Saturday Science Academy

Come join the fun at Larrabee State Park

Reminder for everyone….

               Saturday, May 14^th is the next Saturday Science Academy and activities run from 10am -3:30pm. We will meet at the NWIC Log Building where we will be leaving on an all-day field trip to Larrabee State Park.

In the morning, we will be examining the bedrock geology of the Chuckanut Mts., shale fossil beds, and the glacial history of the Puget Sound.  In the afternoon, students will hike and explore Wildcat Cove to examine tidal erosion and weathering, glacial scarring, and finally practice map and compass skills.  Saturday will be a full day and will be about 1 hour longer than usual due to driving time getting to and from Larrabee State Park.  

 It is not too late to sign up! Just shoot me an email or give me a call.  I’m hoping for sunshine!!

 ___________________________________________________________

Nathanael P. Davis │ Science Outreach Coordinator │Northwest Indian College

360.392.4271 │ ndavis@nwic.edu │ Saturday Science Academy

We came, we saw, we had lots of fun and we came home with a First Place in the Altitude Prediction portion of the First Nations Launch Competition and Mariya earned her National Association of Rocketry Level 2 certification, a feat not accomplished by many.

Getting up and organized for the 5:00 am flight on Thursday was an exciting event in itself. We stopped at Seatac, Chicago, and finally arrived in Milwaukee at 6:30 Central time. The team did a quick run through of their presentation that was to take place on Friday about 1:30.

Friday saw some opening introductions and the presentations by the eight teams. We were second to present. Needless to say, the team did an outstanding job. They knew the topic, they presented the information in a relaxed, yet professional manner, and they covered all of the items that the reviewers and judges wanted covered. I am certain that we were the best of the bunch.

Our rocket, Sad Tibbers, was examined for the required safety inspection and passed with flying colors. Several teams were still completing their rockets. A pizza dinner was followed by the team heading off to do various activities, swimming, hanging out, or whatever. Several helped the other teams get their rockets ready.

 Saturday was cold, a bit breezy, and mostly overcast. We had volunteered to launch first as part of our game plan to set the bar high for the rest of the participants. We were quite confident of our rocket and its abilities. The rocket was assembled, the science experiments setup and turned on, the parachutes packed, the altimeters set, the explosive charges built and installed, and the motor installed.

 Then the looooong walk out to the launch pad. Sad Tibbers was placed on the launch pad, Kyle removed the altimeter safety interlocks and armed the altimeters, and Mariya installed the igniter.

We then took the walk back to the safe area and watched as the Launch Control Officer announced our flight and did the countdown. Sad Tibbers rose into the sky on a tail of red flame and flew to an altitude of 3024 feet.

 We predicted 3330 feet and were within 91% of our estimate. That was good enough for us to place first in the altitude prediction portion of the competition. Our rocket performed flawlessly; its drogue parachute ejected at apogee and the main parachute ejected 700 feet above ground to bring it safely and slowly to ground.

We have a GPS tracker in the rocket which helps us locate it when it’s on the ground and out of sight.  Sad Tibbers landed about 650 yards from the launch area and as we were where walking to it, the GPS unit showed it moving!?! When we reached it, there were several hunters who had picked it up and moved it to the road so that we could find it easier. Thanks to them.

A great adventure! A great opportunity to meet other Tribal College Students and  seven other teams from Navajo Technical College (2 teams), Haskel Indians Nation University, Fon Du Lac Technical Community College, and three AISES teams, University of Minnesota, Azusa Pacific University, and a second Haskel AISES team, eight teams in all.

 We all feel that we should place quite highly in this event. We won’t know until early June because we have one more report to write and turn in and get evaluated.

By Gary Brandt

Whew! We’re back after an exciting adventure. First off, I could not be prouder of these folks! They were second to none. Oh, sure, there were those that knew more, but it was because they had the facilities such as wind tunnels, engineering departments, materials design labs, etc. not because they were any smarter. We looked very good in every category ranging from politeness, to timeliness, (“Of course NWIC is always first on the bus with everyone present”, Julie Clift, director) to knowledge of our rocket’s physics, to our science experiments, and to everything else. We did very well!

