Field Trips
On February 5th the middle school spent all day at the Bob Bullock Museum and IMAX theatre. We had a great time touring the museum in the morning, and then we viewed the awesome 3-D movie Grand Canyon. After that we ate lunch in the museum café and went back for a second 3-D movie – Wild Ocean.
On March 5th Ms. Lamare and Mrs. Cook took the middle school on a long bus ride through the Hill Country to Westcave Preserve just outside of Round Mountain. We hiked down a steep slope with carved steps into a canyon that dead-ended in a series of caves and small waterfalls. We were able to walk behind the waterfall and saw a great variety of wildlife and interesting varieties of vegetation. It was a beautiful spring day. After hiking back up the canyon we ate boxed lunches in the picnic area and were serenaded by wild pigs lurking and grunting somewhere in the brush below. The bus ride back was riotous: the 5th and 6th grades tried to out-sing the 7th and 8th grades in a deafening show-down. Eventually, most of us went to sleep.
On May 20th the middle school, minus the 8th grade, will be kayaking with trained instructors on Lady Bird Lake. We are planning to leave first period in order to avoid sunburns as much as possible. We will have a catered picnic lunch by Deep Eddy pool and then swim for an hour before returning to school.
Geocaching at GSA
From the Geocaching website:
Geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunting game played throughout the world by adventure seekers equipped with GPS devices. The basic idea is to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, outdoors and then share your experiences online. Geocaching is enjoyed by people from all age groups, with a strong sense of community and support for the environment.
More importantly, geocaching is FUN!
With the help of Ms. Lamare, Gary Poole, and Phil Ryals, the 8th grade SET class was able to take a geocaching mini-field trip. Mr. Ryals found the coordinates for two local caches (there are no fewer than 1601 hidden caches in the 78703 zip code and 745,150 active geocaches around the world). We drove and parked within walking distance of the hidden treasure, used two hand-held GPS devices to guide us, and were successful in finding both Frodo's Monster Cache and the Bamboozled stash.
We would love to go again as soon as possible!