ODA hosts Little Medical School-Suncoast marine biology camp

Campers learned about pollution, tracking turtles, the layers of the ocean and more.

By Madison Bierl
| 5:00 a.m. July 15, 2025

Lakewood ranch resident Mackenzie Shin, 10 and Sarasota resident Tyler Hover, 8, explore their love for marine biology at a camp presented by Little Medical School-Suncoast.

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Fossilized shark teeth and shark vertebrate were just a few of the exhibits on display July 7-11 during the Little Medical School Suncoast's marine biology camp at Out-of-Door Academy.

The exhibits, which also included whale bones, barracuda teeth, sawfish tines, alligator teeth and more, were provided to help kids learn about ocean life and how to protect the environment. Little Medical School, which is geared toward kids ages 4-14, was founded in St. Louis and has programs in 17 states and the District of Columbia, as well as international locations in six countries.

Many of the fossils were not originally part of the camp, but when ODA bus driver Jeff Burulia heard the camp was being held, he was eager to share his collection and knowledge with the kids.

Sarasota resident Shaunice Lee, director of inspiration at Little Medical School Suncoast, joined Burulia to share her passion for marine biology with the campers.

“Exposure and inspiration is everything,” Lee said. “When you see people who are passionate about something, that passion can rub off on you.”

Burulia donated a bull shark's tooth, a dugong rib bone, a lemonshark's tooth and two fossilized conch shells to the campers. The conch shells are estimated to be 3 million years old. All of the fossils and shells he brought were from his personal collection. He estimated he owns 200,000 sharks' teeth and 30,000 fossilized sea shells.

Shaunice Lee, Liliana Kosmalki, 6 and Jeff Burulia eager to teach and learn about the fighting conch shells that Burulia brought from his personal collection. — Shaunice Lee, Liliana Kosmalki, 6, and Jeff Burulia talk about the fighting conch shells that Burulia brought from his personal collection.

“It was a blast, I loved it,” Burulia said. “They drew little pictures and gave me a (stuffed) turtle. This makes my day.”

Lakewood Ranch resident Liliana Kosmalski, 6, said she was a bit nervous about the fossils being sharp but she was eager to bring them home to join the dinosaur fossil she already has.

A big part of the camp was learning about and “adopting” stuffed sea turtles. Kosmalski named her stuffed turtle Shelley. She liked learning that there are people whose job it is to help turtles when they get stuck on land.

Lakewood Ranch resident Mackenzie Shin, 10, said she enjoyed tagging the turtles and learning how to untangle them from fishing nets.

The campers filled out an adoption form and named their stuffed turtles.

The camp staff members created various experiments to show how important it is to keep the ocean safe and clean.

Bradenton 8-year-old Rhylen Gareff said she loved learning about marine life through reading and hands-on activities at the camp. Her favorite sea creatures are dolphins and turtles.

Bradenton residents Rhylen Gareff, 8 and Savina Rink, 8, named their turtles Smore and Semor. Gareff brought her stuffed dolphin named Dolphin and Rink brought her own fossils from home. — Bradenton 8-year-olds Rhylen Gareff and Savina Rink named their turtles Smore and Semor. Gareff also brought a stuffed dolphin to the camp while Rink brought her own fossils as well.

North Port resident Katarina McCall, who has a degree in marine biology from Ave Maria University, was a camp instructor.

“The main point for a lot of these camps is just to get the students excited about science,” McCall said.

The campers were shown how similar a plastic bag looks to a jellyfish. This was to teach them not to litter, and that plastic can be mistaken for food that can harm other marine life if eaten.

McCall said three of the campers said they want to pursue marine biology after going through the camp.

Shin is one of the campers who might want to explore being a marine biologist.

“I want to make medicines for people or animals,” Shin said.

McCall likes to hear those kinds of dreams.

“She has opened her eyes to learn more and apply it,” McCall said of Shin.

Bradenton 8-year-old Savina Rink, brought her own fossils she found at Lido Beach and Turtle Beach. Rink was open to learning more about the ocean and said her favorite layer of the ocean is the abyssal zone, the deepest part of the ocean. Rink said she would be in the ocean every day if she could.

Another experiment taught the campers about oil pollution. McCall filled a tub with water and hot cocoa powder to represent an oil spill. The campers used cotton balls to “remove” the oil to show them oil is not easily separated from the water.

Instructor Katarina McCall implements the oil pollution experiment, stressing how difficult it is to remove oil from the ocean. — Instructor Katarina McCall shows the campers how difficult it can be to remove oil from the ocean by mixing water and hot cocoa powder.

“You should never put oil or trash in the water,” Rink said. “Stop doing that, you're going to hurt the environment.”

Lee said she was impressed by how knowledgeable and curious the campers were throughout the camp. The instructors quizzed the campers about marine biology topics.

“It's just been a neat, interactive experience,” Lee said.

author

Madison Bierl

Madison Bierl is the education and community reporter for the East County Observer. She grew up in Iowa and studied at the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University.