Spencer Laube

This summer I had a lot of fun. One of my favourite things to do was to go mountain biking with my friends. I went on a lot of different trails. Some of them where Boogie man, Boogie nights, Corkscrew and Dales. I also enjoyed swimming in lakes up the coast. I also had a lot of fun swimming in the Cove with my friends.  I enjoyed seeing relatives and trying out their trampoline.  We also had family visiting from Switzerland this summer and we showed them around Vancouver.  They were impressed with the city.  Another highlight was going to the Blue Jays game.

Please see my other blog post for more highlights of our family trip:  http://www.blog44.ca/spencerl/2016/08/29/good-bye-summer/

Here are some pictures from my summer

 

 

This summer I went on vacation with my family and visited Toronto, Kingston, Montreal and Ottawa.  We flew into Toronto and drove to Kingston, Montreal and Ottawa and flew home from there.  I found Toronto to be like a mini New York. A tour guide said that Toronto is used to film movies set in New York because it looks similar.  I really liked to take pictures there like this one I took on a harbour cruise of the city.  This is the CN tower.

When we were in Toronto we saw a Blue Jays game. It was cool to see a Canadian baseball team play at home. The Blue Jays ended up winning against the Tampa Bay Rays. Troy Tulowitzki of the Blue Jays hit a home run that made it 3-0 for the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays ended up winning 7-0. It was a fun game. Go see the season:  http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/schedule/?c_id=tor#y=2016&m=8&calendar=DEFAULT

After Toronto we went to Kingston. It is a university town with Queens university and it has Fort Henry which was built to defend against an invasion by the Americans after the War of 1812.

Then we went to Montreal. I was surprised how many people speak English even though it is a French province. We walked around old Montreal. It reminded me a lot of Austria, France and Switzerland because of the cobble streets and architecture like the Notre Dame church.

After Montreal we headed to the capital of Canada, Ottawa. I thought it was cool to get a tour of all the parliament buildings. We saw the Changing of the Guard and got a tour of the East Block and Centre Block and went up the Peace Tower.   It was interesting to see inside the House of Commons where the Prime Minister sits.  On the last day when we were there we went to the light show. It was so cool to see the Parliament buildings lit up.

 

 

 

Hi there! Welcome to my SLC.   Ms Willemse, this is my mom Alana.  No photographs please during the course of this presentation thank you.

My Blue Sky

The first thing I will talk about is my Blue Sky project.  I tackled an important problem based on something I was interested in (which is mountain biking) and came up with a solution that has been well-received.

The Blue Sky Problem was how to provide more current and useful information to people who use trails. This would improve knowledge, enjoyment and safety. My solution was to add a QR code to  trailhead signs and when the person uses their smartphone on it, the website shows up on their screen.  It would explain how to stay safe as well as interesting points about the trail.   It could be updated by trail users and park management staff and rescue services with new hazards and points of interest like seasonal vegetation.

I did some research, got some excellent content from my subject matter expert, Kevin Woodhouse at Sea to Sky Park Services and designed a prototype website.  The name of the website is Trailinfo. During the exhibition, I was part of the safety group and I could show people the prototype website and how it worked.

From doing the project I learned more about how to be safe on the mountain, how to set up a blog website and I gained more experience on how to set up an exhibit.  It was interesting to combine technology with nature.  Feedback overall has been very positive.  My subject matter expert said it was a “well thought-out project that can make a difference.”  Other people said things like it was a brilliant idea that should be rolled out further and it could save lives.

How The Raven Brought The Light.

The goal of this project was to construct a visual representation of Geometry, Symmetry and Light. The theme was “How the raven brings the light”. Since it is a Haida legend, I decided to build a longhouse out of Lego as the centre piece.  Adding things like flashlights, a CD sun, triangular prism tree, tissue paper, artwork, cylinder and mirror, I was able to represent opacity, translucency, transparency, colour, reflection, refraction, symmetry and geometry.  I explained the stories behind the Haida legend and the scientist Ibn al-Hatham and defined the terms I was showing in the display for the exhibition.

I liked the Haida story and it took me a while to figure out how to show all these geometry, symmetry and light terms.   I learned some new things like Raven brings the Light legend, Ibn al-Hatham, refraction and why a CD displays so many colours of light.  I also learned how to combine many different topics in one project like an ancient Haida legend and a scientist from Iraq with math and science terms and modern parts like Lego and CDs. I liked how the CD sun, raven on the lit smokehole and shadow reflection turned out as you can see below.

