It’s just about every child’s dream to dig for fossils, and this year I got to fulfill my lifelong goal of doing paleontology field work! Thanks to program director Dr. Sterling Nesbitt, Dr. Michelle Stocker (a phytosaur expert), and the Virginia Tech Paleo team, the DIG Field School program expanded into Petrified Forest National Park…

We arrived in Sierpe in the afternoon and had a mini-tour of the town with our guide, Manfred.  One of the mysterious bolas de piedra – stone balls One of the more interesting archaeological artifacts in Costa Rica are the stone spheres found throughout the area. They are thought to be from the Diqui culture,…

Early the next morning, we left for Manuel Antonio National Park, near the town of Quepos. Because it is so close to the capital San Jose, it’s busy and crowded. But we wanted to visit since my friend Allan was a guide and was available to take us around. I met Allan 6 years ago…

Having seen several different types of rainforests, Anil and I decided to head to Costa Rica for this year’s Spring Break so that we could see more. I’ve been here a couple times, but my trips to CR rainforests have been quick visits and I wanted the chance to spend quality time here. We decided…

In what is becoming a Winter Break Tradition, cousin Ev and Mark joined me and Anil for another snowy holiday adventure. We’d planned the trip five months earlier in the summer, during one of the most severe heat waves that Cambridge had ever seen. Anil reaaaaally wanted to go somewhere cold, so after debating a…

EVERGLADES NATIONAL PARK After our week learning about the Space Race on the Space Coast, Joann and I decided to take an extra few days and drive south to see more National Parks. For the longest time, I’ve wanted to go to Everglades National Park, and I finally had the chance to visit.  Everglades water…

My second teacher PD of the summer was again a space related workshop – “The Space Race on the Space Coast” – held at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Now to be honest, I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be visiting Florida, but I WAS excited to learn about the history of NASA…