Bay Area Wonders, volume 2!

The physical books!

My 5th graders once again researched native species and explored their connections with them in illustrated natural history essays inspired by Aimee Nezhukumatathil's sublime World of Wonders. All the student essays were anthologized in a beautifully bound book called Bay Area Wonders, volume 2 that's a real celebration of local biodiversity! Please check out last year's blog post to learn about the project's origins. You can also read the Bay Area Wonders, volume 2! 

'Wonder'ful student art

Illustrated Climate Graphs

​For this project, 5th grade students analyzed climate data and incorporated an actual graph line into an original watercolor. The technique was inspired by the data art of science communicator/artist Jill Pelto. To accompany their artwork, students researched and wrote an essay that described the specific impact of climate change they depicted. Enjoy the beautiful examples below— can you spot the line graphs?

Polar Bears & Sea Ice by Sofia

Sea Levels Rising by Chloe

Honeycreeper Forest by Felix

California Wildfires by Ishan

Songbirds Silenced by Feiyan

Amazon Deforestation by Ryder

I recently wrote a blog for NOAA called "Sci-Art Lesson Share: Illustrated Graphs" if you want to read some thoughts on the intersection of science and art and check out some more lovely student work.

On Expedition in the Galápagos Islands

With an endemic Galapagos Giant Tortoise

To my delight, I was offered a chance to join a National Geographic/Lindblad Expeditions Galápagos expedition in 2020 as a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow Alumna. It was a tremendous professional honor and an opportunity to explore a place that has long fascinated me. I observed blue-footed boobies, giant tortoises, marine iguanas and other iconic animals of the islands. On expedition, I gained firsthand knowledge of Galápagos wildlife and natural history as I followed in the footsteps of Charles Darwin. Read more about the voyage of discovery in this blog post.

MiddleWeb Article on Women in STEM 

Read some of my thoughts on a resource to help educators promote diversity in STEM fields and shift cultural perceptions of what science is and who can do it. The blog was inspired by Erin Twamley and Josh Sneiderman's latest book Everyday Superheroes: Women in STEM Careers. The book features 26 prominent women of color in STEM careers from A-Z (Astronomy to Zoology). Young readers will be amazed by the profiles of the superheroes and they will be challenged to develop their own STEM superpowers through embedded activities. Click here to read the blog, and click here to order a copy of Everyday Superheroes.

National Geographic Headquarters, Washington D.C.

Science Scope Article on Plankton

I have a featured article in Science Scope (January 2019, Oceans Issue) called "The Microscopic World of Plankton." Science Scope is the middle school journal of the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA). The article describes a series of activities for students to investigate plankton and better understand plankton's role in aquatic ecosystems. Students can engineer a plankton net out of household materials, observe plankton specimens with a microscope, and construct a visual model of an aquatic food web!
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Click here to read the article.
Click here for a Plankton Primer info sheet.
​Click here for the Plankton Activity Cards.