Class 13~ Grand Finale

This week I am finally finished with the internship and am working on practicing my presentation speech. I am also currently weighing my options for the next step in life. I have been offered a job for one year as the assistant to the Director of the Paleontological Research Institution. That would start in about one month and go for about one year. My original plan was to take Calculus II at Palm Beach State College while Calc I is still fresh in my mind. (Thanks Deanna! (She was my tutor.)) See how well I still understand parenthesis everyone? I was also going to apply to the University of Hawaii for graduate school for next Spring, the due date for that application is August 15th so I really have a lot to do and decide upon. I've made  a pro's and con's list for taking the job. I am open to hearing any thoughts or suggestions about things I should add to the list.

Class 12~ The End

"This is the end...Of our elaborate plans, the end." -The Doors

This is my final day at PRI and it is bittersweet. The project is all wrapped up and now it's time to go home! As I was taking my last tour around, look who I saw streaking in the Museum of the Earth today! Just kidding, she wasn't a streaker, not even a stroller, she was a studier of course. It was none other than Dr. Betty Dunckel. She was with one of her friends daughters, who told me that she wants to be a paleontologist when she grows up! How cool! Well, I guess I will see all of you very soon. Bye for now!

Class 11 ~ The Treasure in Your Terrain

So this week I got to give the final runs of the program I have been creating. It has three stations: rocks, minerals, and fossils. The specimens are pretty epic. My mentor Dr. Buckler came to watch me teach today. As always, she was a big help- herding the campers, answering their questions, and even taking lots of pictures. I can't wait to see them! We are meeting up tomorrow or the next day to look at the pictures and go over the feedback she has for me regarding the program.

In other news this week, I went to the Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance and saw an abundance of funky, incredible things. Why yes, that does include the 2x world champion hoop dancer, Moontee Sinquah.

Below is a video of him and his sons singing and dancing too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi9WjSOOPhc

Class 10~ Lava, Snakes, and Children

This week has been great! I got to see lava, teach several programs, and hold a boa constrictor! I even got First Aid and CPR certified!
Here is a picture with Dr. Warren Allmon, the Director of the Paleontological Research Institution, and Bella, the six-foot boa.

Here are some pictures from some of the programs I taught:

 This program taught the children about the treasures in their terrain and about their own backyards history. Below are a few of the geologic timescale cards that they ordered along a 115' rope that represented Earth's history.

Thats me in the spacesuit standing next to a crucible containing 1150 degree Celcicus lava. I got to stir it up like a pot of gumbo. My face and legs looked sunburned after the two minutes I was up there standing next to it. 

Class 8~ Dr. Evans the Living Legend

This past week we all had the week off, but as you can tell from my very brief posting last week, the break week has been one of my busiest yet because it was the week before summer camp started. I have met a few times now with the famous Dr. Howard Evans, anatomist extraordinaire and beloved professor of countless Cornell veterinarians (and Dr. Bruce MacFadden). Teaching is embedded in this man’s soul as he continually inspires people of all ages with his incredible stories, joyous presence, and show-and-tell wonders from across the animal kingdom. The Director of Programs at the Nature Center and I met at Dr. Howie’s home and we loaded up a truck full of treasures that he is generously donating the Paleontological Research Institution. After that, we followed him to his office in the Vet School at Cornell. To say the least, it was one of the most interesting days of my life to get to spend a few hours with Dr. Evans. His brilliant mind thinks SO creatively and his practical solutions radiate pure genius. Pair that trait with his humble, unassuming, and kind personality and folks you have a seriously rare, one-of-a-kind individual. Did I mention he’s hilarious? And yes, everyone, I have the pictures I promised you all.

If you do not like seeing dead animals, including humans, please do yourself a favor and read no further. If you get queasy at the sight of blood, internal organs, or the skeletal system, I will respectfully advise you to read somebody else’s blog.

Below are a few pictures and videos of his collection. Each one of his specimens has a story that is bizarre, ludicrous, and true. 

He looks mad, but I assure you he was just in the middle of his sentence. He is is very joyful guy. 

His shed and museum we were loading up.

In one of his labs.

We walked in and there was a lady flushing out a large dog's lungs and heart with a lab hose. She held up the dripping lungs about a foot away from my face, spread them apart, and goes "See that? There's the heart."

"Yeahp we can hang about seven horses from this room." -Dr. Howie as his eyes look up to the hooks in the ceiling. (He means for dissection obviously.)

.....When we drove in there were two live horses outside in a fence. Maybe he was making them better? Maybe?

Me: "How did you get that rattlesnake?"

Dr. E: "Well I found it out west and mailed it back to my friend at Cornell in a grenade."

Me: "In a grenade??"

