EarthView team bios, guidelines, and more.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Late Spring to Summer

EarthView programs are continuing into the summer, on the following dates. This list is presented primarily for department volunteers and fellow educators who are seeking opportunities to connect with EarthView.

Some of these are regular school programs, since the calendar for K-12 schools extends beyond the university academic year. Some of these are special events, open to the public, but may require registration, so please contact the EarthView team before attending.

May 21- 2:30 -5:30      STEM Resource Fair, BSU
May 30                  Cottage Street School, Sharon
June 4 & 5              In Cincinnati- AP Geography Readers Group
June 6                  Tantasqua Regional Jr. H.S.
June 11, 9:00-11:00     Waltham
June 13                 Bridgewater Middle School
June 20                 Rumney Marsh Academy
July 15, 12:30-2:30     Footbridge Program, BSU
July 21, 2:00-4:00      CASE Extracurricular, BSU
August 16               Brockton Summerfest at Brockton High

Friday, May 16, 2014

Barnstable Intermediate School -- May 16

42° 06' 24" N
71° 09' 58" W 
Learn more about Lat/Long (including how to look them up by address)
Also, compare today's coordinates to those of other recent Earth View outings, near and far!
 






This is Earth Views second visit to the Barnstable Intermediate School in as many weeks.

Barnstable County
The average high for today is 61 F and the average low is 47 F.
Today's record high temperature is 76 F, record low temperature is 28 F.
Let's hope today's weather is closer to the high than the low!

There are always fun and interesting things to do in the area. Here are some events and activities that are going on this weekend.

Cape Abilities 5k Walk/ Run is happening on Saturday May 17th at the Hyannis Village Green
http://www.capeabilities.org/save-the-date-annual-cape-abilities-5k-walkrun/
1st Annual Art in the Garden event is taking place in Aselton Park in Hyannis on Saturday May 17th and Sunday May 18th.
http://capecodartassoc.org/art-in-the-garden-festival-may-17-18/
Natural History Museum in Brewster's Gills Club is meeting on Saturday.  The Gills Club is open to all ages 8 to 108 who have a love for sharks.
Here is a link to more fun and interesting things to do on Cape Cod at anytime!

Interesting facts about today:
1954 Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox went 8 for 9 with 7 RBI's in a double header
1965 SpaghettiO's were created by Franco-American Company

Spaghettio's 1965
Happy Birthday if today is your special day.  Here are some people who you share your day with.
Lynn Collins-Actress-X-Men Origins: Wolverine, John Carter
Megan Fox-Actress-Transformers,
Janet Jackson-Singer
Pierce Brosnan-Actor-"007" The World is not enough, Tomorrow Never Dies, Golden Eye
Joseph Morgan-Actor-The Vampire Diaries, The Originals
Tori Spelling-Actress-Beverly Hills, 90210, The Mystery Girls
Tracey Gold-Actress-Growing Pains
Thomas Brodie-Sangster-Phineas and Ferb
Stanislav Ianevski-Actor-Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
John Salley-former NBA player/Actor-Bad Boys II
David Boreanaz-Actor-Bones, Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Kelly Hyland-Reality TV-Dance Moms
Ashley Wagner-Olympic Athlete-Figure Skating







Thursday, May 8, 2014

Barnstable Intermediate -- May 9

42°06' 24" N
71°09' 58" W
Learn more about Lat/Long (including how to look them up by address)
Also, compare today's coordinates to those of other recent EarthView outings, near and far!
 



Barnstable Intermediate is in the village of Hyannis, which is part of Barnstable 

Hyannis is known as the location for ferries connecting Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard to the mainland. It is even better known as the home of the Kennedy family. A museum dedicated to President Kennedy and the entire family is located just down Main Street from the Intermediate School.









Barnstable Quick Facts
Population:                                                45,193 
Land area in square miles:                     59.81
Persons per square mile:                        775.7
Established 1639
Barnstable became a city in the year  1989.


Voter Registration and Party Enrollment 

as of October 15, 2008

 Democratic 8,242 -- 25% 
Republican 5,836-- 18% 
Unaffiliated 18,073-- 56% 
Minor Parties 235 -- 1%
Total   32,386








Because students at Barnstable Intermediate had been studying the Amazon basin and rain forest earlier in the year -- and since our visit is taking place on Dr. Hayes-Boh's wedding anniversary, we pointed out the location in the center of the basin where the Amazon River officially begins: the confluence of the Rio Negro and the Rio Solimões at Manaus, which is known as the Wedding of the Waters. Dr. Hayes-Boh saw the "wedding" on his way to Rondonia during his first trip to Brazil.
The Ring of Fire is a popular theme to explore in EarthView because it is a great way to see the active areas around the Pacific Ocean all at once. At the time of our visit, the latest major activity on the Ring of Fire was a 6.4-magnitude earthquake in Mexico.

