Oklahoma Science Adventure 2010 Blog
Day One
Hi everyone! We arrive safely in Claremore at Rogers State University last night, after spending some time at the museum getting to know each other. When we arrived at the Conservation District, we did some creative thinking as we discovered the scientific method. Our challenge was to keep ice from melting when placed outside in the summer heat. We came up with some pretty cool ideas! After, we had a campfire, ate s’mores, put on some funny skits and took a night hike through the woods using our senses. Tomorrow, we’ll start our observations of aquatic ecosystems and begin our first research project!
-Jes
Day Two
It was a muddy and wet today as we got our feet wet! We observed four different aquatic ecosystems at the Rogers County Conservation District at Rogers State University and discovered what animals live just under the surface of the water. We then took our samples back to the lab and identified the critters with the help of John, April and Robert, our amazing scientists. This afternoon, we learned what team work was all about on the low ropes course. It was a lot of fun, and so was swimming! We got a chance to cool off after a long day of new discoveries. – Jes
Bailey P.: Everybody I’ve met here so far has been wonderful: all of the scientists helping us, our counselors Jess and Brad, and all of the other campers here. I’m looking forward the the experiences to come this week!
Falon R.: Hey Mom and Dad! At OSA I have having sooo much fun! Jes and Brad and all of the other kids are so nice and fun! We had to try to keep our “Coolisaurus” (Ice cubes) that were put into film canisters cold. On Sunday, we did a ropes course that was kinda hard. We had to play strategy, problem solving, and trusting games (my favorite was the trust game because you fall off of a four foot tall plank and the other kids catch you!). Love you guys (and Reno and Payt) XOXOXOXO
Jerra W.: Hey momma, nana, Aaron, bubba and papa Jack. I am having a ton of fun. I hope y’all are having a good time when you read this blog post one and tell me how my room is going. I can’t wait to see y’all! This is our 4th day and I can’t wait to see y’all this weekend. I miss y’all very much, love y’all.
Koby P.: We are having a lot of fun. Our journal is water proof. We each all have digital cameras which are also water proof. On the first day at RSU was fun. We had a task. It was to keep a ice cube from melting a.k.a. a Coolasaurs. Then we did a night walk. Which was fun in its own way. And on the second day we went to 4 ponds and some were kind of still and nasty.
Sarrah M.: Hey! Everything’s great here and I’m having a lot of fun. We’ve been getting wet and dirty the whole time we’ve been here and I really like it. I’m friends with everyone and I’m getting to know them better. I miss you guys! I’ll talk to you later! Love you Bye!
Talon C.: Hey haven a great time! I have held a snake and a salamander. I have made so many friends. My research partner is Sarrah we are doing our research project over tadpoles. We went on a nature walk in the dark it was fun well listen to the frogs and the bugs call really load. Yesterday we went in the water with some nets and buckets and caught some little fish and tadpoles. We play some fun games and did some skits at the campfire. Well ttyl love you Chaini, Wylder mom and dad.
Marvin G.: The first day was awesome .We got to know each other. Then we to claremore and we got some rooms from the RSU people we stay there. We went to the lab. Look at different things like fish, snakes and frogs. We had fun. Then the next day we got up early 7:15 and we had breakfast then we went to the lab again. And then. We got wet and dirty. Then we came back we had lunch. It was good then we had to work on a plan. Me and my partner Charley. We did a plan to see the population of tadpoles by the shore line and out in the water then we had a night hike it has been awesome so far…
Dakota R.: Hey I’m Alive!!! For the past two days we have been working at the aqua lab with insects, micro-organisms and 4 different sites with water. On the 11th we started research projects over different aquatic life. I can’t wait till we get to go canoeing down the Illinois River!
Hunter: We’ve been learning about the scientific method on these first two days. Whoo! Fun! But we have actually been doing it in ways we’ve all enjoyed. On our first day, after we left the museum, we set out for Rogers State University in Claremore, Oklahoma to learn about the environment on the reservation right next to the school grounds. We explored the reservation during the day and the night. We made observations and compared the daytime activity to the night time. On our second day we paired up into groups of two for our first research project. We used our previous observations and some new ones to conduct the project that we might present at the closing ceremonies. We got to get wet and dirty in the four pond areas on the reservation to check out all the different organisms in each area. We also went to the ropes course on the RSU grounds and learned about teamwork and trust.