Dr. E: "A grenade box, or one that used to hold some kind of bomb, they are very sturdy you know."

Me: "Right...Hah, did you tell your friend to expect a dead rattlesnake in a grenade box soon?"

Dr. E: "No I mailed him alive. Snakes can go a very long time without eating and such. The only thing I was worried about was if the snake would rattle and then someone would open the package and think it's an actual bomb or something ticking. So I took its tail and dipped the rattle in some glycerin so it couldn't make any noise."

Me: "Wow."

Dr. E: "But yes, he was surprised when he got the package. Especially since it turned out that I went to Europe for three years and wasn't going to come back to Cornell for a while."

Me: "Oh my gosh! Hahaha! So your friend raised this rattlesnake for you? For THREE years?"

Dr. E: "Yep, he was quite a bit bigger when I got back. Lived for about 18 years! Then he died and I made this skeleton out of him."

Cyclopic sheep and pig fetuses

He filled this chicken's lung and heart parts with liquid plastic, let it cool, then dissolved the whole thing in hydrochloric acid.

Cock a doodle doo

You might just want to skip this one. In case you cant read the title of this picture series, it says "Cross Sections of a Canine Head."

What, you don't have an armadillo purse?

So many amazing stories!

Why yes, those are two penguin skeletons sitting on his desk that he smuggled in from Antarctica in a garbage bag because he didn't have enough Spanish to tell the guy at the airport with customs that he had a permit to take them. Oh, and that cool lamp stemming from the ceiling? This used to be his surgical room, where he pioneered the art of dissecting and performing surgeries on canines and other animals. Ever taken your dog to the vet? The books he wrote pretty much taught your vet what know. Here he was showing us pictures in the book that were taken right underneath that very lamp. 

I made a quick video of the adventure and posted it to YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-8sW51zkwQ&feature=youtube_gdata

Check it out and make it a great day today!

And by the way, he DOES remember who Dr. Bruce MacFadden is!

"Oh yeah! Of course, that's the horse guy right? Man, he sure does know a lot about fossilized horses."

Week 7~ "Break" Week

Stick around, stay tuned. Updates comming soon.

Class 6~ Office Space

In order to have more room curating and organizing the geology collections, I was allowed to move into an old office at the Cayuga Nature Center that was not being used. If you have seen the movie office space, one thing you can be sure of is that my work environment is thankfully nothing similar to that. For example, a problem I had yesterday was moving an elephant’s femur bone by myself to make more room for jars of rocks and minerals. Just five minutes ago a chipmunk, yes a real live scurrying chipmunk, decided to join me in my new office and help me design a mineral classification activity for kids. I was nervous he was going to knock the mounted dog skeleton over. My mentor Dr. Buckler and I took a trip to downtown Syracuse to meet with Dr. Peter Plumley, the Exhibits Project Manager at the Museum of Science and Technology and with Dr. Jeff Karson, a professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Syracuse University who is co-chairing the lava project. We discussed revisions on the grant proposal and set dates to do some lava pours. My job will be to conduct front-end evaluations on those pours. The assigned readings this week will sure come in handy! CAN’T WAIT!!! 

Class 5~ Curriculum Grind

Not too much to report this week except that I am working diligently on my geological curriculum guide based upon the donated collections. There are some other collections around the museum that Rob Ross (Associate Director for Outreach (education and exhibits) at the Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth) has invited me to scavenge through for samples. I will submit it for review by the end of this week and will get it back at the beginning of next week.

One interesting piece that I would like to share with everybody is an idea that my mentor had. So, in addition to the curriculum guide, I will also be turning in a creative marketing synopsis piece. This includes pictures and two descriptive paragraphs meant to be deliverable to the marketing department. It is to include one descriptive short paragraph an  one elaborative longer paragraph complete with Big Ideas and learning outcomes. The intended audience is to be teachers, newspapers/journalists, and general marketing for PRI/CNC). I think that if we all took the time to create a short creative marketing piece for whatever project we ever embark on developing, it could really serve us well. On a resume or in an interview it would be a great point to talk about how we 'sell ourselves.' Also, she explained to me that often times marketing will come into her office and say something like "hey, what are you currently working on? Any cool stuff? What's it about? Write me up a little blurb about it and send it to me within the hour." Any normal person would freak out and say, "woah! okay, um, there's so much! What should I include? I only have an hour??" Whatever that normal person sends in might not best represent what they are doing, and thusly might not get the most attention from marketing. (Do I even need to mention how important marketing is to our department?) Anyway, good thing we are not normal people, but rather we are fully prepared successful UF students who learned this great tip and are ready for success! Right guys?!