 

Field trip – The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

At school my class learned about world religions. I didn’t know about these religions before and that so many people belonged to them.  We did research for the test and had a test but after that we got to go and learn about the religions in person.  We went on field trips to visit different places of worship in Vancouver.  I learned that even if a lot of those religions started in different countries there are many people practising them right here. We learned about religions like Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam and Judaism.   We even got to taste some food at the Sikh temple.  I had a lot of fun going to visit the churches and temples. My group had to cover Christanity. We went to St Andrews United church for that. The minister there was very nice about answering our questions and telling us how it was built and more about the religion. The field trips were a great way to enhance what we learned in the class.

There were other highlights this term too but time is limited.  I liked learning about Robert Hooke from the Renaissance, also known as England’s Leonardo.  The exploration unit was interesting.  It was an eye opener to see how hard it was to get through the Northwest Passage. I won’t complain about getting through slow traffic now I see how hard it is to get through ice flows.

Year in Review:

Looking back over this school year I can see that we’ve learned many things.  I’ve read more than ever before, my writing and project skills have improved and I know more about technology.  I think I am a better listener and see that working hard pays off.  I understand the importance of a growth mindset so you are open to new ideas and have a better knowledge of things.  Thanks for giving us so many opportunities to learn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goal:  Our project was to construct a visual representation of Geometry, Symmetry and Light.  The theme was “How the raven brings the light”.  We needed to include light (opacity, translucency, transparency, colour, reflections and refractions and Ibn al-Hatham) and include symmetry (like radial and bilateral) and geometry shapes (like prisms and cylinders).

Construction:  Since it was a Haida legend, I decided to use Lego to build a Haida longhouse with a smokehole, a raven, a sun and a prism tree.  I included the Raven brings the Light story, opacity, translucency, transparency, colour, reflections and refractions and Ibn al-Hatham, symmetry (radial, translational and bilateral) and geometry shapes (prisms and cylinders).  The following explains how I included them and the definitions. I included these descriptions as part of my display.

Raven Brings the Light Story posted on the display:    Raven Brings the Light is a Haida legend. It starts with the world in total darkness. The Raven found that all the light was hidden in a box in a longhouse. The Raven became a human baby and joined the family in the house. He talked the grandfather into showing him the ball of light and he turned back into a raven and flew out of the house with the light. That is how light came into the universe.

Geometry:   Prism:  The prism is a triangular prism and is part of the tree outside of the house.  Cylinder:  A cylinder is the smoke hole of the house. The raven escapes out of it with the translucent light.

Symmetry:  Radial Symmetry:  The sun has radial symmetry since it has similar parts regularly arranged around a central axis.  Linear Symmetry:  The roof of the longhouse represents linear symmetry because if you cut it in half with a line of symmetry, then each part is the mirror image of the other.  Translational Symmetry:  The pictures of the Raven on the house represent translational symmetry because the same figure is being moved the same distance and in the same direction.

Light:   Reflection:  Reflection is represented when light comes out of the house and reflects off the mirror to cast a shadow of the house and raven on the opposite wall.  The angle of incoming light is the angle of incidence. The incoming light hits the mirror and is reflected back. The angle of the reflected light is the angle of reflection. The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection so that is why the light gets reflected back and causes the shadow.  Refraction:  Refraction is represented by the light hitting the prism (tree trunk) and the light is shown on the ground split into two streams.  Light waves can bend or refract. Refraction is the change in direction of a light wave due to a change in its transmission material. The angle of deviation is equal to the difference between the angle of incidence (entering) and the angle of refraction of a ray of light passing through a different transmission material.  Ibn al-Hatham:  The Ibn al-Hatham theory is represented by the light coming through a small hole in the middle of the window.  Ibn al-Hatham was a scientist born about a 1000 years ago in Iraq who made discoveries in vision and light. One day he saw light shining through a tiny pinhole into his darkened room. It projected an image of the world onto the opposite wall that was lit by the sun. He concluded that light rays travel in straight lines, and that vision occurs when these rays pass into our eyes. He realized that smaller holes would create sharper images.  Transparent:  Transparency is represented by the light inside the house that comes out the door that is covered by clear plastic.  Transparency is the physical property of allowing light to pass through the material without being scattered.  Translucent:  The light comes up the smoke hole through the tissue paper represents translucency. The tissue paper allows only some of the light to pass through.  Translucency means that the light does not pass directly through the materials. It changes direction and is scattered as it pass through so we can’t see through it clearly.  Opacity: The right front window is covered by a piece of cardboard so the light can’t get through and this represents opacity. Opacity occurs when light strikes an opague object and none of it passes through. Most of the light is reflected by the object or absorbed into it.  Colour:  Colour is represented in the model when light shines on the CD and the light spreads out in different colours on the shiny surface.  These colours are due to the scattering of light by the surface of the CD. Data is burned into CDs by lasers forming a series of grooves. The light is scattered when it hits the tiny grooves so the white light splits into the rainbow colours.