Kaylee C.: I went in 4 swamps which was really fun. We also went on a ropes course we had to trust a lot of people. I can’t wait till we go canoeing but we have to get up at 4 in the morning! We take night hikes basically every night. I feel like I’m gonna fall in a hole! We catch a lot of frogs: bull frogs, tree frogs, etc. Bye love you.
Sandy: Hey Mom and Dad!! We’re having sooo much fun here! We got really dirty yesterday when we got in some ponds to look for samples. We’re starting our research projects today and I can’t wait!!! We did a ropes course yesterday that took a lot of thinking a teamwork. I think everyone had a lot of fun. I miss you guys a lot, and I’m so excited to show you everything we’ve done.
Colby W.: The day before yesterday was long and tiring but fun! We had a night walk and I saw lightning bugs and heard lots of bullfrogs! Yesterday I liked the ropes course best. I had fun swimming too! We went on a night walk and I almost caught a firefly! We learned a lot about frogs from their call to their looks.
Charley W.: We had a long drive from Norman yesterday. I’m having a good time learning about different aquatic life. We got really dirty in the ponds, taking samples and learning about what different species live in the four main bodies of water. Tomorrow we are going to use the scientific method to answer a question. Having a great time and learning a lot!!
Trent: We have been having a lot of fun on the Oklahoma Science Adventure. We’ve been observing four different water sites lately. We observed what the pond or body of water looked like and its surroundings. Then we got in the water and caught all kinds of water bugs, small fish, tadpoles, and frogs. Today (7-12-10) I will be doing a test about…..What is the difference in tadpole population on site 2 and 4 from 0-3 and 4-7 feet from the bank. Each group of two has their own test to perform that they came up with. I can’t wait. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
Day Three
Hi everyone! Today started off really wet as we waited out some heavy rain before starting our research at the Reserve. Once it cleared up, we headed out to the wetlands and ponds to begin researching the populations and distribution of fish, tadpoles and dragonfly larvae. It was muddy work, but we compiled all of our data and presented our findings to each other. Everyone did a great job working as a team with their partner. Last night we got a chance to observe insects and amphibians up close as two of our scientists, John and April, helped us investigate the grounds at night. Tonight, Dr. Nick Czaplewski from the Sam Noble Museum will help us understand animal tracking and how it can be used to help us better understand out surroundings. We’re having a blast and can’t believe our adventure is almost half over! (We’ve had some internet connectivity problems, but we should hopefully have everyone’s first blog up by tonight.) – Jes
Day Four
Hi everyone! After an early start this morning, we went birding with Dr. Nick Czaplewski and said goodbye to the Reserve at RSU. Nick also traveled with us to Tahlequah for our float trip. We had a fantastic time canoeing down the Illinois River! The weather was great and the water was the perfect thing to cool us down. After a yummy dinner at Chili’s, we made some plaster casts of animal tracks, played some wacky animal movement games and blogged. Tomorrow, we’ll head off to Perry to start our fossil investigations! Check out the thoughts of our team members, listed under “Team Blogs” on the main OSA blog pages. – Jes
Falon R.: I am having soooo much fun!! On Saturday, we learned about the Scientific Method. Then, on Sunday, we developed a question and took samples to prove the question wrong or right. Monday, we learned about footprints and even got to make our OWN foot prints! Today, we looked for birds, canoed, and we made molds for a footprint of an animal that we picked!! Can’t wait to see everyone on Saturday
Dakota R.: Having an amazing time. Today we floated the river. I got sun burned on my shoulders. Tonight we made tracks out of plaster of Paris. Having a great time tonight. Will write when I can.
Jerra W.: Ok today we went canoeing it was awesome. I love being here but I miss my family. I love being here meeting new people and I can’t wait to see everyone at the closing ceremony and all the people are so funny and awesome to be around. Four days feels like a week already. We do tons of things of things like a rope course and a trust dive like thing I will never do that again! And we went swimming. I love swimming. I miss every one. Love ya.
