Visiting Surtsey

We have been time traveling back to 1963 and 1964, after our presence was requested by Dr. Sigurdur Thorarinsson to study the new (1963 new) volcanic island of Surtsey. First, he asked what we think would happen to the island since it was originally made of ash. We conducted wave tests on rocky, sandy, and "ashy" coasts and found that an ashy coast would erode quickly.

After relaying this news to him, we received another letter, asking for help deciding which types of scientist should visit the island at first. There was only room in the helicopter for three scientists in addition to the pilot, so we had to make tough decisions, weighing the options carefully against our knowledge of what conditions would exist on the island at first.

We made a list of types of scientists:

Then, we wrote to Dr. Thorarinsson to explain our thinking.

The Story of Chubby Fuzzy Riding Hood, or, Nouns, verbs, and adjectives, oh my!

We have been studying folk tales and parts of speech lately, and the two met in our retelling of this classic tale, Chubby Fuzzy Riding Hood. I asked students for some adjectives, nouns, and verbs, without them knowing what they were for. Then, we substituted those for ones in the original story, ending up in a very different place...

The Story of Chubby Fuzzy Riding Hood
by Room 204

Once upon a time, there was a fluffy cat named Chubby Fuzzy Riding Hood. She lived with her spider in a smooth and sweet sink on the edge of the forest. One day, her spider told her that her hamster was sick. Chubby Fuzzy Riding Hood would have to take her a basket of guinea pigs, tortoises, and girls to help her feel better.
“Make sure you go straight there!” her spider said. “Save all the way to her house, and don’t swim, like you normally do. And watch out for the dog on the way!”

Later that day…

Her hamster looked a little different than usual, but it was hard to see, as the curtains had been drawn over the windows. For a second, it looked to Chubby Fuzzy Riding Hood that her hamster had a tuft of fur around her hands and head, but then she pulled the blanket tighter over her head. Chubby Fuzzy walked closer to the bed.

“Oh, hamster," she said, "what turquoise dolphins you have."
“The better to hear you with, my child," was the reply.
“But, hamster, what blue trees you have," she said.
“The better to see you with, my dear.”
“But, hamster, what smashed toys you have."
“The better to hug you with."
“Oh, but, hamster, what a green, goofy gorilla you have!"
“The better to eat you with!"

And scarcely had the dog said this, than with one bound he was out of bed and swallowed up Chubby Fuzzy Riding Hood in one bite.

Waves

We have been researching the way that water changes the land. We used wave tanks to see how water interacts with a rocky coast, a sandy coast, and a coast made of ash, as a volcanic island might have.

Wave action on a sandy beach from Stephen MacLellan on Vimeo.