Monday, June 23, 2008
Basically, my feet are exhausted! Today we did so much and went to a lot of places. Let's just say that we did quite a bit of walking. To start off the day, we talked about the set up of the JASON curriculum with the online Web site and the textbooks and about the interviews for the media.
After that we hopped on the DC Metro and headed to the Department of Energy to discuss alternate energy resources. Mr. Rogers gave us a lot of information and then we got to explore the hybrid vehicles.
We went to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to discuss energy and how we use it in space exploration/travel. While we were at the museum we visited the IMAX theatre to watch a 3D movie on the sun. While visiting the gift shop, we acquired a new addition to the beanie collection, he is an astronaut bear and was named "Stanley the Space Bear."
Everyone started to get hungry so we all grabbed some snacks and headed to the Washington Monument to get a guided tour from Ranger Kelly. We learned a ton of information about energy efficient monuments before heading back to the dorms for some food and fun.
We ended the night with some Chinese take-out and team journaling. Tomorrow is Six Flags day! Pray for good weather!
Tuesday, June 24th 2008
Today was awesome! We learned about physics and rode the (water) rides and roller coasters. I started off the day in a group with Argos Madhu and Tim. Team two (our group) started off with Melissa. We were supposed to ride the Superman Ride of Steel but knowing our luck, it broke down, so …we used plan B and went to the Wild One. After working on some physics, we hopped on the ride.
After we rotated groups, we went to meet with Teacher Argo Brian, then we ate lunch. And once again, the ride we were assigned, the Mind Eraser, was broken down. Plan C was to ride the bumper cars and the water ride. We got completely soaked! Our next ride was the Roar. We rode that twice then headed back to the Mind Eraser because it was back up and running.
Then we switched groups for the last time and I joined Teacher Argo Cindy. Our assigned ride was the Roar and this time we were filmed. After the filming we were interviewed and all of the Argos headed to Gotham City to ride the Penguin Water Ride and the Superman.
It was nearing closing time so everyone split up and had dinner (I got pizza!) Now we are on the bus, it has been a very busy day. Who ever thought hat an amusement park could be so scientific?
Wednesday, June 25th 2008
Today was pretty action packed! We woke up early and went to the National's Ballpark. Fortunately, no one was sunburned! Our tour guide Maggie gave us a "behind the scenes" tour and told us all about the green stadium.
After that we all hopped in taxicabs and headed to the capitol building to meet up with Congressman Mollohan. When we got to the capitol, Mr. Mollohan ended up being busy so we grabbed some lunch from the House of Representatives building across the street. The congressman really wanted to meet with us so he left a meeting for about fifteen minutes to speak with us.
We all asked some good questions before we went to the Nuclear Energy Institute. After visiting NEI, we headed back to the dorms for about an hour.
Then we went to the baseball game! All of the Argos had a ball at the game. During the Rushmores Race, Abe Lincoln won, then the game ended with a winning home run made by the Nationals!
Today was a good day and now we are on a bus to West Virginia! I can't wait for tomorrow, another adventure awaits us!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
I am a wet mop today. I got around only three hours of sleep total. When we got to West Virginia it was 2:30 a.m. and I got up at 5:30 a.m. to take a shower, get ready, then go to breakfast at 7:00.
After breakfast, everyone left to go to NETL (National Energy Technology Lab) in Morgantown, West Virginia. While we were there, our guide, Geo, took us around to learn about fuel cells, coal, and sequestration along with much more.
Next, we headed to Ft. Martin power plant. We Argos learned a lot of information at Ft. Martin. The power center was completed in 1965 but the ground was broken on September 11th 1964.
While we were at the center, Mr. McDonald along with others showed us the new scrubber, the coal barges, the storage pile, the generators, the chimneys, the turbines, the control room, and just about every other location! My favorite part of the day was probably when we got to use the headsets to communicate. Although it was really hot (around 100 degrees F) in some places, Ft. Martin Power Center was one of my favorite destinations so far because I learned a lot of new information and everyone there was very hospitable!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Today we went white water rafting on the Cheat River. We rode on the narrows but it was still a blast! I was really scared at first that I was going to fall out but thankfully, I didn't. Our tour guide was Nick and he was pretty cool. I am sad that this is our last real day…I am going to miss all of my friends. At the beginning of the week I was worried that I wasn't going to get along with everyone but everything worked out. Now all of the Argos are like a big family, and we are really good friends.
Q&A with Argo Lindsay:
What's one of the best aspects of being an Argonaut?
One of the best aspects of being an Argonaut is all of the friends that I have made through out my journey. At the beginning of bootcamp I was worried that I wasn't going to get along with anyone but it all worked out. Within the first day or so we were laughing and having a good time like we had been friends for years. Now, all of the Argos are like a big family, and we are really close. It was such a great experience, working with everyone involved in The JASON Project.
Did you ever think you'd be doing physics experiments on roller coasters?
No way! After working on some physics, we hopped on the ride. It was a very busy day on the Six Flags roller coasters. It was amazing to think about how much engineering and thought was put into these rides. Who ever thought hat an amusement park could be so scientific?