Bailey P.: Hey, everybody! I’m having an absolutly amazing time here at OSA! We’ve been collecting pond samples, which requires getting waist deep in all sorts of gunk and mud, it’s simply disgusting. I personally love it. Our group has also participated in the low ropes course, which was very challenging, but a great experience. And today we went canoeing along a six mile stretch of river, it was my favorite thing that we’ve done so far. I’ve met some great people here, from the counselors and scientists to all of the other campers. I’ve made some great friends. I can’t wait to see what else we’ll be doing as the week continues!
Sarrah M.: Hey! I’m having a lot of fun and I’m gonna miss everybody when this is over. Today we went canoeing and it was really fun. I thought it would be scary but I really liked it and we all had a great time. I think it would be a lot of fun to ride in a kayak instead of a canoe because it looked more exciting and it looked like the kayaks go faster than canoes do. I miss you guys but i would really like to stay a few more days. I thought that everyone here would be nerdy but they’re really nice and fun to be around. Well I’ll talk to you later. I love you bye!
Hunter: These past two days have been really fun. We’ve spent more time in the water, finalized our research projects, went outside to make more observations (even when we had to get up at 5 A.M. to do them!), got back on the road, and canoed down the Illinois. I really had fun with all things involving the water, so I especially like the canoe ride down the river, even if we did float most of it backwards. . . Or trying to avoid the rocks and branches. I also enjoyed the bird watch, which we had to get up especially early for. We saw TONS of different birds of all colors and sizes.
Colby W.: On day 2 we did our own experiment with a partner. My partner and I did an experiment on tadpole population in different distances. On day 3 we made a PowerPoint based on the data we collected. On day 4 we watched birds early in the morning. Then we left RSU and went canoeing on the Illinois River.
Sandy: Hey! Today we went canoeing. It was great!! I’ve never done anything like that before. There were so many fish, and we actually caught a snake! We’ve been studying some animal tracks and we all have gotten pretty good at recognizing them. To practice identifying them, we played a funny game of animal charades. Making impressions of animal’s feet was fun too. I’m excited to see how mine looks when the plaster dries.
Charley W.: I’m having tons O’ fun! We went canoeing one the Illinois today (6 miles!). Had so much fun! Yesterday and the day before we worked on a project/experiment in Claremore, and me and my partner did ours on tadpole population in different depths. Tomorrow we are driving to Perry for our paleontology work. I’m meeting lots of new people and learning so much! See you guys soon!
Talon C.: We have had an awesome time!!!! Today we went canoeing, it took about 5 hours to go three miles down the river. We saw lots of little fish and a couple of BIG fish and i think 2 turtles. My canoeing partner was Marvin!!!!!!We are a good team we didn’t tip over lol but we did run into a few trees lol! So we finaly got to the pick-up place and went back to the hotel swam some more got even more sunburnt!!! Then we got in our rooms changed clothes and went to chili’s YUUMMM lol I had some chicken it was really good!!!!!!!! We came back to hotel where we made foot impression i did a beaver foot!!!! We r now playing games well ttyl love ya family miss ya!!!!!!!!
Marvin G.: It haves been awesome. Day 3 we got back in the water again and did are experiments. Today we went canoeing and played in the water and been going on night walks. i have been doing good. We have had good food too. We been having fun. Done rope courses and we did trust falls a trust fell is where you fall from about 5 feet in then the air and all the people catch you. And i have been doing go and that is all i have to say.
Trent: I’ve been having a lot of fun here. Tt is awesome! Today we went canoeing in the Illinois River and it was so much fun! Then we got to make plaster of paris molds of different animal footprints with our scientist Nick. It’s pretty cool. I chose a beaver. So I think I’ve written enough so I’m gonna go. But I will try to keep every1 informed and take lots of pictures for the presentation. So see ya!
