Our time at UA Sky School has been a fascinating and wonderful experience. We have learned so much in the fields of science such as ecology, astronomy, and geology. Beginning with the first day here, we noticed things we usually don’t anywhere else. The hikes we went on made it fun to learn about arthropods, trees, and wildfires. We also enjoyed the night session of astronomy we had the first night.
One of the first things we started talking about were the different types of arthropods around us. We focused on their characteristics and were able to classify the insects and spiders we caught as a specific species of arthropod. Later on in the day, one of the mentors gave a presentation on wildfires in the area. It showed us the way fires begin, how they travel, and potential places a fire can start. After taking a hike we were able to see the effects of a fire on the environment. Feeding off of the wildfires topic, we started to focus on trees and plants in the area. We learned that many of them adapt to better their growth. By the end of the night, we were taken to a telescope to observe the night sky. There was so much terminology we never heard before. It was very cool to see how the domes and telescopes work together to navigate the sky.
Overall, our time here gave us a feel for hands-on work compared to the mind numbing classes at school. It was much more interesting to be able to interact outside with nature. We can all say we learned way more in one day than we would within a week outside of Sky School. So far, we have been enjoying every moment here and although it’s challenging, we are excited for what is in store the next days we are here.