interesting science experience!

Each monday I ask my students (seniors at MSU) for any interesting
science experiences from the week. As you can imagine I have my own
to share (including bringing in those super sized mushrooms from a
few weeks ago and asking my students to dissect them!). Anyhow, Well,
here is an interesting science experience I thought I'd share here. I
was driving home from a meeting in Detroit on monday and a wicked
cold front was coming through. Its a long drive, about an hour and
half, most of which is on the highway. We were having bands of "ice
pellets and snow" interspersed with sunshine and wind. it was really
odd. So anyway, I was passing through an ice pellet and snow band and
the sun came out and i saw a rainbow. Im not sure Ive ever seen a
rainbow with ice and snow before so it was cool and reminded me of
the rainbow I saw in hawaii! I would have taken a picture, but i was
trying to drive on the highway and take in the rainbow at the same
time, so couldnt manage the pic.

hawaii x3

so my last post with pics from hawaii (I think!). We saw a rainbow,
which as full and bright and dipped below the clouds into the valley!
it was beautiful and amazing! We also went to Honolulu Harbor and
looked over into the water and saw lots of fish, including the
Humuhumunukunukuapuaa. I learned how to pronounce while there, but
havent tried to pronounce it since! This beautiful blue water is
water in the harbor where the ships come in and its still bright
blue! We also took a drive on the Pali parkway and stopped at the
Nuuanu Pali Lookout. It is very windy! In 1795, Kamehameha I and his
army invaded Oahu in an effort to "unite" the hawaiian islands, and
led the Kalanikupule's troops to their deaths by forcing them over
the steep cliffs at the Nuuanu Pali Lookout. And now lets see, the
last picture is the view from our hotel room!

banyan trees

We enjoyed looking at the rich vegetation in Hawaii. I think what the most interesting were the banyan trees. The trees have long vines (which are really aerial roots). It took a few days, but we began to realize that these vines settle into the ground and become part of the tree, like little mini trunks.  This process can allow the trees to get fairly large.  We read about (but did not see) a banyan tree in hawaii that takes up an entire city block! The ones we saw were pretty big too, and as you can see from the post below, great for playing tarzan! (Go Scott!).

When  I looked up banyan trees on the internet I learned that the banyan tree is considered sacred and represents eternal life. I also learned its sap and roots are good for treating external skin inflammations and bruising along with skin ulcers, dysentery, and toothaches, and the bark and seeds are used to treat patients with diabetes.

how could i forget?

the most exciting picture from the falls... scott aka tarzan swinging
on the vine tree in the parking lot!

where to start?

We had a really wonderful trip to Hawaii. it was wonderful to see my friend, tara, and to just have some fun with the family,  when scott wasnt conferencing! I think my favorite part of the whole trip was the walk up Monoa Falls. Its about a 400 ft incline and I am proud to say that both girls made it up and down despite the rain, rocks and mud! We were covered in mud when we were done, but it was nice to be one with mother nature!  At the top was a beautiful waterfall. Manoa Falls tumbles down a near vertical cliff for 150-feet into a small pool. The hike to the falls brings you through through a bamboo forest, rainforest, and base of the Ko'oaus Mountains. There were signs that said to watch for wild pigs, so there you have it!

More later....

beach

Here are the girls playing in the sand on the beach in honolulu.
Frankie drew herself playing with Bee and Bee wrote her name in
cursive. The water is warm and a bright breen - perfect for playing
in!

MSU rally

Barack Obama visited MSU this past week. I think my favorite picture of all is the one of Bee and Frankie standing by the MSU rock, which was painted for the occasion.

Anyhow, I was asked to volunteer for the event, since Ive been volunteering in the east lansing office. My  "job" for the day was to stand in the stands right behind the stage until they were ready to fill the seats. Since I was right behind the stage, I decided to stand right up next to the stage during Obama's presentation. When he left, he step off of the stage and shook hands, and so I got to shake his hand!  It was a cold day and overcast, but that didnt stop about 20,000 students, faculty, staff, and others from hanging out. Oh and I was standing next to the football team and the secret service - i know you cant really see him, but that is #23 (Javon Ringer) at the end of the row. anyhow, i put the football pic in for those of you who may not be Obama fans but love the spartans! Go Green!