Koby P.: HEY I’M WRITING IN CAPS WHY, WELL I REALLY DON’T KNOW. HEY MOM, HEY KARL OR HEY KARL, HEY MOM. ON SATURDAY WE GOT OUR STUFF AND STUFF. LOL. I MISS TULSA’S SMELL. ON SUNDAY WE DID TESTS. IT WAS FUNNNNNNN. ON MONDAY WE FINISHED OUR PROJECTS. AND TODAY WE CANOED.
Kaylee C.: I’m having a lot of fun today. We went canoeing 6 miles down a river. We made our own casts mine was a squirrel. I’m journaling a lot for my presentation. I love you all hope to see you soon BYE!!!!!!!!
Day Five
Hi everyone! It was a day full of ancient life today as we traveled to Perry, Oklahoma to visit a fossil trackway site. Bill May, our expert paleontologist, joined us to give us a brief intro to the site, the animals we might find fossil evidence of and show us examples of fossils found right here in Oklahoma. Then, we headed out into the field to make our observations. We examined the site for twenty minutes before realizing we were standing on the largest fossil trackway site in Oklahoma. Over 1400 individual tracks from early reptiles and amphibians are exposed in the middle of an open field. Our tracking knowledge from earlier in the week helped us out as we tried to observe what direction the animals were going and how they moved just by looking at the tracks they left behind. We began our next research project by forming our question, hypothesis, method to test the hypothesis and the equipment we’ll need. Tomorrow, we’ll head back to the site to conduct our research before heading back to the museum. It was HOT today! And we called it in early to head back to the hotel and cool down with some time in the pool. Be sure to check out our team blogs for Day 5. Thanks for reading along with us and all the encouragement, we’re having a great time (though we miss everyone at home too!!) – Jes
Bailey P.: Had a great day today, we went looking for fossils and stuff right outside of Perry, it was VERY hot, but a lot of fun! There was a really large area of tracks from reptiles from the Permian times, we’re going to be experimenting with the tracks, I’m really looking forward to it. There was also a lot of trace fossils of little worm burrows, that was cool, too. I’m looking forward to finishing up our work at the dig site tomorrow.
Jerra W.: Today we went to look for fossils.it was very hot. Our question is “Is it possible to determine how big and how fast and what direction they were going”. We will have 2 hours to test out theory. Afterword we will do a power point. Either over this one or the one we did before. Well it is 2 days till the closing ceremony and I can’t wait to see my family. But I will most definitley miss all of the new people I met here.
Sarrah M.: Hey! My project for today and tomorrow is to find out which direction the animal tracks are going in Oklahoma’s largest fossil track way in Perry. There are lots of fossil tracks that you can see just by standing there. It’s really hot when we’re looking for the tracks and fossils but guess it’s worth it. I’m kinda getting a sunburn on my face and neck but it’s not much. I still miss you guys but i don’t want to leave. I love you bye!
Falon: I had such a great day today! We went to a dig site just out of Perry, it was a little hot, but it was still fun! There was a big patch of tracks, and we are going to expiriment on those!! Can’t wait til tomorrow, we get to have so much!! Love everyone.
Charley W.: Hey again! Today we went to the fossil dig site out of Perry. We looked at (stood on) Oklahoma’s largest Permian-period trackway (as in footprint) site. Me and my partner Marvin worked on coming up with a project to do, by using the scientific method. We are going to mark off a SQ meter on the site and: count the number of tracks, count the number of claws on each one and see if there are any track series and count them. I’m having lots of fun! See you soon!
Marvin G.: Hey we are having fun. Me and my partner Charley are working on a different plan. We went to Oklahoma’s largest fossil trace. Me and Charley are going to see all the tracks in a meter square. We having fun and Oklahoma science adventure is awesome…
Kaylee C.: We are working on a power point for the second time! It’s about tracks or fossils. We are working in the largest track fossil field in Oklahoma! I’m having a lot of fun but camp is almost over 🙁 love you mom dad and Candace hope to see you soon!!!!!!!
Dakota R.: Working with a partner on a new project. We are in Perry. We will be working in one of Oklahoma’s biggest trace fossil fields. We get to study trace fossils tomorrow. Can’t wait to get started tomorrow.
