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Family Reunion
This was my first real experience out in the wild. I loved seeing the mountains and hiking. And we even got to ride horses! Science was pretty exciting. -
Kindergarten
In Kindergarten, I remember hatching chicks. I had never been around animals that much so raising chicks was fascinating to me. We also talked about the weather daily. I became a lot more aware of science in my daily life. -
1st- Ms. Eby
I only remember one science lesson from this year. I distinctly remember sitting in my desk watching her explain a diagram of a caterpillar. I thought it certainly didn't look like the caterpillars I knew. We did not have real caterpillars, just pictures. Science was becoming boring. -
Spider Girl- Cousin
My cousin, Sara, visited this year and was obsessed with spiders. She would catch them and pull out their silk with her fingers. I was horrified. I hoped no one would ever make me do that. Bugs were nasty. And I didn't really like animals either yet. Science was gross sometimes and other times scary. -
Tri-ctiy wind breaker
This year, the major winds in my home town caused the wall behind our house to blow over. I couldn't believe that wind could knock over a stone wall. I remember Dad explaining to me how the force build up and had not where to go so the wall fell down. And he talked about how the wall wasn't engineered properly so it caused it to fall.
Science was part of my life. And it was complicated. But, I began being interested in how science worked. Why do certain things happen? -
Pet Ant
All my friends had pets but I didn't. So, this spring I was determined to find one. I usually played with the stink bugs that multiplied like crazy this time of year, but I didnt want a stinky pet. So, I chose an ant. I was proud of my ant and brought him for show and tell. I told everyone about my ant and what I noticed he liked to do and eat. Science was fun! Until someone shook the container and buried him. Science was heartbreaking. -
2nd- Ms. Galvin
This year we raised caterpillars from larva to butterflies. I was excited to come in every day and see if they had changed or hatched. I remember the smells of the larva and how they felt on my fingers. I was so excited for the butterflies to hatch but dissappointed they couldn't fly at first. We had to wait for their wings to pump with blood. I didn't understand all I learned, but this hands-on experience is memorable for me and provided a great foundation for additional learning. -
3rd- Mr. Griggs
This year we learned about ecosystems and made ecosystems with guppies, snails, rocks, water, and plants in a soda bottle. I didn't realize how much one thing in nature effected another. But, my ecosystem did't last long. Nature sure was complex. And much smarter and better at it's job than me. -
Portland Zoo
I loved going to the zoo on a field trip because I thought all the animals were pretty neat looking. I kind of knew what animals came from where. But, I did not know much about the animals. They sure were pretty though. -
OMSI
The OMSI science center in Oregon taught me that "I'm a scientist." The center gave opportunities to independently make giant bubbles, do chemistry experiments, explore the dinosaur room, and later we even took a ferry.
This is probably when I first started understanding the large scope of science as a subject. I could see myself as a capable scientist. -
The Science of Sound- Steel Drums, Choir, Flute
I've been highly involved with music all my life and I think it has helped me really understand the science of sound. As I learned about Steel drums, I realized how we can make things change sounds. And in choir I learned the anatomy of the throat that effects sound. And then playing flute had a whole new science. But, I learned to visual science as I applied it to my performance. I began to see science come to life. -
CSI camp- Chemistry
I attended a chemistry CSI camp at the library this summer. I remember using chemicals to identify clues and solve crimes. This helped me see how science is used and just how amazing it is. -
Spokane Cat Tales Zoological Park
I don't remember much about visiting the cat zoo but I remember seeing a liger and having my mom explain that you can breed two types of animals together sometimes. That puzzled me. -
Seattle Pacific Science Center
At the science center, you can view all the aquatic life from the Puget sound right in their habitat. I remember walking through the glass tunnels and being surprised just how many creatures lived in the sea. I had found an appreciation for creatures. But, not necessarily all. Mostly the pretty ones. -
6th- Ms. Ellefson
Ms. Elefson was my first Science teacher. In elementary there was never a large focus on science. Science came alive with Ellefson because we did hands on activities to find meaning to each subject. Like modeling the different types of volcanoes, watching Apollo 13 and discussing how you could see the differences between earth and space, and making earthquake seismic wave stimulations with slinks and taking data to share and compare our results. -
Girls Camp
At girls camp, we lived in the woods for a week. My family wasn't very outdoorsy so this was my first major experience in the wild. I remember the first year not liking it. Camping meant being cold and dirty. But I learned how to build a fire and cook over it, navigate the stars and identify plants on a nature walk. I gained a lot of basic science knowledge here. -
Oregon Coast Museums
