minutes, I searched for penguin shirts in my size, which was the same as Julia’s. Penguins must be popular, because they didn’t have a huge selection.

  “Oh no,” I said, flipping through the stack of shirts. “There’s a big problem.”

  “What is it?” said Birdie.

  “There’s only one kids’ large left.” I bit my bottom lip. “And Julia wanted me to get her one too.” I could tell her the truth that there was only one left and because she had stayed with the penguins, I had taken the shirt.

  No. I couldn’t do that.

  It didn’t feel right. I would never do that to Birdie or Tala. And I couldn’t do that to Julia either.

  Next to the penguins were the sea lion T-shirts. The image on one looked just like Finn, the sea lion who knew how to adapt and how to have fun. I thought about how much I’d loved meeting him that morning and how much I’d learned about sea lions. I took a deep breath. “I’m going to get this one instead,” I said, pulling out one in my size.

  “Are you sure?” asked Birdie.

  I paused for a second. But I was sure. I just had to be flexible, like molecules in matter. They have to bend and twist to adapt to their environment, and I was just going to have to do that too.

  “Completely,” I said. “When we come back this summer, I can get a penguin shirt.”

  “Or maybe I can make one for you,” said Birdie. “Based on my photos.”

  “Wow,” I said. “That would be so cool.” We went up to the cashier. First, I got Julia her shirt. The cashier gave me back the change, which I put in my pocket for Julia. Then I gave the cashier my shirt and Liam’s octopus. “That will be forty-two dollars,” said the cashier.

  Forty-two dollars? I can’t believe I forgot to look at the price tags. I pulled out my ten ones and six five-dollar bills. I was two dollars short. I looked at the money in my hand, and then I looked at the cashier. If only my mom had come, I could have asked her for the two dollars.

  “I . . . um . . . I don’t have enough.” I thought about Liam and how excited he would be to get the octopus. There was no way I could go home without it. “I guess I have to put away the shirt,” I said as I started to turn away from the cashier.

  “No, you don’t,” said Birdie, walking up next to me, and she plunked down two dollars. “I got you.”

  “You really don’t have to do that,” I told her.

  “I know,” she said. “But I’m doing it anyway.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  “That’s what best friends are for,” she added, and then she paid for her coral reef–themed colored pencils too. I thought about which chores I could do that weekend so I could pay her back. Maybe not with two dollars, but with a gift that she would really love. Maybe some special art paper for her colored pencils. Or some homemade brownies. I wanted her to know that I appreciated how great a friend she was. Always.

  Birdie took her bag from the cashier, and then we joined hands and skipped back to the bus.

  “I’m super glad I saved my pretzels,” I said. “We can share them quickly before boarding.”

  “Yum,” said Birdie, biting into the salty-sweet snack. “It’s so good.”

  “Just like our day at the aquarium,” I said.

  We met some animals, we learned some science, but most of all, we got to spend some time with our friends.

  Chocolate-Covered Pretzels

  Materials:

  Baking sheet

  Parchment paper (or nonstick cooking spray or silicone baking mat)

  4 ounces white baking chocolate

  4 small microwave-safe bowls

  4 tablespoons vegetable shortening

  Microwave

  1 bag of pretzel rods

  4 ounces unsweetened baking chocolate (100% cacao)

  4 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate (56% cacao)

  4 ounces milk chocolate baking chocolate (32% cacao)

  Refrigerator

  Protocol:

  Prepare a baking sheet (spray with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment paper or silicone baking mat).

  Break up the white chocolate into small, bite-size pieces.

  Place it into Bowl 1.

  Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable shortening to Bowl 1.

  Microwave Bowl 1 for 30 seconds.

  Remove from the microwave. Analyze the appearance of the chocolate and then stir.

  Continue to microwave the chocolate in 10-second increments (stirring after each session) until all of the chocolate has melted. Record your observations.

  Dip the pretzel rod into the melted chocolate and rotate to coat evenly. PRO TIP: Use a basting brush to brush the chocolate onto the pretzel for more even coverage.

  Place the pretzel on th
e baking sheet.

  Repeat steps 8–9 for four more pretzel rods.

  MINI-EXPERIMENT: Consider brushing the salt off one of the pretzels before dipping it in chocolate. You can compare the way the chocolate sticks to the unsalted pretzel versus the ones with salt.

  Repeat steps 2–10 for each of the other chocolates. Do your best to break up each of the chocolates into similar-size pieces. Make sure to record the total time it takes for each chocolate to melt, and describe the final appearance of each chocolate on the pretzels.

  Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for 20–30 minutes (until all of the chocolate has solidified).

  Compare the final products and then share your Chocolate-Covered Pretzels with your friends and family!

  How It Works:

  Vegetable shortening is made of triglyceride molecules that exist in the solid phase. The term shortening is a generic term that can be used for any type of fat that exists as a solid at room temperature. It first earned its name back in the nineteenth century, when it was used to shorten dough. The shortening disrupted the bonds within the dough, which made the resulting baked goods taste light and flaky.

  Vegetable shortening is a specific type of shortening that is made from vegetable oil. Traditionally, vegetable oil is made of triglyceride molecules that have one double bond. However, manufacturers can hydrogenate vegetable oil—basically, they add hydrogen to it—which converts that double bond into a single bond. When this happens, the vegetable oil turns into vegetable shortening (fat), which is a much better ingredient for pies.