This is Your Brain . . .

After subjecting our brains to WASL season, we started studying the brain in science class.

The Book of Penguins

Here’s a little brief overview of our classes Penguin project. First off each group chose a topic for research. My portion was to study the life cycle of the Emperor Penguin. So I started out by finding the main facts like what they eat or where they live, and how they survive those harsh winters. We put together a book on all aspects of the Penguins life from all the different topics of research each group did. My other job in this project was to make sure that the story was edited and in proper format, this was quite the responsibility. (By Chris Hinrichs)

Protect Something Fragile

The second project of spring semester was our Egg Cart investigation. We were supposed to find a way to protect an egg inside a model car. We sent it rushing down a ramp into a wall, hoping it would come out in one piece. We had a fun and slightly difficult time trying to keep our eggs from breaking after they collided with the wall. Our students from Lincoln High who participated in this project were dedicated, and hardworking. Working with these types of people only made this project and other projects from the past, a pleasure to work on. We spent a lot of time on this assignment but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. At the end of both of these projects I was left with one question in mind…when is the next project? (By Chris Hinrichs)

Elwha Dam Removal

For science at Lincoln High School, we immersed ourselves in the study of the Elwha River on January 29th. Once we were filled in on the background information we began to study the watershed hands-on. Mr. Lieberman brought in guest speakers including Kim Sager and Alice Susong to help us out and teach us more. On February 2nd-8th we went on group field trips to the Elwha River to investigate the dissolved oxygen in the water. We then recorded our data and were asked to create our own investigative questions, such as pH levels, turbidity and moss growth. We went on another field trip to the Elwha River and researched to answer our investigative question. We were accompanied by Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin from Olympic Park Institute. When we returned we plotted our data and presented our new found information to the class. (By Charlene McElravy)

Check out the article about our Elwha Research that appeared in Port Angeles School District's News and Notes on February 22nd.

The Future of the Rayonier Mill Site

In December, Lincoln High School science classes responded to the City of Port Angeles' call for public comments about the future of the former Rayonier Mill/Ennis Village site. Before submitting comments, students researched the area from a scientific, cultural, and social perspective. Carolyn Wilcox of Streamkeepers taught students hands-on field science methods for gathering water temperature and turbidity data. Students practiced these methods first on Tumwater Creek after a heavy rain and then on Ennis Creek upstream from and at the former Rayonier Mill site. Guest presenters including Nathan West, Port Angeles' city planner, Jack Anderson, Rayonier's Environmental Engineer, Larry Dunn, Lower Elwha's Rayonier Site Clean-up Project Manager, and Darlene Schanfald, Olympic Environmental Council Coalition's Project Coordinator, came into the classroom to present. After weighing the various perspectives and the scientific results from our investigations, students submitted comments to the City of Port Angeles.

Check out these sample comments that students submitted to the City of Port Angeles.
http://cid-89066cfd60ad3b3f.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Lincoln%20High%20Science/Public_Comment_Highlights.doc

Also, read this article from the Peninsula Daily News that was written about our class and this project.

http://cid-89066cfd60ad3b3f.skydrive.live.com/self.aspx/Lincoln%20High%20Science/RayonierArticle.jpg

There's also this link you can follow to some pictures and captions in Port Angeles School District's News and Notes.

http://www.portangelesschools.org/news/news-notes/documents/121807nn.pdf

Fun with Fungi

In order to utilize the resources around us, we studied Mushrooms. In the middle of fall there were mushrooms popping up everywhere in Lincoln Park! We studied the parts of the Mushroom including their different types of gills, their stems, their roots and their caps. We learned their function as decomposers in the ecosystem and what they do to bring energy to plant life and animal life of the forests. We got hands on experience studying mushrooms in Lincoln Park with KC from Olympic Park Institute. (By Jordon Lemon)

Bridge Designs

Our first project was investigating the 8th street bridges, since at the time that was what was affecting us most. We learned about different designs of bridges and learned how each bridge has a certain strength, and weakness. After we studied up a bit we soon got down to business and were tasked to build our own bridges, in groups, out of popcicle sticks and glue. After a 2 week period of building the day finally came for the weight-test contest. Testing both the span and the towers of each bridge. Few bridges survied the carnage of this, but a few clever designs made it to a whopping 475lb's!!! (By Jordon Lemon)