I liked doing this project and I learned a lot.  I liked the Haida story but it took me a while to figure out  how to show all these geometry, symmetry and light terms.  At first I described how they were set up in the box and then I got feedback to add in the definitions so I added that next.  I learned about Ibn al-Hatham when we made the camera. It was hard to transport to school and the lego totem pole was hard to keep together.  I thought a couple of things worked well.  One thing was the raven sitting on the chimney that had light shining up.  Another was the reflection of the house and the raven on the back wall.  The tree prism split up the light well.  They needed darkness to show up clearly so the best thing was using the CD to make the sun out of because you could see the light colours even if it wasn’t too bright.

Here are some more photos to show you the work in progress and parts of the finished project.

 

 

Driving Question and Problem:  How to provide more current and useful information to people who use trails.  This would improve knowledge and safety on the trails for bikers and hikers.  It would help reduce the number of people who get injured or lost.  It would also increase enjoyment of the trails by providing information on topics like points of interest, wildlife and vegetation.

My Big Idea:  My Blue Sky solution is to add a QR code to the trailhead sign and when the person uses their smartphone on it, the website shows up on their screen with more information. The website could be updated by trail users and park management staff and rescue services.   Updates could include new hazards spotted or needing to be fixed, seasonal vegetation and interesting points.

Content and Subject Matter Expert:  I do a lot of mountain biking on Mt Seymour so I know a lot of the biking trails and existing signs.  I also hear about people getting lost and hurt on North Shore mountains so I thought this would be useful.  I filled out my Blue Sky Design Project Pitch form and it got approved.  My main subject matter expert was Kevin Woodhouse, the Outdoor Education Manager at the Sea to Sky Park Services.  He was very helpful and said it was a “well thought-out project that can make a difference.”  Here are some of the questions I asked and his answers:

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1. What type of information do you think that hikers and bikers would be most interested in learning about from a QR code on a trail sign?
· Hikers and Bikers have some overlap, but typically are interested in different information.

Hikers:
a. Current information on trail conditions (snow, mud, etc.)
b. Recent wildlife spotted, including birds…birdwatchers would love it
c. Flowers in bloom
d. Note that cellular service is inconsistent.
e. Pick up dog poop reminder!
f. Safety warnings
i. What to bring (although, at the trailhead is too late usually) http://www.northshorerescue.com/education/what-to-bring/
g. Highlights
h. Sunset Times and weather
i. Typical trail duration and difficultly level
j. What to do if you get lost

Avoid Getting Lost

Bikers:
k. Trail Conditions, length and difficulty level (http://www.trailforks.com/region/mount-seymour/)
l. A map from the trailhead with a you are here
m. Sunset Times
n. What to bring

2. What are some seasonal wildlife and flowers on the Mt Seymour trails eg spring-summer?
a. Spring (lower mountain)
i. Skunk Cabbage flowering
ii. Grouse begin thumping
iii. Varied Thrush are making whistling sounds
iv. Salmonberries flower and produce berries
v. Thimble berries flower and produce berries
vi. Bears become active
b. Spring (Upper Mountain)
i. Snow is melting!
ii. Swallows return from migration to nest
iii. Frogs and Salamanders lay eggs in the ponds
c. Summer (Lower Mountain)
i. Red Huckleberries
ii. All wildlife active
d. Summer (Upper Mountain)
i. Blueberries everywhere in August
ii. Indian Paintbrush blooms
iii. Queens Cup Lily blooms
iv. Copper-bush in flower
v. White-Flowered Rhododendron blooms
vi. Bears and birds come to eat the blueberries

3. Is there anything that could be added to a trail sign that would help rescue services find hikers or bikers if they are hurt or lost and can’t figure out where they are?
a. Information on what to do if you become lost is key. Hikers account for far more rescues than mountain bikers. The knowledge of how not to become lost, and what to do if lost is huge in helping Search and Rescue (SAR).
b. As for finding the where they are, if SAR could know who has been on certain trail that day it could prove very helpful.
-So maybe on the blog there could be a strong reminder IF YOU GET LOST, WILL ANYONE KNOW WHERE YOU ARE? A prompt too call or text 2 people while you still have reception to tell them which specific route you are about to travel, who’s with you, and when to expect you back.
-An optional section could exist to put your name and the time you began the trail. This however allows people a way to not be properly prepared by leaving there intentions with people they trust. Some hikes have a book at the trailhead for this purpose. It would need to be clear that no one is checking to see if you have come out safely.

