So day 8 began like any other day. We got up and OMG it was raining :( Seriously, this weather is the total opposite of the last trip. Well...as a wise lion once said, "Nothing ever happens the same way twice." (BONUS to anyone who can ID that lion) but I digress...
Today was aquarium day and I have to say my favorite day of the trip! I worked at the Great Lakes Aquarium for a few years, also volunteered before working there, and I absolutely love it.
We showed up a tad early so I decided to take the group on a little walk. It was foggy so we discussed that we were basically sitting in a cloud and discussed what that meant while walking towards Canal Park. I took them to Vertical Endeavors (rock climbing establishment) to meet my good friend Amanda Lindquist and her class. She took them there for their last day of school. I was asked A LOT why I didn't bring my students there. The simple answer is I figured we didn't have a disastrous moment with horsebackriding.....I didn't want to push my luck. It'll definitely be considered for the next trip.
We eventually made our way back to the aquarium to start off our adventure. We were met by Samantha and she took us back to the classroom to start our Herpetology class. The main reason why Herpetology was chosen for their class was because our students have very little, if any, contact with these types of animals so we wanted to expose them a bit. They have obviously seen them on the discovery channel once or twice, but touching a turtle is very different than seeing it on TV.
The class was fabulous! The students learned how animals are classified to be a part of 'Herpetology,' they also learned about two major animal groups: Amphibians and Reptiles. For Amphibians they were challenged to think about what they look like, sound like, feel like, and what makes then unique. This really challenged them and there was a lot of group work and brainstorming, PERFECT practice for the school year. After brainstorming they got to see if they could identify five types of frogs by their sounds. The students learned that amphibians, like frogs, are easier to ID by their sounds because they camouflage so well. Let me tell you, they had SO much fun learning the sounds and impersonating them :D They also got to look at tadpoles and frogs within the classroom. So Much Fun!
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| The five frogs they learned to ID |
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| tadpoles! |
Next we learned about Reptiles and what makes them similar and also different from the Amphibians. Again, a lot of excellent group work and brainstorming. They were really pushed to think and reason why things are the way they are. Good Things :) For the Reptiles, there were challenged to ID a certain type of turtle by using a specific key that asks questions and from the answers you can ID the animal. There is a name for it but I can't remember. I fail.
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| Looking at snake skin |
They also got to meet Bob the Ball Python! Bob is fabulous. He has a really cool pattern that looks like ET's head. Super Cool. I've meet Bob a time or two from my volunteering and working there so I was really glad when Samantha brought him out. Of course the students got to touch him and ask questions, another super fun first for them. Afterwards Bernie went around and doused their hands in sanitizer....no bacteria survived....guaranteed!
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| ID'ing the turtle |
All things have to come to an end sadly. We said our thanks to Samantha and goodbyes and headed out to explore the aquarium. I challenged the students to find 5 facts from the aquarium. Our students have a hard time deciphering the difference between fact and opinion so this was a little exercise to work on it. It again challenged them but eventually the were reading more and more of the signs and listening to either Cassius, Bernie or I when we would read facts out loud to them. So cool. They had so much fun exploring. We spent a lot of time on the lock system of the lakes. They thought it was fascinating. We also spent a lot of time in the 'Master of Disguise' exhibit. It's full of animals that use different camouflage techniques. Lots and lots of fun. We ended our trip by watching Mary Pensak teach a lesson on Brian their octopus.
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| Trying to get the Macaw dance :) |
The Vista Fleet Cruise was next. Unfortunately Lake Superior was too rough so we couldn't go onto the lake. Instead we stayed within the bay and learned a lot of cool factoids about it instead. I challenged the students to actually listen to the guy talking and write a few facts down. My students are SUPER literal so I had to be specific, in the end I said two. The guy who was narrating the cruise was hilarious and the kids figured out quickly that if they stood by me I would repeat was he was saying, because I was laughing and following along. They enjoyed being out on the water and the weather actually shaped up and was pretty beautiful. It was windy but the sun peaked out and warmed us up for a bit. We also had to share the boat with another HUGE school group. There were teenagers running around everywhere! It's was pretty chaotic. By the end of the cruise we were all huddled together, they were a bit overwhelming.
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| Got a tan from being outside on deck all afternoon :) |
The cruise ended and we headed out for Park Point to go say HELLO to Lake Superior. Now I mentioned that the day turned out pretty nice but it was still pretty windy. Well that didn't bug our students one bit. They headed out to put their feet into the lake. They thought that when I said the lake averages 39-40 degrees that that was warm....well until they put their feet in and FELT 39-40 degrees. LOL. That didn't stop them from jumping in though! Bernies daughter was the first to go in and carried on her sisters tradition from the last trip of being fully clothed. Eventually everyone except one student jumped into the lake fully clothed! It was insane! There was a lot of yelling and squealing but they did it and I know it's a memory that will stay with them forever :)
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| The Girl who started it! |
The problem with everyone jumping into the lake was that when they got out they were soaked and cold. We had to get to the train station by 6 and it was 5:30. Needless to say we sped back to the hotel like a bat out of h-e-double hockey sticks! I told the students that they had to RUN to their rooms, quickly change, and run back if we were going to make the train. They held up their end and changed in under 5 minutes! It was nuts!
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| Running to the car....soaking |
We made it in time and Bernie and Cassius eventually did find their way to the train station. We all loaded the train together and had a great time! The pizza train is a lot of fun :) We found a car with really comfy seats so Bernie and I hid in there and ate our pizza. Eventually kids trickled in and I kept teasing them that we were in 1st class, they had to go back to coach :P The back car was really old and had a door so you could step out and watch the world go by. There was also a gentleman that was really interested in the village and the students. Bernie and I chatted with him for a bit.
Overall, great idea to take the kids on the train. It's a smooth ride so none of the kids felt sick and they all really enjoyed being on a train. We took a picture by the train, with the conductor (sweet guy!) The best part was they just got a car with ALASKA on it...so of course we took a picture in front of that car.
At the hotel the students went and swam in the outdoor pool. They didn't get a chance to use the water park again but I think they weren't too scarred by this. They all had smiles on their faces and they kept using the frog noises to speak to each other....cracked me up.
Tomorrow is Mall of America day....Lord Help Us.
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