2017 Trinity High School Costa Rica Science Research Trip

Day four of our Costa Rica science expedition! The day started early for me with a wake up time of 5:15. The time between waking up and breakfast was spent swinging on the porch swing and exploring the grounds.  After breakfast, at 7:30, we got to go zip lining instead of a morning learning session. The zip line course had ten zip lines that went through the forest canopy. The course offered zip lines of varying speeds and lengths, on the slowest of which we were able to go upside down. Once finished with the zip lines, we headed back to Finca La Anita for lunch and to work on our group projects. In the afternoon my group, K-JAB, prepared different organic liquids with which we plan to interrupt the ant's pheromone trail the most. Our experiment is to see which liquid interrupts their pheromone trail the most. Some of the organic solutions we are using include panama peppers, vinegar, vegetable oil, and cintronella to do this. Tomorrow we will to put these solutions to th...

This morning all students awoke to a peaceful morning in the tropical rain-forest that was relatively calm compared  to the usual chirping of birds and numerous amounts of  insects in the background. The beautiful scenery captures your eyes the moment one steps out of the cozy cabins. The students mingle among each other learning more new and interesting things such as what each person likes or what it is like in their respective cities. Breakfast soon comes to mind as we made our way down the road to the cafeteria near the processing plant. The native food is phenomenal, unlike any standard American breakfast one has ever had. Through more chatting each student develops a greater bond with their fellow members. Afterwards the day became science intensive. While there may have been no field work today their was much more to do involving the experiments we will be working on throughout the week. In specific my group,Team Indeciso (which is quite the oxymor...

Brendan, a rising junior at Trinity High School, describes one of several small experiments the students conduct to develop a working knowledge of "experimental design" and the "scientific method". Eventually, students will develop group projects designed to save the cacao trees from being eaten by leaf cutter ants.

Sam Batcheldor, rising junior at Trinity High School, discusses how chocolate production in Costa Rica has emerged as one of the finest in the world. Owner of Finca La Anita, Pablo, shared his experience with the students and the challenges of leaf cutter ants.

Day 2: At the beginning of the day we went out in the field looking for leaf cutter ants. This was a great chance to feel what its like to be a real scientist working in team groups. Today we also took out fungus gardens from the leaf cutter ant colonies to take back and do lab work with them. Towards the end of the day we watched some short movies on leaf cutter ants to help us understand a little more about them. This was great because some of the facts that were in the video I did not know about. Atta ants can have over five million ants in one colony. A great surprise was seeing doctor Adrian in one of the short movies describing how a fungus can take over a bullet ant.  The food at Finca La Anita is absolutely incredible. It is all produced here at the farm. Every day there is a new juice of the day which is very exciting. There is also a lot of new flavors that i have never tried before and in all is very fun. Will Mullen   Students observing a leaf cutte...

Jon Michael, a rising junior at Trinity High School, and his team recently extracted leaf cutter ant colonies from the rain forest. They have placed them in a controlled environment that will be used to conduct experiments over the next few days.

Noah Tuell, sophomore at Trinity High School, and his group just extracted their first leaf cutter ant fungus garden. This species, Acromyrmex, is different from the Atta that we are after, but unique because it shows winged males.

John Hughes, a rising senior at Trinity High School, speaks about his first experience on the Costa Rica Science Research Trip.

Today was a great start to what looks to be a tremendous trip. We boarded our flight from Louisville to Charlotte and then from there to Liberia, Costa Rica. When we arrived in Liberia, we were greeted by hot weather about 20 degrees hotter than Louisville. We stopped at our first restaurant in Liberia off the busy street with lunch options of fish, steak, and chicken. We were able to enjoy the lunch with the hot weather, until we finished and it started to pour rain. It rained constantly throughout our bus ride to Finca La Anita, but we were able to see houses, animals, and rivers along the way which made the experience even better. We arrived at the beautiful Finca La Anita, where the boys and I settled into our rooms and adjusted to our nice rooms with wooden bunk beds. We then met Pablo and Ana who gave us the do's and don't's around here. After that, we were able to try on our boots which we will be using the rest of the week. Then, we wrapped up the day by eating the...

Through security and on our way to Costa Rica.

The count down begins. We leave in only 3 days. As get ready to depart... here is a quick look at what our Trinity students did last year. Each group researched, designed, and conducted a 3-4 day experiment. Take a look at some of their research hypotheses: Atta Pheromone Research Project  ​ Hypothesis: the ants behavior will change based on the manipulation of the different pheromones, based on the fact that they are heavily reliant on them for transportation, identification and defense. Social Behavior Among Species of Frogs with Similar Size Hypothesis: the gender, size and which frog was placed in the enclosure first would affect the social behavior of the different species of frogs.​ Collapsing Colonies Hypothesis: The ants will be able to help the fungus survive the  Escovopsis  infection, but if the  dosage is too great the ants will be overwhelmed and their fungus will become infected, therefore the colony will collapse.  How Variables Affe...

Trinity students will be traveling to Finca La Anita in Colonia Libertad, Costa Rica on May 27th. We will stay for 8 days in the beautiful setting of a working Chocolate Farm in the diverse setting of the rainforest. Students will be staying in cabins... which serve as an eco-resort during the main travel season. A lot of the food we eat is produced right on the farm... as fresh as it gets.  Pablo and Ana are our hosts and the nicest people you will ever meet. They are committed to making the trip an excellent experience. Fine dinning every night. Most of our meals are eaten in the open pavilion that overlooks two volcanoes. Finca La Anita is a magical place where science comes right to your front door. Visit their page at:  http://www.laanitarainforestranch.com/index.php

Check out Will... sporting his Seeds of Change t-shirt. We will wear these shirts while flying to Costa Rica. And, they are wicking (to keep from overheating in the hot and muggy weather of the rain forest).

Take a look at this great group of young men. Today we talked about our packing list for the trip. Can't wait for the Parent Meeting on May 8th at 6pm.  Brendan, Jack, Sam, Jon, and Noah and Mr. Heintz. Will and John we not present, but we will get with them soon.  Bug spray... we need it, but mostly for chiggers. 

Some of our students got to work with Mr. Heintz's Costa Rican Tree Frogs. Here is one on Jack's shoulder.

The trip is getting close and it is time to be sure we have everything needed. One Carry-On and a Small Backpack is all you can bring. Be sure that your bug spray in not an aerosol. Everything To Fit in One Carry-On Bag and a Small Backpack Documentation 1.       Passport (make two copies of your passport – one will be in the possession of Seeds of Change which you should have submitted to your teachers and leave one at home) 2.       Insurance Card (if you have one) and Medical Information Form 3.       Flight numbers/tickets (furnished by Seeds of Change) 4.       Medical Information Form, Rules Form, Media Form (all provided by Seeds of Change) 4. Suggested Items: 1.       several pairs comfortable t-shirts, long pants, shorts 2.       lightweight jacket / fleece / warm shirt 3.    ...

Science Rocks going to Costa Rica Congratulations to the following Rocks going on the 2017 Costa Rica Science Research Trip: Noah Tuell Jack Smith John Hughes Will Mullen Jon Gaudin Brendan Gallagher Sam Batcheldor Mr. Heintz