Image: USGS Earthquake Center
Notice that the lat/long are in decimal degrees, as are many online maps
A good classroom exercise is to convert to degree-minute-second
The 6.4 magnitude earth quake happened on May 8th around 10:20 in Guerrero, Mexico. The news agencies in Mexico reported that there where no major injuries or damage.  Mexico City is vulnerable to distant earthquakes because much of it sits on top of the muddy sediments of old drained lake beds. The last major earth quake that hit was in 1985, it was a magnitude 8.1. That particular quake killed over 6,000 people and destroyed many buildings in mexico City. Yesterday's earthquake caused a brief period of evacuation from tall buildings, but turned out not to be significant.

Located at the top of 3 of the large tectonic plates, Mexico is also one of the world's biggest areas with active volcanoes. The motion of these crustal plates cause frequent earthquakes and occasional volcanic eruptions.  Mexico is being carried northeastward by the Cocos plate which lies under the Pacific Ocean. Because oceanic crust is dense, when the Pacific Ocean floor encounters the lighter continental crust of the Mexican landmass, the ocean floor moves beneath the North American plate creating the deep Middle American trench along Mexico's southern coast. Also, as a result of this, the westward moving Mexico landmass slows and crumples which creates the mountain ranges and earthquakes near the southern coast. 

Read more about subduction zone on our 2011 Japan earthquake post.
The last group of the day was a seventh-grade class studying ancient civilizations. Even though the curriculum for this subject is focused on the ancient civilizations around the Mediterranean Sea, students were aware of the ancient civilizations of the "New" World in the Americas, including the Incas, the Maya (who discovered chocolate), and the Aztecs. We discussed Dr. Hayes-Boh's upcoming trip to Machu Picchu later this month -- it is a significant Inca site that was not known to the Spanish until several centuries after they colonized Peru.


It is difficult to imagine that such a remarkable feature was not known beyond its immediate neighborhood until the late 1800s.

Image: Destination Machu Picchu

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

World Geography and Culture Night Horace Mann Middle School: Franklin, Ma. May 8

42° 05' 28" N
71° 24' 22" W 

Learn more about Lat/Long (including how to look them up by address)
Also, compare today's coordinates to those of other recent EarthView outings, near and far!
 

http://mannmiddle.vt-s.net/Pages/index

We are excited to back again at Horace Mann Middle School for another World Geography and Culture Night! This is a great opportunity for students and parents to travel to different stations within the school and learn more about different cultures from around the globe as well as geography facts.




Horace Mann served as a politician in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1827 to 1833. He served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1834 to 1837. In 1848, after serving as Secretary of the Massachusetts State Board of Education since its creation, he was elected to the US House of Representatives. Mann was a huge advocate for educate and learning. So it is very fitting to have an event like the World Geography and Culture Night held at the Horace Mann Middle School. Horace Mann was also well known for helping establishing and building many public schools in the area. 

Horace Mann also founded the first school in the United States built for the purpose of training teachers. Known as Bridgewater Normal School, it is now known as Bridgewater State University, which is the home of EarthView. An ornate auditorium at BSU is named in his honor. Horace Mann shares a birthday with EarthView team member Dr. Hayes-Bohanan.

Friday, May 2, 2014

Oak Ridge School, Sandwich -- May 2


41°43′08″N 
70°27′21″W
Learn more about Lat/Long 

area of east sandwich:
Area7.568 sq miles


Oak Ridge School's website  
http://www.edline.net/pages/Oak_Ridge_School

This day in history:
In 1878 the United States stopped minting 20 cent coin. 
In 1946 Prisoners revolted at Alcatraz and  5 people died. 
In 1946 The "Battle of Alcatraz" took place which killed two guards and three inmates.
In 1949 Arthur Miller won the  Pulitzer Prize for "Death of a Salesman". 
In 1952 the 1st scheduled jet airliner passenger service began with a BOAC Comet. 
http://www.historyorb.com/day/may/2



View Larger Map






Population Over Time
01k2k3k4k5k
Male
Female
Total Population
2009
2010
2011
2012
2012
Male
2,067
Female
2,029
Total Population
4,096
Total Population
4,096
Median Age
49.2
In 2012, according to the American Community Survey, East Sandwich, Massachusetts:
  • Had 279% more residents than the median city population (1,080)
  • Had a relatively old population, 9.30 years higher than the typical city's median age (39.90)


More information about East Sandwich can be found at: http://city-facts.findthebest.com/l/10603/East-Sandwich-Massachusetts