4. Other suggestions.
a. The local trailheads that your project would prove most useful are the Mt Seymour Trail and the Dog Mountain trail on the upper mountain. This area accounts for far more traffic with unprepared hikers and more rescues than any other in the area. It also has the most variable and unexpected conditions.

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I also had input from my uncle and my neighbour’s dad who do lots of hiking.  They both thought it was a great idea.  My neighbour said her dad mentioned it to someone from North Shore Rescue and he thought it was a great idea too.  A firefighter said it would be good to have these types of signs along the trails to help people understand where they are because sometimes when people get in trouble they can’t tell rescuers where they are located.

Website Prototype:  So now it was time to design a prototype website that I could use for the project.  I went biking on Mt Seymour to get some photos of the trails to help with the project.  Here is me on the trail and the second photo is a hazard because the tree has fallen across the trail.

Then I worked on the website prototype for a QR code on a biking trailhead sign.  Here are the topics that could be put on a sign that would have a QR code on the bottom for a smart phone to click on for more information:

So when the trail user clicks on the QR code with a smart phone scanning app, the website prototype shows up on the phone screen.  For the prototype website for the Blue Sky exhibition, I had to find a name and I chose Trailinfo so people understand what it is about.  See the top of this blog for a photo of the starting point of the website.  I set it up as a blog website.  The first entry has a photo of a flower I took on the trail and the first post is called Getting Ready and Being Prepared.  There are safety warnings about letting other people know where you are going and how to avoid getting lost and what to do if you are lost.  That is the most important for safety.  Since I am most interested in biking, I added a couple of biking trail photos and trail information for Boogieman, Corkscrew and Pangor.  Future information could include what people are seeing for seasonal vegetation and wildlife and an option to sign in.  Here is some key safety information on the website:

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KEY SAFETY WARNINGS:

Communication and Sign-In:

IF YOU GET LOST, WILL ANYONE KNOW WHERE YOU ARE? Call or text 2 people while there is still reception to tell them which trail will be taken; who is going and expected return time.

Bring a cell phone with a fully charged battery. Turn it off and store it in a ziplock bag to keep it dry and charged. Learn how to get GPS coordinates from your smartphone to give location to rescuers if you are hurt or lost. Be careful. Cellular service is inconsistent.

Future website development will include an option to sign in for the trail with the time you left and when you expect to return.

AVOID GETTING LOST AND WHAT TO DO IF YOU ARE LOST: (SOURCE: NORTH SHORE RESCUE) For more details see http://www.northshorerescue.com/education/avoid-getting-lost/

-Leave A message with a friend about your destination, route, others with you and return time.

-Never bike or hike alone

-Be physically prepared for the trail by being fit and sticking to your plan and leave enough time to get back.

-Do not panic if you get lost. You will be fine if you are prepared. Stay where you are. Help will come.

-Do Not Go “Downhill” off the trail. On the North Shore, going downhill often leads to dangerous natural drainages. These drainages have the common features of very thick bush, steep cliffs, and waterfalls.

-Use Signaling Devices. Blowing a whistle, lighting a fire, and staying visible will help searchers find you.

-Build or Seek Shelter. Make sure you are still visible from the air.

WHAT TO BRING:

-Refer to the North Shore Rescue’s The 10 Essentials http://www.northshorerescue.com/education/what-to-bring/

It covers off everything for the trail enthusiast who is going to tackle the more challenging trails.

BIKERS: Remember, you should have an extra tube, pump, multi-tool (Allen keys) and chain break, water

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EXHIBITION:

For my section of the exhibition, I put together a poster board that explained the problem being addressed and my solution.  I explained how the QR code on the trailhead sign would work and how I built the website prototype with the subject matter expert content.  Then I showed an existing trailhead sign (Pingu) that shows there isn’t much information on it.  Then I showed a prototype trailhead sign with lots of topics and the QR code that takes people to the prototype website.  I had my macbook there to show the website and people who visited my exhibit could click on the QR code with their scanning app on their iPhone and it would take them to the website I built.

For the group work, I was in the Safety group.  To help show our safety theme, we put up yellow caution tape in our area.  We also put up white paper to show that it was a clean, sterile and healthy area.  During the exhibition a lot of people who stopped by said my Blue Sky idea was great.