Sandy: Hey, day five was really awesome! We are starting on our second field research project. This one is about paleontology. We went looking for fossils and I found one that was really cool. Our next power point presentations about our paleo questions will be really fun to watch. I’ve learned soooo much about fossils in just one day!
Koby P.: Today we went to a field where we looked at fossilized tracks. IT WAS HOT. My project is about comparing how many complete and incomplete tracks are in certain areas. I was hot but, later we played jeopordy and swam. My phone’s sim card is messed up too.
Hunter L.: Today we worked on the beginnings of our second research project. . . We got to go to a fossil site and find some cool fossils. We mostly found trace fossils which are like tracks or holes that animals made a really long time ago. The site we went to is home to the largest amount of trace fossils in a given small area. It has over 1,400 individual trace fossils known. We learned that Oklahoma is mostly a Permian Era state. The Permian Era had cold-blooded animals, mostly reptiles and amphibians. My project is going to be about trace fossils we found in the site. We’re trying to see if there was a general direction that the animals were traveling, we’ll see tomorrow!
Colby W.: Today we started another research project. My partner and I uncovered 4 fossil tracks and we had to come up with a question that we will research tomorrow. I found a fossil of a fish scale. My partner and I came up with a hypothesis that the site we were at was a lake or something with water near it. The site we were at had a dolomite stretch that had over 1400 documented track fossils.
Talon C.: Had a great day HOT day! Me and Sarrah are partners! we r seeing which way these fossilized foot print r going like in what direction! It’s going to be great! Got to listen to Koby sing on the way up to Perry lol it was funny! we are playing games in the hotel now lol hopefully i can sleep good tonight!=) family.
Trent: Today was pretty cool. We went out to a fossil track site and looked at some cool claw marks in the ground with our new scientist bill. The site went to is the largest fossilized track site in Oklahoma. We have to ask a question about it and answer it by observing and testing. It’s pretty cool. I’m going to try to tell a difference between the deep tracks and the ones that are pretty shallow by putting a meter stick in it to see how deep it is. I’m also going to see how much dirt they push behind them when they walk because the faster they are running the more dirt they push behind their track, so I can’t wait until tomorrow to test it. It’s going to be a lot of fun so I’m gonna go. See ya!
Day Six
Hi Everyone! We’re back at the Sam Noble Museum after another great day in the field! We beat the heat (mostly!) by doing our research in the morning. Our team came up with some great questions and worked together to map out the individual tracks on the trackway site. We saw some neat wildlife up close as a group of collared lizards decided to run circles around us and through our legs as we surface collected fossils. Back at the museum, we compiled our data, formed conclusions about the trackway, and presented our research to the group. Tomorrow, we’ll visit behind the scenes at the museum in the research collections, finish our presentations for Saturday and sleepover in the Ancient Life gallery-under the dinosaurs! – Jes
Jerra W.: Hey momma there is 2 more days. You need to tell me how my room is going. I can’t wait to see it and I really can’t wait to see you. We did our paleontology today it was fun. I am a little burned but I will live. And I know what I am gonna get Sable it is like this huge horse. Today we caught a boomer collar lizard. It was fun and it ran on top of like every ones shoe before we caught it. It was hot today.
Kaylee C.: We made another power point. We also had a scavenger hunt around the Sam Noble. We were collecting our data for the power point when we found one of the hardest lizards to catch according to the paleontologist. It crawled up Dakota’s leg when we finally caught it. I’m so excited we are in the OU suites it smells like flowers in here and there’s a lot of OU fans at the camp love you dad mom and can BYE!!!!!!!!!!
Trenton: Hey everyone I’m trying to be the first one to post my blog so it will be at the top! 😛 I’m still having a lot of fun. Today we went back to the fossil track site and did the research test I talked about yesterday and it was pretty good and fun and we also found some plant and seed trace fossils, a few boomer lizards that were about a foot long. Then we went to the museum and did a scavenger hunt. I’ll try to keep blogging and you can comment on our blogs so lata!
