Wednesday, April 28, 2010

What a day.



The COMPASS LLC had a wonderful time at the Shedd Aquarium this past Saturday. We had about 4 hours to check out all the exhibits and made good use of our time.

They have a few beluga whales. One of which had a baby in December, which prompted me to have this song stuck in my head for a good portion of the day. One Aquarium guest standing next to me at the Beluga tank remarked, "Wow, look! A dolphin swimming with a manatee!". Apparently she missed all the signs...

We swung through the gift shop and Christina and I found (but did not purchase) otter masks.

The LLC pauses for a moment to really think about everything they've seen...

The COMPASS LLC is on a boat.


I brought along a few note cards and a pack of crayons. When we had time at the end of the day, we stopped at a table and everyone drew what their favorite part of the trip was, and explained why.

Mason enjoyed the medusa cniderians...more commonly known as jellyfish for they way they swim.


Maggie found the bride by the belugas to be amusing. Yes, there was a couple that apparently got married at the aquarium.


Matt liked the belugas because he found them to be the most interesting of anything there.


Justin liked the eel because it was easiest to draw on a note card.


Christina was also a fan of the jellyfish and how they were changing colors.


***Not pictured, they had a few windows talking about tectonic activity and ancient oceans. This applied to my group because the course the LLC took last semester was about plate tectonics. However, nothing there was especially photogenic or "drawable".


It was a good trip and everyone had lots of fun.



Until next time.....
-Carly Danger Wilson

Monday, April 26, 2010

Welcome to Chicago


And we are on our way on the greyhound bus.....Megan takes a nap on Jordan's shoulder.

We saw a lot of great work at The Chicago Institute of Art Museum. One of the most well known pieces being American Gothic.

Then we went to Millennium Park. We Loved The Bean and fountains.

The group standing in front of a sculpture done by an artist they will be studying.
Until next time....the Visual Arts LLC

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Under the Sea

Fun fact: this Saturday the COMPASS Scholar LLC will be going to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.

Now, I know what you're thinking....how are you taking a group of students to Chicago?

Funny you should ask. We're going with the Union Adventure Center. They plan all sorts of fun trips and provide transportation. It's definitely a campus resource to keep your eye on if you enjoy having fun and doing fun things.

As a group, our favorite part of Discovery World was the Reiman Aquarium...so we decided that this trip was a natural progression.

A fancy learning outcome for us to work towards:
"COMPASS LLC students who come to the aquarium will be able to see aquatic animals and plants in seven exhibits that exemplify aspects of their studies in chemistry and biology, as demonstrated by our field trip on Saturday. "


Pictures to be posted upon our return.


-Carly Danger Wilson,
RA, COMPASS LLC

Monday, April 19, 2010

What's New Lab Rats?

As second semester is quickly drawing to a close and classes are heating up, the Lab Rats have a couple events planned for this final month of school as well.

First of all, on April 30th the Lab Rats will be presenting their projects and topics of research at the Undergraduate Research Symposium in the UWM Union Ballroom from 1:00-3:00pm. This will be an awesome opportunity to see what the members of this LLC have been working on all semester and to learn about all the cool research they've been doing.

The other upcoming event for our LLC is our final social. The social hasn't been planned quite yet but I'm sure it will include delicious food and maybe even an evening off campus. I will be working with the LLC members to cement the details and make sure we have an awesome time and send our LLC off in style!

That's all for now, stay tuned for more info on our spring social and pictures too!

Saturday, April 17, 2010

I just remembered I need to do some major updating on the Film LLC and also the Visual Arts LLC.

The Film LLC had a busy week!

We went to the Milwaukee Art Museum on Saturday to check out the "Street Seen" exhibit which is all about street photography. I really enjoyed it and the residents seemed to as well. After that exhibit we checked out some other cool things around the museum. Check out the Infinity Box next time you are there...that was out personal fave. On Tuesday we also say filmmaker George Kuchar in person at the Union Theater!

In other news....I am SOOOO excited for the Visual Arts LLC trip this upcoming Saturday. I will try not to spam the blog too much with cool pictures!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Fun Times at Discovery World



So a couple weeks ago we Lab Rats traveled to Discovery World and had an awesome time while learning in the process! None of us had ever been to Discovery World so it was really cool to see all the sweet exhibits. Another fun part is that we got to go with the Compass Scholars LLC, and whaddya know, they turned out to be pretty cool kids!
One of the exhibits that interested me was the energy conservation exhibit. After going through this exhibit the Lab Rats were able to identify several different energy conservation methods that are used today. A few types they picked out included: solar panels, wind turbines, different types of light bulbs, and specialized insulation.
Another highlight exhibit was the Techno Jungle. This exhibit featured all different types of technological innovations and recent inventions. We all had fun trying out the "bed of nails" and got to lay on a platform of sharp nails!
On the bus ride back we talked about our visit and we all agreed that the greatest part of
Discovery World was the aquarium in the basement. Not only did we get to see all sorts of sweet fish but we got to touch them too! (I even held a starfish.) Overall it was a fun time and we learned a lot about science in the process.
Anne-Marie =)