Hey Everyone, We’ve finished our time down south and now are passing the time on the awesome waves of the Ottawa River. The NOC Shootout was a great success with everybody making freestyle breakthroughs on the wave there as well as placing well in the competition! We got to hit up the Tallulah River in Georgia where the kids got a chance to use their river running skills from Chile on a big water creek of the Southern US of A. Check out this southern update by Jess!

Come, take a walk with me through an enchanted forest. Feel the majestic trees watching you with ageless eyes. Wonder at the soft silky moss that cushions each step with nary a sound nor complaint. Savour the mist that envelopes the trees in a whispered embrace, and plays joyfully amongst the rays that pierce the depths, creating rainbows and color. Be silent, for voices have not yet sullied this paradise. Shudder at the knowledge that you are insignificant compared to the magic of this forest. Beware of the time, for it exists only in your mind, and has no place here. Now stop, look around. Feel the very vibrance of life and ancient secrets thrumming in every breath you take. Take a moment to notice the indescribable beauty of these silent giants that surround you, engulf you, welcome you. Know in your heart that you have found a place where you feel at one with the world, and treasure it. Never forget it. And never destroy it.

-Tracy d’Arbeloff

After traveling an hour and a half east to Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, we arrived at the Canadian Museum of Technology. Thus far into your reading you might be thinking to yourself, “Self, the name of that museum sound like quite an oxymoron.” However, you would be wrong. The Canadians have successfully invented and discovered many revolutionary products and advancements. Remember the Happy Hoppers you jumped around in when you were a baby? Well thank a Canadian for that. On a more serious note, Canadians also discovered the method for making insulin for diabetics. Obviously, this is an incredible advancement for all mankind.
At the museum, I also learned about circuits and motors. The Canadians, of course, did not invent electricity, but it is still an interesting museum exhibit. With the flip of a switch or the push of a button a circuit can be completed, and a flow of electricity can be released. I also learned about magnetism at this exhibit. An electromagnet is a magnet attached to a battery so that it has a clear positive and negative end. Electromagnets can be very strong.
The museum also had an exhibit on space and the exploration of space. We all huddled inside an inflatable planetarium and saw all the constellations in the Canadian sky. Among these were Orion, his belt, the big dipper, and the little dipper. I also learned that Canada has a space program. Formerly, I did not know Canada had explored space. However, the Canadians are a far more advance peoples than I realized.
I had a great day at the Canadian Museum of Technology. I learned a ton about our neighbors to the north and their brilliant inventions. The Canadians have truly benefitted all of man with their advancements.

Most people have seen the movie “The Titanic” with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, but what about those of us who haven’t seen the film? Saturday was our first school field trip and we went to the Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa.  Upon arrival we were given an hour of free time where we were given the chance to explore the museum on our own. During this free time I came across a plastic model of a very large boat. With me never seeing the movie “The Titanic” I had no idea what this was and what to expect. I began to read about how the Titanic was the largest boat in its time, and how it was traveling from Southhampton, England to New York City. I read that there were 2,200 passengers aboard the boat.  With around 800 crewmen and the rest were richer 1st and 2nd class folk and lower class immigrents, which ended up being locked away in the lower level of the ship, away from the other passengers. I also learned that when the ship hit a giant iceberg in the middle of the night, and after the women and children left their husbands onboard while they excaped on lifeboats, the ship’s orchestra played till all was lost. I learned as well that it might have been possible to save a greater amount of people if the designers of the ship would have considered putting up enough lifeboats for the amount of passengers, and not 20, which would only support half of the 2,200 passengers. But at the time, the people believed it to be impossible for a ship so large to be able to sink. Aftre reading about the Titanic for about half an hour, I continued to look through the exhibits when I met up with Tracy and Zoe at the electricity show. There, we learned about static elecricity where I got to put my hands on an elecroscope and watched my hair stand up on end. Altogether, it was an interesting day and a great reason to miss classes.

