Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s two Lake Michigan real-time monitoring buoys know that they’re popular. And if you follow the Twitter account, @TwoYellowBuoys, they’ll tell you so.

Part of this popularity may be because the buoys are festive. In addition to decking themselves out for holidays.

4th of July

#Happy4th to all you #LakeMichigan lovers!!! pic.twitter.com/UgQ8QsAoRA

— Two Yellow Buoys (@TwoYellowBuoys) July 4, 2017

#PrinceDay

We buoys always party like it’s 1999. #PrinceDay pic.twitter.com/LUwRpfEPsw

— Two Yellow Buoys (@TwoYellowBuoys) June 7, 2017

Alternatives to Easter egg hunts.

Who needs eggs when you can play Find-The-Buoys-Going-To-The-Lake? Buoys all over the interstates these days. But not us. Yet. pic.twitter.com/qdvD88XSFF

— Two Yellow Buoys (@TwoYellowBuoys) April 13, 2017

Or maybe it’s because the buoys are clearly in love with science so they share interesting data patterns.

#dataoftheday #LakeMichigan thermocline around 40 ft near @MichCityLaPorte on #June24. About 67 F at surface. https://t.co/JFxg75UHGr pic.twitter.com/65IWSXNHwC

— Two Yellow Buoys (@TwoYellowBuoys) June 24, 2017

#dataoftheday 10-20 knot winds from the west mean 1 ft waves near @ETownLakeFront, 2-3 ft (or higher) near @MichCityLaPorte. Stay safe! pic.twitter.com/RkVyTfAk98

— Two Yellow Buoys (@TwoYellowBuoys) June 26, 2017

Here they introduce themselves to Bill Nye, the Science Guy.

Hi @BillNye! We’re real-time buoys collecting #LakeMichigan data. We’re kind of a big deal (in our sweet lab coats). #BillMeetScienceTwitter pic.twitter.com/4LIaZUR69M

— Two Yellow Buoys (@TwoYellowBuoys) May 23, 2017

The buoys’ hard work informing people about conditions in southern Lake Michigan was recognized with an APEX Award of Excellence for Social Media – Sites. This is the second IISG project to win a 2017 APEX Award. The buoys are proud to work alongside their Sea Grant colleagues, serving the people who live and recreate in southern Lake Michigan.

*The buoys would like to thank IISG Assistant Research Coordinator Carolyn Foley for managing their Twitter account. They also blame Carolyn for any mistakes made, because they’re buoys. It’s difficult to Tweet when you don’t have arms.

If you love the buoys, let them know!