10/11-10/17
The start of a new session means the start of a new quest. As we swam into our new “Marine Science quest,” Tuesday morning, it was apparent we were all going to have blast exploring the underwater world as well as our session question “How does an environment influence an individual?”!
In the Spark Studio… we had a fabulous kickoff to session 2! Through launches and new works we will be investigating oceans, marine life, and how animals have adapted to their environment and how pollution and littering are harmful for our environment. In addition, the heroes will be exploring the continent of Australia this session. Learners were excited and engaged with new works as they explored the native food, music, wildlife, and history. Throughout this session the heroes will be creating their very own ‘Adventure Book’ with all they are learning and creating. They are excited to share their adventures with you at exhibition.
One particularly powerful moment this week came as we all gathered around the tribe time rug with many, MANY books about oceans and Australia. As heroes explored the beautiful photographs and information in these books individually, learners naturally began asking thought provoking questions and were excited to share what they had learned with a fellow learner. Learning is such a natural process when it is learner driven!
A few pics of outdoor fun!
In the Fire Studio… we opened our session with a discussion about the opportunity each new session gives us to “refresh” ourselves. After a week break we are ready to set new goals and make changes. Without any promptings or suggestions from guides, the change most heroes wanted to make this session was to work even harder than last session! Ask your hero what change they want to make this session.
Many heroes chose to physically refresh themselves : )
Korea was the focus of our civilization discussion this week. It was fun to find out about the Hwarang or Flowering Knights, an elite warrior group of male youth in Silla, one of the three kingdoms that made up modern day Korea. It was also interesting to find out about the group of female elite warriors in training who preceded them called the Wonhwa which means original flowers. The heroes learned to play a Korean game called Yut Nori that dates all the way back to the three kingdoms. There is a lot of strategy involved even though your moves are determined by throwing sticks in the air and seeing how they land.
It proved easy to engage with our new quest this week. At one point we were 10 minutes into lunch and the heroes were so deeply engaged no one wanted to quit! Our quest narrative is that the National Ocean Service is launching a fleet of research submarines in 6 weeks to investigate the remains of a very old lifeboat. They are hoping the sunken lifeboat provides the clues that solve the maritime mystery of the Mary Celeste (ask your heroes!). Your heroes have been commissioned to crew the submarines and bring their families along, and they have the time between now and the exhibition to educate themselves on the weather and currents they’ll be facing, the sea life they’ll encounter, the chemistry of the ocean, and human impacts on the marine ecosystem. Their submarines will launch at 2:30 PM on Wednesday, November 17, which also happens to be the time and date of the exhibition! The knowledge and skills they gain during this quest will mean the difference between reaching the research destination and claiming whatever prize they might find there, or perishing in the deep sea abyss. The heroes are investigating marine science through weekly group projects and experiments, individual reading and research, a guided online deep dive into a topic of interest, and a sea creature report (for Writer’s Workshop).
Whether we are old or young, people are naturally drawn to the mystique and beauty of the underwater world. This is going to be a fantastic session of exploration and learning!