We went to the OR beaches a lot growing up. This particular time, I collected agates and smooth shells and sand dollars. Grandma told us about how the water smooths the rocks. I at first did not understand how water could do that. We also went to a museum that had an octopus. we got to watch it climb between its cages in a little tiny pipe. I think here is when science started to fascinate me. -
7th- Life science
This was the worst science year I remember. We read out of the text book and answered questions or we watched nature videos. I remember he made us watch one on horse mating. I was not ready for that. I was confused and kind of corrupted. I decided I did not like science. At least animal/biology science. Chemicals were still pretty cool. -
8th-Ms. Pritchett
I loved this year! Ms. Pritchett was a new teacher just beginning that year. She had enthusiasm for science and was the reason I did so well in chemistry. She taught us chemistry at our level and then added in more complex ideas. She also brought science into the classroom with her. We had pet hamsters, used static balls, created models of adams with humans, compared the speed of sound and sight on the football field, competed catapults... I could be a scientist. And I loved it! -
Cooking Mastery
I cooked a lot in high school with my mom. I learned a lot about the science of cooking. Measurements were a good foundation. But also we mastered what to change about a recipe to make it turn out how we wanted it. All this was science based (why yeast works, how to make cookies thicker, what changed with substitutes, etc) -
Plant Nurserys
I used to travel with my dad to plant nurseries to pick out plants. I learned how to tell the difference between plants, what they need to survive, types of soil and fertilizer etc. that are foundational concepts to earth science. -
3 Day Backpacking in Idaho
On this backpacking trip, we "lucked out" and were able to go because the weather had warmed up and caused the flooding over our camp site to dry up. However, I learned the reality of ecosystems: the weather effects other things. Like mosquitos...the campsite was infested and I got the most bites. -
9th- Potter- biology
This call was basically rote memorization. It felt typical to science to read the textbook and take a quiz. But I do not remember any content from this course. -
10th- Fetrow- Chemistry
Fetrow made chemistry come to life. For every major concept, we later represented it with something physical. Chemical reactions meant mento rockets, etc. He made me realize that science was fun. So, I took AP chem the next year. -
11-AP Chemistry
I learned here that I was good at science. I got a 4 on the AP test and got an A in the class. Maybe science wasn't all exciting, but I did well in it and that made it exciting. It was hard to see how it applied to my life though.
He was a strong believer in doing more than saying though. We did experiments all the time to help us see and remember now principles. -
The Science of Sound- Christensen's Self-Playing Piano
Someone I know has self-playing piano that you just pedal. They took the cover off so we could so the gears working to play the music. It was fascinating to see how technology has allowed us to produce sound in new ways. -
Draper Planetarium
I went to the Draper planetarium and got to see all the animals and habitats there. I didn't grow up somewhere near Zoos but I loved this experience and found a love for animals and how uniquely amazing each one is from another. -
Dinosaur Museum
My roommate worked here and I visited once. I was fascinated by the process that scientists use to discover the complete unknown (before humans on earth). Actually going and seeing the bones made science so real to me. -
BYU Summer Kindergarten- Birds
This is where I found my love for science. I worked in the BYU Kinder all summer during their Bird Unit. I was fascinated by all the fun facts of birds and how much the children learned and remembered. We observed birds in nature and made drawings along with researching in books, touching stuffed birds, etc. There is so much you can do when teaching science to kids! -
BYU Bean Museum
We went to the Bean museum with the kids in the kindergarten. I had never been but for once, I wanted to look at all the plaques that tell you about each animal. Animals are absolutely amazing! I am fascinated by and eager to share all I learn. -
Science Saturdays
Because of my love for science that I found last summer, my boyfriend and I started doing science experiments on saturdays. We always investigated why it worked and had a blast! I learned that pretty complex ideas can be taught in interactive, memorable ways. Like exploding a watermelon teaches about pressure, force, and surface area. Giant bubbles teach about chemicals that mix/don't mix and microwaving ivory soap teaches about expanding molecules! Simple experiments teach kids so much! -
Rexburg Hike
On a nature hike, we saw owls and hawks. They are so elegant and grand. I am so impressed with how perfectly crafted the creatures are. I could sit and observe for hours. -
Tracy Aviary- SLC
Here we saw a lot of the birds I learned about all summer. I found myself excitingly dragging my boyfriend from bird to bird explained all I knew about them. We learned about several others and sat and watched them for a while. I am still not over how amazing the science of living things is. -
Logan Wildlife Center
We stopped by a wildlife center in Logan on the way back to Utah. There we fed hummingbirds, held snakes and tarantulas and learned about the different wildlife and plants there. I started overcoming my nervousness to get up close to nature. Get out of your comfort zone (but not safety zone) for science! -