Talon C.: Today we back to the fossil site and did our project meh and Sarrah’s went great I got a bunch of fossil!!! Can’t wait to show you Chaini and Wylder and mom and dad! Then after baking in the sun we headed to Norman to the museum! We worked on our power point and did a scavenger hunt! My partner was Hunter and we got done with our scavenger 1st!! And now we are playing games and blogging!!! ttyl see everyone on Saturday!!!
Bailey P.: We went out in the feild today again, it was really hot…again. But we finished our trace fossil research project, and I’m extremely happy with how mine and Jerra’s turned out. We were also showed another dig site where a lot of fossilized plant life had been discovered. I found a fossil that had little seeds in it, and small bits of wood, it was really cool. And we went on a scavenger hunt thing in the museum, it was a lot of fun! I’m really excited to see what we’re going to be doing tomorrow, although I’m kinda sad that we only have one more day here. I know I’ll have a lot of fun while I can!
Colby W.: Today we researched on the track site again. We got to make plaster casts of some of the tracks. We saw a lot of Spotted Rocky Mountain Boomers and one ran up Dakota’s leg! We got to hang out at the museum after hours and had a scavenger hunt. I also found a fossil of a baby fern.
Marvin G.: We caught a lizard. It was big and it was green and a lil red. And one of the people that was selected, it ran up his pants. It was crazy and he was like omg . But he was laughing though.
Sandy: So we finished our research on our projects today. After we finished the research, we made some casts of trace fossils. Mine didn’t turn out very good though. This evening we had a scavenger hunt in the museum. It was really hard to find everything! It’s sad that tomorrow is the last full day of our adventure, but I’m excited to see everyone on Saturday for the closing ceremony!
Charley W.: Hey again! Today we finished up our paleontology project. At the dig-area we saw tons of Collard Lizards, and one of them ran up Dakota’s jeans! We caught it though (they are insanely fast!). We drove back to Norman from the dig site after we finished our research project. We are staying in OU dorms tonight, and tomorrow we are sleeping in the museum. We played this scavenger hunt in the museum after-hours it was so fun!!!!!! See you guys Saturday!
Hunter L.: We finished up our paleontology research projects today, it was hot. We got to get a plaster print of one of the trace fossils we found on Billings 1, which is the fossil place that we went to yesterday. . . And we caught one big lizard! We would’ve never caught it, but it climbed up Dakota’s pants. . . So we all got to pet it and stuff. I found a fossil on the site of a plant branch or a stem, and I got some fossils with ancient seeds in them. We also got to play this amazing scavenger hunt in the museum. Talon and I got done first! It was really fun to have to look at everything in detail, I learned a lot.
Sarrah M.: Hey! Today was fun. We went back to the fossil site and we finished up our projects. While we were there we saw a lizard and we tried catching it. It took us a little while but it climbed in the bottom of Dakota’s pants. It was so funny. After we left there we went back to the Sam Noble Museum and made another power point. I liked it when we had a scavenger hunt but i got 6th place..=( lol. Well i really like the dorms we’re staying in. They’re really neat inside. Well I’ll talk to you later. I love you Bye! =)
Dakota R.: Lol had a spotted rocky mountain boomer run in my pants. Had fun in the field with our research projects. We made plaster cast of the track way. We also found some plant fossils. Had one of the best days one the trip.
Falon R.: Today, we finished our paleontology out at the field. Meanwhile, while our molds were drying, we caught a lizard…in a weird way. It climbed up Dakota’s pants!! LOL We were trying to catch it, and it climbed up his pants! It was hilarious!! After that we rode back to the museum for a scavenger hunt that was very fun! We were last ones finished, but we did good!! Love everyone.
Koby P.: Today we researched our project question. We caught a lizard. Then we went to Arby’s which was pretty good. Then we came to Norman. Our ride to Norman was funny. Then we had a scavenger hunt in museum. Now we’re in the SOONER Suite.
Day Seven
Hi everyone! We spent the day at the museum today where we visited the herpetology and vertebrate paleontology collections. It was really neat to see how scientists keep specimens for future generations to study. We also completed our research presentations before watching “Night at the Museum” and heading off to sleep under the dinosaurs in the Ancient Life Gallery. We’re looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow and can’t wait to share our experiences! – Jes