Feel free to go and check out the pilot website at https://trailinfo.wordpress.com.

Reflecting on the Blue Sky project:  I had fun doing this project and I learned a lot.  I had fun because I really enjoy mountain biking and I got to go on the trails to do research.  I learned a lot from my main subject matter expert from Sea to Sky Parks about what is on the trails and how to stay safe.  I also learned about how to build a website.  This was harder than I thought and took longer than I thought it would. It was hard to edit some sections.  It was fun to combine learning with a sport I like and it was interesting to combine technology with nature. I like that I got so much positive feedback from people who I talked to about it. People who couldn’t come to the exhibition are asking to see how it works.  Some people said it could help save lives and that is pretty awesome!!

 

How did the Renaissance influence the western worldview?

First I researched  a Renaissance thinker, artist and scientist.  The thinker was Leilo Sozzini, the scientist was Robert Hooke and the artist was Bernardo Zenale.  I researched their main achievements and answered questions related to our worldview.  After, I created the Venn diagram to show what they had in common.

Leiolo Sozzini

The humanist I read about was Leilo Sozzini. (1525-1562). He studied the bible and was one of the founders of ideas that led to Reformation.  Reformation was a movement to address concerns some people had with the Roman Catholic church. Reformation led to the start of the Protestant religion and the Unitarian church was part of it.  Sozzini questioned things like the need to attend mass and resurrection. There are still many people who are members of Unitarian church today. One of his theories was that even though Jesus had a special status, he was a human being.   The Unitarian church followers still believe in this today.

Bernardo Zenale

The artist I studied was Bernardo Zenale.  He was born in Italy (1460 – 1526) He has many famous paintings in churches and his style was influenced by Leonardo da Vinci.  A famous painting is Madonna and child with saints.  By 1513 Zenale started to work more on architecture and he became an architect for the Milan Cathedral.  He also wrote about art theory and a paper on the science of perspective.  Linear perspective emerged during the Renaissance as the tool for artists to capture the world in a very realistic way.

Much of the renaissance art focused on religion and the individual but today our worldview of art is more diverse and people have more freedom of speech to write and create what they want. I think this means that our worldview is more global.  We see more because of the internet and travelling.  Art can send a very clear message or it can be hard to understand and left up to people to figure out what it means.  Modern art still uses ideas from the Renaissance like perspective.  People today appreciate both the ancient and historical classical art but we also like modern art and modern buildings.  We mix old and new to get the best of both worlds.   There is something for everyone.

Robert Hooke

Robert Hooke was the scientist I researched from England (1635 – 1703).  He was also an architect.  He wrote the law of elasticity (Hooke’s law), (a small amount of displacement is directly proportional to the force).  He was the first to use the word cell to describe the basic unit of life.  He invented the microscope with light and an adjusting focus.  He also worked on gravity and he built some of the earliest Gregorian telescopes and observed Mars and Jupiter rotating.  He figured out wave light theory and that matter expands when heated.  He was also an architect and he set up planning controls for London which are still used today. He helped rebuild London after the great fire of 1666.  Robert Hooke is considered one of the greatest scientists of his age and has been called England’s Leonardo.

Robert Hooke’s work is an example of how Renaissance’s experience with direct observation and experimentation is carried through in Science today. Hooke was Curator of Experiments for the Royal Society, whose purpose was to advance scientific understanding of the world.  He wrote the book called Micrographia that showed tiny details of the natural world never seen before.  That is why it is considered one of the most important scientific books ever written.  This work with direct observation and experimentation influenced our knowledge today of microbiology, quantum physics and nanotechnology.

Modern science and math is based on the foundations of direct observation and experimentation developed during the Renaissance.  It is still a source for growth and knowledge in many areas like the medical field, nutrition, agriculture, computers, transportation and quality of life.  Advances in technology have provided an opportunity to take observations and experimentation even further like solar systems, deep sea oceans, molecules, oceans beds new energy sources and advancing life expectancy.

I like this quote from Robert Hooke about observation that seems to predict what we can do today:

“By the means of Telescopes, there is nothing so far distant but may be represented to our view; and by the help of Microscopes, there is nothing so small as to escape our inquiry; hence there is a new visible World discovered to the understanding.”

When looking at all three Renaissance men, it seemed like what they had in  common was that they loved to learn and look at change.  They were driven to seek knowledge through their education and mentors.  They all shared their work by displaying it or writing about it.

