Today was the day that the students gave their final presentations. Each group had ten minutes to present their experimental question, design, results, and final thoughts. At the end of the presentation their peers and instructors asked final questions and gave closing feedback. By this stage they've had several opportunities to improve and fine-tune their work, and this fine tuning showed in the quality of the presentations. We are really proud of the work the kids have done in the field, in the lab, and in long hours of preparing their presentations. We're looking forward to this fall when they can share the work with their parents.
We had a filling lunch of spaghetti and meat sauce, and had to say goodbye to Allan and Silver, the research assistants who worked with the students all week, as they were heading back to their home lab for a few days. Next we got ready to head out for our final hike in the rain forest. On the hike, we were guided by Pablo, the owner of Finca la Anita, Carlos, who works there and fulfills a number of critical functions, and a man who works an organic farm in the area. He goes by Tio (Uncle in Spanish) Abel. They helped us navigate steep and muddy trails, cross small streams, and arrive at our goal destination; a waterfall with a pool to swim in at its base. The kids happily splashed around and swam a bit. The cool water felt great after the muggy heat we've lived in. Pablo laughed watching them swim and said "only Minnesota kids would not think this water is too cold!" We were in our element.
After playing around in the water, we dumped out our boots the best we could, and hiked back to where we started. We arrived very muddy and wet, but proud of tackling the challenging terrain. We hosed off and were served hot coffee before the tractor ride back.
Back at Finca la Anita, we got cleaned up, enjoyed dinner, then had free time in the evening to clean up our classroom areas and start packing, because tomorrow we leave Finca and travel to Horizontes, a research station in the Guanacaste region. More on that tomorrow.
We are enjoying our time here, and we're really proud of all that the kids are learning.
Pura Vida!
Mrs. Miller and Ms. Jaworski
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