Earth
This section of the web site is devoted to my studies related to the planet upon which we live. Those areas are my undergraduate field of study Geology and what will be my graduate field of study, Geography.
Why?
I have always had a special romantic relationship with the Earth. Yes, I know that sounds strange to say the least. Through my life, science was always a favorite subject of mine and the one area that kept repeating itself at the top of the list was the Earth Sciences.
My first science fair project (in 1964) was all about clouds, how and when they were formed. I made these model inside plastic boxes, using cotton for the clouds and a marker to show where the fronts were. The next year I did a project on air pressure (seemed to be a natural progression). I used to (and still do) love to compare my forecasts to the Weather Bureau.
The summer before I entered high school, I went to summer school. No, I did not flunk a class, but attended the Summer Science Seminar, sponsored by our local public schools. For six weeks, we visited just about every scientific facility in and around the Washington, DC area. The last week of the course we spent doing basic earth science field work in the mountains and valleys of West Virginia. I loved it!
One of the places that we visited during the class was the Mineral Collections at the Smithsonian. I remember going home and saying to my parents that I would so love to work there. And little did I know...
For the three summers during high school, I applied for and was accepted by a National Science Foundation program at American University for high school students. The program enabled students to get first hand experience in government and private scientific facilities, working and learning side-by-side with scientists. I had the honor of working for the late Dr Paul Desautels in the Department of Mineral Sciences at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. It was truly a wonderful educational experience.
So, when it came to thinking about a major for my post-retirement education, there was only one choice: Geology!
...to be continued...
Why?
I have always had a special romantic relationship with the Earth. Yes, I know that sounds strange to say the least. Through my life, science was always a favorite subject of mine and the one area that kept repeating itself at the top of the list was the Earth Sciences.
My first science fair project (in 1964) was all about clouds, how and when they were formed. I made these model inside plastic boxes, using cotton for the clouds and a marker to show where the fronts were. The next year I did a project on air pressure (seemed to be a natural progression). I used to (and still do) love to compare my forecasts to the Weather Bureau.
The summer before I entered high school, I went to summer school. No, I did not flunk a class, but attended the Summer Science Seminar, sponsored by our local public schools. For six weeks, we visited just about every scientific facility in and around the Washington, DC area. The last week of the course we spent doing basic earth science field work in the mountains and valleys of West Virginia. I loved it!
One of the places that we visited during the class was the Mineral Collections at the Smithsonian. I remember going home and saying to my parents that I would so love to work there. And little did I know...
For the three summers during high school, I applied for and was accepted by a National Science Foundation program at American University for high school students. The program enabled students to get first hand experience in government and private scientific facilities, working and learning side-by-side with scientists. I had the honor of working for the late Dr Paul Desautels in the Department of Mineral Sciences at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. It was truly a wonderful educational experience.
So, when it came to thinking about a major for my post-retirement education, there was only one choice: Geology!
...to be continued...
Page with a View
My Plurkmates
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