Here is the Venn diagram

For a visual, I thought of using a photo of the Louvre because it is the most famous musuem in the world and its goal is to educate and share knowledge.  It shares culture from all over the world and every century, especially the Renaissance and is very popular in modern times. Even the architecture is old and new.  I went there and I thought it was neat that you could get so close to the most famous art in the world.

I started with a photo of the outside of the Louvre that my cousin took and then I added photos from inside that I took, even the Mona Lisa by Leonard da Vinci.  The artist and scientist I researched were both linked to Leonardo.  I used PicCollage and Afterlight.

Here is the final visual of the Louvre, inside and out. The Renaissance influenced the western worldview’s appreciation of art and learning. The Louvre is the worlds most famous museum with art from all ages, for all ages.

Here is the earlier draft.

By studying the great achievements of the Renaissance I can now see how it helped create an important part of the foundation for our western Worldview.

 

At school my class learned about world religion. We did research for the test and had a test but after that we got to go and learn about the religions in person. Yep we went to visit them. We visited Vedic Cultural Society, Thrangu Monastery, Ling Yen Mountain Temple, Nanaksar Gurdwara Gursikh Temple, North Shore Jewish Community Center, Masjid Ar-Rahman, St Andrews Church and a Buddhist Society Temple. I had a lot of fun going to visit the churches and temples. My group had to cover Christanity. We went to St Andrews church for that. The minster there was very nice about answering our questions and telling us how it was built and more about the religion. The field trips were a great way to enhance what we learned in the class. Here are some pictures of the United church.

Welcome to my view of the world.  I’m sharing my point of view on things like sports, technology and education.  I think my worldview seems to change every year as I learn more.  A big chance to learn more about the perspective of different groups happened when I visited countries in Europe.  Click on the link and learn more about what has helped form my worldview from family and culture to friends and current events.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XazibajCG7g

The work I am most proud of would have to be the DI (Destination Imagination) team project on the Pace of Change. (I will be calling it that for the rest of this blog post). So the criteria for this DI project is that we are supposed to build a vehicle and have it move 10 feet by itself and we had to make a backstory about it. The reason why this is work I am most proud of is because we had to do this work by ourselves and  there were no instructions provided on how to build a go cart! So we came up with different ideas and built it.  There were a lot of problems and problem solving like when the chain didn’t fit or when the wooden dowels weren’t strong enough for the axels  or putting in a second propulsion system. The lawn mower engine was tricky to pull out.  The team also had to make two team choice elements which were a cake and a chalk board. In the play, I was the realtor and the teacher.  Then the team won an award for it and we are going to provincials and it was fun to do the challenge.

 

I think that I have shown growth as a learner in my Star Wars Blue Sky project.  The question was “Is it possible to live on an asteroid?  I went to the SFU aerospace physiology lab where Dr Blaber studies the effects of low gravity on people.  I also did research on the internet and found out why people would want to live on an asteroid (who knew that there is so much money to be made up there in mining) and the challenges of trying to live in space.  I found out about asteroid living requirements and how to create artificial gravity.  I learned that NASA has already visited an asteroid called EROS. I designed and built a space station for an asteroid that had artificial gravity created by spinning sections. So I ended up thinking that it is possible to live on an asteroid in the future but not yet because it is expensive and we don’t know all the impacts on people. I see Scott Kelly just returned from a year in space so NASA can study the impacts of space on him and compare him to his identical twin brother.

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I think that I showed a growth mindset when I did the Julius Caesar play in PLP.  At first I really did not want to do it at all because I am uncomfortable acting/performing. But as I went through the project it got better because I made it fun and I learned even more about Julius Caesar. When it came time to perform it was okay because we were ready.  We had a good script and everyone knew what to do.  Our team worked well together. We practiced all the lines and it was fun to do a different version of Julius Caesar. We were gangsters and that was cool to mix gangsters with Julius Caesar.  I don’t know if I’ll win an academy award but it was a fun chance to perform and learn at the same time.

This assignment was about creating a body biography for Gaius Cassius.  First we researched about him and then we took what we learned and made the body biography.   It is a giant visual and written representation of this person’s life that we drew on a big piece of paper.  We thought about the placement of the words that described Cassius’s personality and the things that happened in his life.  Cassius really wanted Julius Caesar killed and he led the plot to murder him.  He was the brother-in-law of Marcus Brutus and a senator of Rome.  He was known to be impatient and he took his own life after he thought Brutus had lost a battle.