-Jessica Droujko

The New River Academy field trip to the Science and Technology Center in Ottawa City was a great idea. All of the students and Andy wandered around the museum learning many things. We learned about trains and steam engines, electricity, liquid nitrogen, outer-space, and a lot of other things. Honestly, people speaking French was the most interesting thing to me. I loved hearing the lady that was giving the presentation on electricity speaking French. It made me wish I could speak a second language so badly I couldn’t stand it. I’m definitely going to study my Spanish, and hopefully take on a third language. On a science note, the most interesting thing to me was the electricity presentation, because the crowd got to interact with electricity and it helped me understand. Static electricity was the coolest part of the electricity presentation. Jessica was chosen to go up on stage; she got to put her hand on this metal ball that had static electricity, and when Jessica put her hand on it, the electricity transferred to her body. This made her hair stand straight up; Jessica’s hair was a mess. I laughed and was amazed at the same time. I got my camera out because I had to document it. After that, the lady chose a young boy to come up. She put a few small aluminum pie pans, all stacked on top of each other, on his head. He put his hand on the big ball. She turned it on, and one-by-one, the the pie pans floated off of his head and fell to the floor. I don’t know which was cooler, the pie pans floating off of the little boy’s head, or Jessica’s hair. After all of the fun at the museum, I went to Tim Horton’s for the first time ever, and got an iced cap, which was the best I have ever had. All in all, the day was super fun, and way better than the ‘ole classroom grind.

There is something about museums that I have always loved. I love just walking around them, seeing everything, reading about strange topics that never would have come in to my mind otherwise. The Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa that we visited this past Saturday was no exception. In fact, this one was one of the cooler ones I’ve been to. There was just so much…stuff!

While there, I managed to catch two presentations. The first was about Liquid Nitrogen. I did not get to see the whole things, but it was pretty interesting. As one of the experiments, the man onstage had a big thermos type thing of liquid nitrogen, and about 20 balloons (each about the size of a large softball so they would fit in the mouth of the container). First the presenter stacked up the balloons on the outside of the container, one on top of another. The container was about 5 balloons high. He asked us to imagine that we were going into space, and needed to bring oxygen, but only had limited space. He then lifted up a balloon and told us that they were filled with oxygen. And then proceeded to put them into the thermos of Nitrogen. He fit all 20, and could have fit more. When he reached in with tool to bring out a balloon, it was completely flat. Then, he blew on the balloon, and as it warmed, it retained its original shape. All 20 of them came out and re-filled as they warmed. He explained that this was a good way to carry oxygen, and that because it the rubber balloon fabric was flexible and synthetic, it could withstand the freezing and compression of the gas inside. Next he took out a piece of lettuce. The lettuce, like human bodies, has a lot of water in it. It is a living piece of matter. This, he placed into the container for ten seconds. When he took it out, it looked the same, only a little frozen. When he touched it, it crumpled into little pieces. Organic matter cannot survive such a loss of moisture and such like synthetic material (i.e. Balloons) can.

The rest of the presentation was pretty much for show. He took some boiling water, and poured a cupful into a big container of liquid nitrogen. It sent up a big plume of gas like a bomb, which spread out into the audience. It was very cool. Then he took all the little kids out onto the carpet, and had them lie on their stomachs in a circle. He poured the nitrate into the center of the circle, and let the kids “swim in the mist.” I really wanted to join in, but all the parents and older kids just stood around looking superior and boring. Alas, age is such a hinderance. Plus…I wasn’t too keen on breathing in liquid nitrogen.

The second presentation I saw was on electricity. This is something I had studied in physics not too long ago (electrons and currents and transmitters and all that good stuff), so I wowed all the kids with my knowledge by raising my hand and answering the questions the woman onstage asked. I felt pretty cool. Jessica and Zoe got up onstage to show static electricity, by holding onto a charged ball thing and shaking their heads to their hair stood on end. It was sweet.

There was so much at the museum to see- full size trains, tons of model ships, space, big colorful tunnels to run through with slides…It was a fun field trip. Especially the slide. But that is a whole other story

-Tracy d’Arbeloff