Class 4~ Dinosaurs DO Exist

Fun Fact: This molecular biologist has spent 13 years in college to become a successful blue dinosaur! This week I had the pleasure to walk with the Museum of the Earth and the Cayuga Nature Center in the Ithaca Festival Parade. Naturally, I was a skateboarding butterfly who promoted the summer camp with hundreds of bookmarks and high-fives. This week was incredibly fun! After another meeting with a few people from the Nature Center and The Museum, we decided that I will be taking on full responsibility for organizing and curating the geology collections and develop education and outreach based on the collections. For the Lava Project, I will be there for planning, meetings with collaborators, and helping to design Ed and Outreach components of the proposal to NSF in November. I am one excited butterfly!

Class 3~ Ithaca is still Gorges!

     This week I got to get the Lava Project's name out in the city of Ithaca as I found out through one of the museum workers that the Tompkins County Library has a science literacy program that encourages the public to read about scientific subjects annually. This year's theme is called "Fizz, Boom, READ!" which I (of course) immediately referenced to volcanoes and thus The Lava Project.
     I had a meeting with a presenter who plans to teach young library visitors (ages 3-6) this summer on the subject of volcanoes. The purpose of our meeting was to enhance her plan of attack for educating the public on the subject as she was new to it. I think it went well and I am excited to inspire some future scientists in this town! This week was also mostly spent further developing the hopeful plans for an actual lava pour by the Syracuse University Earth Sciences Department at the Cayuga Nature Center here in Ithaca. Fingers crossed!

Class 1~ Noyce Internship Worksheet

EDG 4930 (section 73DB) Informal STEM Practice I 

Student’s Name: Brett Walker                                                     UF ID #: 9592-1848

Major: Geological Science                                              Year, College:  5, Liberal Arts and Sciences

Institution where you will conduct your internship: 

The Paleontological Research Institution and it’s two educational venues, The Museum of the Earth, and the Cayuga Nature Center.

Contact Supervisor/Mentor:

                Name:

 Dr. Carlyn Buckler

                Title:

Senior Research Associate- Paleontological Research Institution

                                Adj. Professor of Museum Studies- Cooperstown Graduate Program, State University of New York

                Email address:

                                Cbs36@cornell.edu

Brief description of your plans for the internship experience:

                I will be assisting Dr. Buckler on developing education outreach programs for “The University of Syracuse Lava Project,” which originated from the Earth Science Department at Syracuse University. This project will involve the development and implementation of education and outreach programs and primarily for grades 3-12, and the general public. My ultimate goal for this experience is to weave together my skills in the Earth sciences and augment my knowledge about STEM education to include more diverse audiences and a breadth and depth of program experiences for the public.  I will also gain experience in proposal writing, grant implementation, and collaborative projects in the Informal Science Education industry. Another goal I have is to practice top-notch professionalism in my workplace, adding experience in evaluation, implementation, communicating science to the public, teamwork, organizational skills and cooperation with professionals in my field, including bridging the gap between scientific information and the public understanding of science. 

In a few sentences, describe how you will communicate with your supervisor/mentor during your internship experience:

Dr. Buckler and I will be having weekly meetings at her estate as well as sending periodic emails, texts, and phone calls to each other that address any questions or updates concerning our project. We will also have episodic meetings with other people associated with developing the project, including Dr. Peter Plumely from the Museum of Science Technology, Syracuse, Dr. Mary Mills at the Corning Museum of Glass, Dr. Robert Ross at the Paleontological Research Institution and Museum of the Earth, Cornell University, Dr. Joe Heimlich, Ohio State University COSI, and others.

Class 2~ Ithaca is Gorges.

I got to meet several of the staff members at the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), which has two educational venues, the Museum of the Earth and the Cayuga Nature Center (CNC). I discussed opportunities, plans, and ideas for education outreach about The Syracuse University Lava Project with Dr. Rob Ross, who is a paleontologist and the Associate Director for Outreach (education and exhibits).  I helped out with a few events that included nature hikes for children mostly aged 4-12 (and their parents) at the CNC, guest lecture presentations at the Museum, and I attended a meeting that focused on communicating scientific information to the public, specifically on climate change. For extra credit, I attended an academic lecture by Dr. Scott Sampson. “Dr. Scott” as the children call him, is the host of a science-educational PBS program called “Dino Train”. I wish I knew his source on this, but during the lecture, he gave a horrifying statistic. He said that “the average American child spends 4-7 minutes outside and about 7 hours in front of a screen.” The screen meaning a phone, iPad, computer, television, etc. This was staggering to me! A big proponent of his show is to get kids outdoors and exploring nature. At the end of each show, he basically tells the kids to turn off the TV and go outside. During this internship, a new goal I have made for myself is to genuinely inspire students to go outside on their own and make their own discoveries in the natural world around them.