We decided to put things in places that made sense and had some meaning behind them.  We put when he died on his organs because you need organs to live. On his shoulders we put the words ‘politician’ and ‘general’ because it means power and he was a powerful leader.  We put a knife on his body because he led the plot to kill Caesar and then he killed himself.  One of his qualities was that he was impatient so we put on the body ‘#grumpy.’  We put his brother-in-law’s name ‘Marcus Brutus’ in the centre of his body because Brutus was so central to Cassius’ life.

As a student I really enjoyed this activity.  It made me stop and think about what makes up a person and what they do in their life. It is easier to learn about someone when it is in a picture like this.  Here is a picture of our body biography of Cassius.

 

Here are the steps our group completed to plan and create our story for our quilt. I had Claire, Sam and Alex in my group. We worked well together and made a good story.

Quilt Civilization Initial Group Planning
The Overview Group Organizer helped our group plan and identify our civilization. We had to decide things like who, what when, where and why. We brainstormed many ideas. Coming up with the ideas wasn’t hard but deciding the best ones to use was harder. I helped come up with ideas like the location close to Hawaii because I was there recently and it seemed like a good spot. The group planning also helped us determine the worldview of the civilization. For example we decided how they would view things like human nature and the good life. Then we picked artifacts to represent their views like there is a painting about helping people even for nothing in return.

Quilt Civilization Hero Group planning
We decided who our ideal hero would be including his qualities and his journey which was important to writing the story. It starts with the hero’s call to adventure from the ordinary world. He faces challenges and overcomes them and is rewarded. Then he returns to his ordinary world to make things better and everything gets resolved. We discussed these questions as a group again. The Ideal Hero Note Organizer was a big help in understanding the steps and organizing our ideas. We all had a similar role by contributing and supporting each other’s ideas. We made good progress.

Quilt Civilization And Hero Group Storyboard
By completing the Quilt civilization and Hero Group Storyboard we brought together our Civilization’s worldview and our Hero’s journey. We carried on our group brainstorming process. We started by summarizing the Exposition about the war between our civilization and another one with a different worldview. I talked about the rising action where the hero must go past enemy soldiers to the enemy castle. The climax occurs when the enemy king is killed. When our hero returns, he is thanked and they make changes to avoid a future war. The storyboard helped because it provided a visual to follow. We had to make storyline choices that could be presented visually for the quilt.

Quilt Civilization And Hero Group Final Planning
Now we were ready to start planning our own quilt square. First we met as a group to fill out the first column of the Civilization and Hero Group Storyboard. We each were assigned a block and for each one we described the events. We had to work together to make sure the story flowed. I had the first block. Then we showed it to our teacher.
Then we had to start working on our own quilt square. I had to decide what symbols would best describe that part of the story. I drew a draft on Paper53 and then our group came back together to review our work and see if we all agreed which we did.
These are the choices I made: I first drew a picture of the world like a globe to represent the worldview. I drew two castles on top of the world on opposite sides. They represented the power of the two fighting Civilizations. Between the castles is a large silver sword with a very sharp blade. It represents the fighting between the Civilizations and the hero’s sword who kills the enemy king. I chose very bright, rich colours to represent the beauty in the world and the richness of the Civilizations. Later I added stars to make it look more detailed.

Conclusion
I liked to do this project because it was inclusive and it really made me think. I like that kind of thinking because you get to know your classmates very well. I thought everyone worked well together. I also learned a lot more about how stories are put together. It was also useful to learn to quilt/ sew because that is a life skill. I think that it is cool that the teacher put sewing together with story writing and iPads for a project. I wouldn’t have thought of that and I give full credit to our teacher. I like when we got to make our own hero because it was like creating a person and we got to take into consideration the good things and bad things about people and many other qualities I hadn’t thought of before.

My Question:  Is it possible to live on an asteroid like in Star Wars?

Planning My Project:

I filled out the Pitch Form (see below) to start planning what research I should do and where to do it.  I needed to find out what living conditions are like on an asteroid and what humans need to live.  I did research on the internet and found that NASA had a lot of information.  I also went to SFU’s Aerospace Physiology Lab and heard Dr. Blaber talk about the effects of space on people’s health and how they are trying to address the impacts of low gravity on people.

Here are my research findings that helped me plan my model and answer the driving question:

What are asteroids?

• Asteroids are objects made of rock and metal that orbit the sun.  Most are found in the Asteroid Belt that lies between Mars and Jupiter.

Why try to live on an asteroid?

• Growth and survival option for the earth’s growing population
• Lots of valuable minerals could be mined to use in outer space or back on earth
• Water is available from the ice on asteroids
• Could study how to prevent an asteroid from hitting earth
• There are low gravity benefits.  It is easier to mine and move large objects for manufacturing.
• Offers a chance to become very rich from mining.  Raises question:  who owns the asteroids?

