Want some Advising? Traveling to the Galapagos over lunch.
The Galapagos Islands are an amazing place. If you haven't read about them, or seen a “Nova” episode on them, you may not understand what I mean, but the ability to see wildlife “up close and personal” as well as to walk in Darwin's footsteps is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
In this, I am like an MIT Freshmen.
When I was a 7th grader, my school district (I was attending Curundu Junior High School in the Panama Canal Zone) had a competition in which the winner of each grade (7th grade through Senior in high school) would get an all-expense paid trip to the Galapagos Islands for a 2 week trip, as well as the opportunity to study about evolution, Darwin's theories, and work together on a group documentation project of the experience. I was lucky enough to be selected, to live on the Pato Feo (“ugly duckling” -- the name of our boat) for two weeks, to visit the islands, to swim in the open ocean with sea lions, to see penguins living next to flamingos. It was an amazing experience. And one I thought I could never relive.
Well, I did this week (at least vicariously). Imagine my surprise to see very large bird tracks lining the infinite corridor walkway:
Next to the feet was a large sign announcing a Galapagos exhibit:
Evidently, students in the Terrascope program had created a Galapagos museum designed to allow visitors to get a glimpse of what life is like in the Galapagos Islands.
Now, for those of you who don't know, Terrascope is a program for First Year students at MIT which allows participants to study Earth and Life Sciences through hands-on participatory projects. As one of the advising choices, Terrascope represents a great opportunity for students during their freshman year.
Erika Erickson and Scott Chilton were two of this year's participants who happened to be minding the exhibit when I walked through (sorry for the bad photo):
There were many exhibits to visit, including a “population slide” demonstrating the effects of human population on wildlife in the islands:
A super-size Sea Cucumber with light up display of its body parts (you're looking at the intestine here):
A Galapagos Marine Iguana replica who shot saline excrement out at you if you pushed a red button (for the love of science, I did!):
An Origami station to make your own Galapagos Penguin to take with you:
A display inviting you to participate as a field scientist by counting the number of fish swimming by:
An interactive relief map of the islands (the equator is lit on the first map, and Little Seymour island on the second):
And a house representing how humans who live on the islands need to balance the islands' need with their own:
There were many other exhibits as well, some asking you to match eggs with the birds which laid them, some showing the geological history of the islands, some showing the fragile balance that exists between political actors and how the increasing complexity of “untying this knot” threatens the future of the Galapagos itself.
All in all, an amazing exhibit. And also amazing that the students in the program spent their spring break this year in the Galapagos, visiting the islands, making notes for their exhibits, and in short getting to experience one of nature's most fascinating sites up close and personal.
I asked the two Freshmen where next year's class is going. The answer: Hawaii -- I've never been there, so maybe it's not too late for me to become an MIT Freshman.
In the meantime, if you are an incoming MIT student, it is not too late to apply to the Terrascope program for next year. The application deadline is June 17th.
As a final memento, here are some shots of me in the Galapagos as a 7th grader... Funny how much changes in so short a time (and how little).