Our airplane left at 5:00am which meant very early wake up times. All made it in a timely fashion with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Only issue was that Kiya and Kiyen had their names submitted by Bellingham Travel somewhat incorrectly and that took some time to get straightened out. Hours of travel with stops in Seattle and Dallas got us to Huntsville, AL at 4:30 Central Standard Time. Our fifteen fit in nicely with the remaining 400 plus students from 25 different states. Our plane left at 5:00 on Sunday, the 17^th.

Thursday saw introductions and tours. We did very very well. Our understanding is that we were the only team that had absolutely nothing to fix or modify after the very extensive safety inspection on Thursday evening. The external reviewers that interviewed Mariya, Thomas, and Gordon all commented on the high quality of their interviews. They were confident, knowledgeable and articulate.

On Friday, under a tornado watch, we presented our rocket at the rocket fair. Each team had a table/booth to display the rocket as well as any supportive posters, items, etc. We, of course, didn’t bring anything; however, several of the folks headed by Krissy and Nick, obtained a nice table cloth, a big bowl of candy and a, go figure, a bubble machine! Our booth attracted many, it looked good, and the students really not only knew what they were talking about, but presented it in a very informative and relaxed manner. Much pizza was consumed during that time.

The organizers postponed Saturday’s launch because of the weather. That evening we had a talking circle and worked on prepping rocket for Sunday’s launch.

Saturday was basically a free day until the banquet that evening. The banquet was held in the US Space & Rocket Center, beneath 300 foot long Saturn V rocket that was suspended over our heads. This is the rocket that took the Apollo astronauts to the moon. The food was excellent and plentiful. Several awards were given out, best web site, most innovative technology experiment (MIT), most outreach, and prettiest rocket.

Sunday we were on the first bus to leave at 5:30 am to go to the launch site, third to get our rocket prepared and inspected and fourth to get it launched. Mariya and Gordon were interviewed live over the Internet and the launches were also broadcast live. There was quite a long delay from setting the rocket on the pad until the actual launch time, in fact, over an hour, because of the usual “thank yous”, speeches by politicians and words by other dignitaries. This delay played a key role in some of our data collection.

Gordon and Mariya were interviewed prior to the launch. Here is the url and approximate start time on the video time line: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/14092424  about 40:00. We finally got going and started the countdown for our rocket, Frankenstein II. The motor lit and off it shot. Unfortunately, the supplied launch pad collapsed and threw our rocket into an unstable trajectory that resulted in the rocket breaking in two. A collective “Ohhhhhh nooooo” came from the crowd of onlookers. Needless to say, we didn’t reach the target altitude of 5,280 feet, but more like 2,352 feet. Our rocket and team was totally exonerated from any fault as examination of the launch pad found two of the three cross braces had broken.

Here is the launch: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/14093612 about 40 minutes on the time line. After the remaining fifteen launches our recovery team retrieved the rocket and we took it to the inspection folks and Frankenstein was examined. Again the conclusion was that it was the result of a faulty launch pad and the rocket broke in two because of the extraordinary stress placed longitudinally whereas rockets main strength is along the vertical axis. We were reassured that the launch itself was relatively minor, point wise. I asked if we could get extra points for style and entertainment. Krissy and Justin were interviewed about the flight. The URL and approximate start time on the video time line: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/14097263 about 41:25.

We went back to the motel prior to all of the rockets launching because check out time was 1:00 and our flight left at 5:00. A bunch of tired folks arrived at Bellingham International at 11:40 pm. Whew!

–  Gary Brandt, Instructor of Computer  Technology

This was the fourth of eight Saturday Science Academy (SSA) events to be hosted by the Science Program of Northwest Indian College (NWIC).  Accented by sunshine warmth and beayuty, this was the first truly spring-like day to compliment an SSA event.  The day began with welcoming smiles, followed quickly by a warm-up game to help start the day.

