6th Day in Costa Rica

Rincon de la Vieja

Sulfur Spring Pool with 90 Degree Water

Chase and Jack being bros 

Awesome waterfall in the Rincon de la Vieja

Listening to Chase's Philosophy

Today was a lot of fun at Rincon de la Vieja, but also a lot of progress to our projects. Ibrahim Zuniga helped us work through our plan on how to finish the project. Stressful is how the end of the day was, but after our group discussion with Ibrahim it was less stressful. We had a better plan, and are ready to present to you all reading this on Thursday, June 6th. The lunch was the best it has been with Ham Sandwiches and Spanish Snacks.

By: Graham Castle 

5th Day in Costa Rica

This is the view from the top of the mountain that we climbed during our horseback riding trip

Many of us were beginners but Pablo gave us the basics before we were assigned to our horses

Before the hike, we could see a rainbow from the deck that we eat breakfast at every morning

We all had lots of fun riding up and down the mountain, despite the fact that some got saddle sores

It felt like you could see for miles once we reached the mountain's summit

The horse back riding path was lined with rainbow eucalyptus trees that looked to be from the set of the play

We stopped for a couple of minutes to admire the view and then continued back down the mountain

         We all woke up extra early in order to make it to the horse ranch before it got too hot. We traveled across several trails, fields, and even a couple creeks. During the beginning of the ride, we even saw a howler monkey in a tree above us. When we got back from the ranch, we had a long break and then got together with a science groups after lunch. We spent the rest of the afternoon working on our projects and starting our big finishing projects -A.K.A That science Grind.
-Evelyn & Reed

4th Day in Costa Rica

Today was a full day of science! At the beginning, we started our second lab on growing Escovopsis. For the rest of the day, we worked on brainstorming our main science project in our groups. The schedule was pretty intense, we ate our meals and were working pretty much all the time in between. When we were working on our proposal presentations for our main science project, we got a coffee break with hot chocolate, coffee, and churros! At 7 o'clock in the evening, every group presented their proposal project and we got feedback on them.

Here is me (Gracie) and Brian taking samples of Escovopsis from the fungus gardens.

Dr. Pinto is talking to a group about their project. 

Here is me (Caroline), John, and Jack also taking samples of Escovopsis from their groups fungus garden.

Some groups are starting to begin their Escovopsis lab. 

Here is the group (named Chupachabras) working on their lab. 

This was the first time that we were able to see the volcano mountains since it rained for a couple of days.

Here are students (Graham and Jake) labeling their samples.

See ya! ~ Gracie and Caroline

3rd Day in Costa Rica

Fungus Garden

Queen Ant 

Butterfly 

Caterpillar 

Research Classroom 

Butterfly Research Facility 

Hike to Harvest Ants

Alan with a Snake 

Moth Trap 

Crazy Huge Bug from Cabin 9

Video of Leafcutter Ants Traveling 

Leaves Cut From Ants 

Butterfly enclosure 

Caccoons 

Moth Trap 

Snake Caterpillar 

Bullet Ant 

Today we harvested our fungus gardens for research, we worked many hours in the classroom learning the scientific method, we went zip-lining through the rainforest, and went to the butterfly research facility there. 

-By Katherine Van Bever and Graham Castle

2nd Day in Costa Rica

                                          Waking up to a beautiful view outside our cabin.

This is how the cacao beans are extracted from the cacao plants.

Checking out the cacao bean convection system.

Mr. Heintz showed us how to separate the beans and the shells of the cacao seeds.

Pablo showed us the process of making chocolate and their different flavors.

Today we started with a great breakfast of toast and fruit. Then, Pablo showed us the different steps to making chocolate. Next, we were given samples of all the different chocolates they make on the plantation, and what they were. Finally, we got our groups started experiments! we were given they question "Where are microbes most abundant?" Each group used the scientific method and made an experiment to prove which area had the most microbes.. Once we finished an amazing dinner, most students finished the night on an adventurous night hike. -Madison and Chloe

1st Day in Costa Rica

We landed in San José, Costa Rica around 11:30 to a beautiful Mountain View.

Mountain Ranges during the drive to Finca La Anita.

Dinner on the first night.

Here is a Costa Rican toad.

We are on our way!