Thursday, Feb. 11 was Family Science Night at a local elementary school. An organization called Sierra Nevada Journeys had put everything together and were looking for volunteers, and I wanted to go. They teach STEM activities; Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (sometimes called STEAM with an art component). I have never officially developed STEM or STEAM activities and I wanted to see what they looked like.
My station was called "Capture a Cloud." I taught students about high and low pressure weather systems, and about cloud formation. I had the students spray water into a 2L bottle, I lit a match and dropped it into the bottle and quickly put on the lid. The students would squeeze the bottle a few times, then I would show them what happened to the "cloud" caught inside the bottle...when we squeezed the bottle, the cloud disappeared. When we released the pressure, the cloud formed. By the end of the activity, the students could tell me the three elements needed to form a cloud: water vapor, heat, and pressure. Then they went on to the next station, which had more to do with high and low pressure systems, but in a different way.
My friend Linda, with River Wranglers, also volunteered. She had the station beside me.
They let me play with fire! I only dropped one burning match onto the table in front of the students...it was a good thing my instructions were laminated!
I also had four days off over President's Day weekend. It's not a really busy weekend at the park, and it's probably the last long weekend I will have off with my husband until the season is over! We went to Southern California and visited the La Brea Tar Pits and, of course, the beach--but only for a few minutes. The tar pits were great! Not exactly what I had imagined, but still very interesting and fun to walk around.
Today I looked over seasonal applications and picked some to interview, set a tentative date for interviews (haven't called anyone yet), and went out into the park! I started cleaning campsites: I walked around the campground, stopping at each site to pick up litter, then I started emptying fire pits and raking the sites out. I started at the beginning, then moved on to the sites that really needed to be cleaned. I hadn't gone through each individual site for a while, so I decided it was time, and the weather was great!
I also went out to Little Washoe to check garbage, restrooms, and fee compliance. I left a couple envelopes, took some pictures, and then went on to our North Boat Ramp and Equestrian Area. I only talked to one person who had been walking his dog at the park for "years," and never had to pay. He was surprised there was a fee, even though it's clearly posted, more than once, at the park entrance. I think people really do drive right past the signs without reading them, or just decide they will pay when they get caught. At least today no one told me they thought the park was "closed!"
This picture wasn't from today, but when the water comes up at Little Washoe, it comes up fast! Sometimes we have to rescue our drowning picnic tables...I've pulled this one out of the water a few times now. Hopefully it's out of harm's way!
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