Students participated in a game called “Tribal Gathering,” where skills such attentive listening and team collaboration were key to successfully winning the game. The teens were asked to spread out among a preset grassy area, where they would stay until given a specific command.  One leader would yell out commands, or numbers, which corresponded with a specific action.  For instance, if the number 1 was called, students would stand still with hands to the sky like a totem pole.  If the number 2 was called, students would have to find a partner and ling hands over their heads to form a teepee.  If the number 3 was called, students would form up into groups of three in a tandem line and row as if in a canoe.  If the number 4 was called, students would have to gather up into a group of four in a circle to form a drum circle, etc.  In order to win the game students would have to be in a correct grouping and not left standing without the correct number in a group.  This game involved plenty of running, acting, and laughing.

After several games were played, students gathered back in the Log Building to listen to Lora Boome speak about plants that were important to Native Peoples of the Pacific Northwest.  As Lora introduced each species of plant she also identified the plant’s significance, value and use (medicinal, nutritional, material and spiritual).  The plants that Lora introduced were the Western Red Cedar, Black Cottonwood, Douglas Fir, Frog Leaf Plantain, Skunk Cabbage, Wild Onion, Yarrow, Mountain Huckleberry, Stinging Nettle, Evergreen Violet, and Beaked Hazelnut.  After examining each plant and its respective utility, students were challenged with a fun, fill-in-the-blank survival game.  Students separated into teams of four and worked together to solve the story puzzle, filling the name of each plant as it would be used by the people in each narrative.  The team with the most correct answers won various products such as a healing salve, ointments, lip balm, and others made from native plants harvested by Lora.  Finally, the morning finished with the making of stinging nettle tea.  Lora taught students how to take the dried leaves of stinging nettles and mint and mix them into small bags to be steeped under hot water for tea. 

The afternoon began with a made-for-high-school lunch of pizza, salad, chips, soda and cookies.  During lunch, students were introduced to the concepts of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK).   Students were read an excerpt from an article, Weaving Traditional Ecological Knowledge into Biological Education: A Call to Action by Dr. Robin W. Kimmerer, a Potawatomi Indian and Associate Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.  The students learned the meaning of TEK and the value it has as an educational resource.  Additionally, students were encouraged to consider their own understanding of TEK and how it plays a role in their daily lives.  Students came up with thoughts such as knowing when (the exact time of season) the salmon run so as to be ready for fishing or that knowing that when the frogs stop croaking, winter has begun, etc.   

After discussions concluded, students loaded into vans and were driven to Birch Bay State Park for a hike through the woods.  The hike began at the Terrell Marsh Trailhead where students closed their eyes and quietly attuned their senses to the forest environment (the wind, birds chirping, rustle of leaves, the smell fresh flowers and earth, etc.). It is important to note that several restroom breaks were taken by students before and after arriving at Birch Bay State Park.  Nathanael Davis led the students in a plant identification exercise hike walking past trees, shrubs and herbs and teaching students how each plant worked together or competed to live and thrive in the same habitat.  He pointed out fallen trees that had become nutrient sources (nurse logs) for a new generation of plants, located standing dead trees (snags) that had become homes for wildlife such as squirrels and woodpeckers, and marveled at the rich diversity of plant life adorning the forest floor. 

 By the end of the hike, students hands were full with leaves and twigs and flowers to take back home to show their families.  The drive back to campus was lively as students basked in the smell of flowers and rays of sunshine pouring in through van windows.  The day concluded with the traditional feedback reflection and awards ceremony.  While some students expressed the desire to do other activities in the sunshine and a general boredom with learning about plants, many participants displayed high appreciation of the hike through the woods and their new found familiarity with plants they had never know before.

Join us on Saturday April, 23rd from 10am-3pm for the next Saturday Science Academy (SSA).  Native American high school teens will be learning about traditional ecological knowledge through the lens of Ethnobotany. Students will learn about native trees, shrubs, herbs and flowers and how these plants have come to be used and valued by Native American Salish peoples of the Pacific Northwest.

The next SSA event will include a field trip to Birch Bay State Park and a hike along the Terrell Marsh Trail where students will use their new understanding to identify native plants. their cultural uses, and their value and relationship to the overall ecosystem of the Pacifc Northwest lowland rainforest.

The event is free of cost to all participants (lunch included)To sign up contact Nathanael Davis at ndavis@nwic.edu or 360.392.4271!

Check It Out!! : Earth Day Ethnobotany Event