Halloween Science

The time is now upon us...Halloween.  Today we kicked off the excitement with a pumpkin lab and connected it to math later in the day.  Students were responsible for finding their pumpkin's equitorial circumference, polar circumference, wall thickness, mass, seed count, mass of seeds, volume of pumpkin and density of pumpkin (calculating it using the formula).

In math, groups exchanged their data so a class table was produced.  Using students as an example, central tendency was calculated for each characteristic.  Many patterns emerged, including connecting the density of the pumpkin (around 0.60 g/ml) to how much was below the water (60%) when the pumpkin floated, as well as the number of verticle lines on each pumpkin (21 or 22 on every pumpkin).  Other items were not so linked, such as the number of seeds in each pumpkin.

In reading, an informational text article about the Irish Potato Famine was started.  This was linked to this week's celebration of Halloween regarding the "trick-or-treating" that now takes place.  Ask you child to fill you in on more details.

What are we doing lately?

Recently in class we have switched back to informational text in our readings. We focused on Scholastic News this past week and will utilize the science book and social studies book this coming week during our reading time. This will lead to a lab on identifying minerals based upon their densities this coming Thursday.

With Halloween the following week, and no early release that Wednesday, we will fill the day with reading, writing, and science labs focused around the theme of Halloween. We will then have a celebration for NV Day at 2:15 the 31st, and drink a special concoction made through science from earlier in the day. Feel free to send in a treat, plates, or utensils for our little celebration to celebrate Nevada's 148 birthday.

What we Learned from Journey's Outdoor School

It is amazing what concepts students walk away with from our four-day trip in nature.  The following is just one quote from each student off of their one to two page reflections on science concepts they learned.  They also reflected upon how this experience helped them grow as a person and how it helped connect them to nature.

I think their words will do a much better job of explaining what was learned on this trip:

-"I learned that some macroinvertebrates have three tail.," -Camden
-"There is a difference between a comet and a meteor." -Zaira
-"We always see the same side of the moon." -Jesse
-"It was so much fun in the outdoors I didn't even think about TV. I saw the bottom of a half-dead frog and learned that diurnal animals are awake during the day." - Collin
-"I am not afraid of bugs I was before and I learned that it takes about 28 days for the moon cycle." -Jade
-"A blue moon is two full moons in one month." -Chloe
-"I had no idea that a spider swam in the water.  The north star's scientific name is Polaris."- Maddy
-"Things smell better with a wet nose." -Josh
-"I connected with nature by seeing lots of deer only 15 feet away.  We learned about triboluminiscence, which is breaking chemical bonds to produce light." -Nate
-"I saw how a pond on its animals work together and learned that bullfrogs are not native to that part of California, so they are an invasive species." -Addie
-"I have never caught a frog and had it land on my foot.  I saw macroinvertebrates." - Skylee
-"Rods help us see in black in white and cones help us see color." -Liam
-"I learned that shooting stars are actually meteorites. I saw a snake that backed up in the tree when we were looking at it." -Lane
"I saw squirrel and deer tracks.I learned that the sun is our closest star." -Andrea
-"I didn't even think about electronics. I learned that bats use echolocation to either steer or find food by making a noise." -Penny
-"I had no idea that crayfish lived in ponds. This was the longest time I have ever been outside. I learned that when the moon is orange it is called a harvest moon." -Mya
-"I found a lot of tracks. I saw a lot of hawks and heard a hawk." - Drew
-"There is such a thing as 'Orion", which I had heard of in Men in Black. I didn't know it was a real constellation." -Tommy
-"Plate techtonics are connected to volcanoes.We had so many connections with nature." -Angie
-"I saw a shooting star for the first time. Convergence can make mountains." - Nicholas
-"I learned about the bones of sheep (some groups stumbled upon a dead sheep)." -Lexi

End of Day Three

Another beautiful day at Grizzly Creek Ranch. Adventurers continued in rotating through archery, geology, pond ecology, and the challenge course. Besides the frequent siting of deer, several students also saw and heard hawks today. A monstrous craw dad was captured at the pond, and frogs too numerous to count tempted the students, but to my knowledge were not ever captured. According to Andrea, "the best thing was doing geology because we learned how rocks get separated." Lexi's favorite thing "was watching Penny try to get a 'fish' in the challenge course." According to Liam, the best thing today was, "archery because it was really hard to aim, but was really fun."

Beginning of Day Three

After another amazing breakfast of eggs, sausage, hash browns, fruit, yogurt, and biscuits and gravy, the young scientists headed out. One day-group headed up the mountain to learn about geology. While on the hike, (not only did they burn off their breakfast hiking quickly up the mountain) they learned a little about forest ecology, specifically about fire's role in healthy forests. When they arrived at their final destination, campers were pleasantly surprised at the giant outcropping of quartz. The geology lesson began at this location and continued for the next few hours.

Day Two of Journey Outdoor School

Day two began with a beautiful sunrise. Shortly afterwards we enjoyed a filling breakfast of eggs, sausage, pancakes, fruit, and yogurt. We only had 1.5 pounds of Ort (food put on plates, but not eaten)! By 9:15 day groups had begun. Some began the archery, while others started pond ecology, or the full day challenge course. We sure have a few Robinhoods and Maid Marian's in the group. Tonight's event after dinner is astronomy, and what a beautiful night sky it was yesterday night (except for the gibbous moon). Day two is looking like another success.

End of Day One

Day one is now over. Student scientists ended the day with a great meal (and a snack in the forest before dinner) and then a night hike...without any flashlights. They learned how rods and cones in the eye work, why Wintergreen mints spark in the dark and more. Day one was a total success.