Challenges of asteroid living?

• Low gravity and radiation impacts health like the heart and blood circulation
• Less solar energy
• No oxygen or food readily available
• Very cold (-73C to -143C)
• Hard to control the atmosphere in a closed habitat
• More likely to be hit by another asteroid in the asteroid belt

What are the human requirements if living on an asteroid?

• Self contained modules with travel tubes
• Artificial gravity in one section using rotation (centrifugal force)
• Stationary sections for docking and manufacturing
• Radiation shields using special plastics and a thick hull
• Oxygen.  Could use plants to produce oxygen (absorb CO2) or extract from ice water (H2O)
• Solar energy.  Use solar panels to convert light to power.
• Food and Farming Space.  Soybeans and wheat (nutritious and use small space)
• Service-Community Centres. Education, Social, Medical, Exercise
• Water for drinking, washing and plants.  Use ice water on asteroid
• Recycling of all oxygen, water and wastes
• Mining and manufacturing centres.  Use 3D Printers
• Communications and Transportation including an escape system
• Living and Working Quarters (Lab)

Construction Process:   

Based on my research I started drawing an asteroid space colony in Paper53 to help plan my construction:

• It shows two self-contained modules with a travel tube between them.
• The round sections rotate to create artificial gravity (centrifugal force). You would walk on the sides of the inner walls.
• It is based on the Stanford Torus design that looks like a donut.
• The non-moving parts have the docking station and manufacturing (3D printers)

Here are my project materials:

• thick plastic (radiation protection) piping and connectors for the bases, docking stations and travel tubes
• toilet seals covered in duct tape for the round, rotating sections
• Knex parts to go inside the pipes to help with holding the pipes up and the rotation
• shiny insulation strips for solar energy panels
• a platform made from foam and a paint canvas.

The pipes fit well into the connectors and I used a lot of hot gun glue to hold it together.  The hardest part was making one section rotate for artificial gravity while the attached sections didn’t move. I used very small Star Wars spacecraft beside it to show the large scale of the colony.  I labelled the parts so people knew what they were and how they worked.

 

Final Project:

I put together a display board with slides on it as a backdrop to the model so everyone walking by could read my research findings and see the answer to the question “Is it possible to live on an asteroid like in Star Wars?’  I added references to the back.  The slides had information on the following:

 

• What are asteroids?
• Why try to live on an asteroid?
• Challenges of asteroid living
• NASA’s asteroid visit of 2001
• SFU Physiology Labe
• Answer to the question:  Is it possible to live on an asteroid?

The moment you’ve been waiting for….drumroll please…..here is my answer:

• In the future it may be possible to live on an asteroid but right now it is too expensive and risky to try.  Scientists need to find out more about the long-term mental and physical impacts on humans. They need to do more studies like SFU does.  Once space travel is cheaper, the money to be made in space tourism and mining will probably push humans closer to settling an asteroid.  NASA has already sent an unmanned spacecraft to an asteroid so we are getting closer

I met my goal of learning how to set up a space colony and improved my research and planning skills.  I also learned things like:

• The benefits of settling an asteroid and that they have minerals and ice water
• The challenges of asteroid living (radiation, cold, low gravity)
• What humans need to survive and what would be needed for asteroid living
• How to set up a space colony
• How to create artificial gravity (centrifugal force)
• How scientists are studying the impacts of low gravity like SFU does
• NASA’s achievements like visiting an asteroid
• We are closer to living on an asteroid than I thought and it is a future possibility.

Exhibition:  

Here is what we did for the exhibition night:

• Our group decided to set up our projects in an open area in front of the library door to try and catch people as they entered. I put down paper from the entrance to our area to help guide people our way.
• Our group talked about costumes and I tried different options at home.  I ended up dressing in all black to represent Darth Vadar and make it more formal for the exhibition.  Someone else brought food for visitors to our group’s area.
• I put a playlist together of Naboo and Star Wars music and brought in my speaker so it could be playing as people entered our area.

When I had visitors to exhibit, the most common question was “Is it possible?” and I was prepared with my answer that it was too risky and expensive right now but possible in the future.  I also explained how my space colony worked.  Some people were impressed that I had learned about artificial gravity.

The exhibition was a great way to display what I had learned and built and to see all the other projects.

This blog post is about making my quilt square. My square represents the first part of my group’s story.

First Part of Our Group’s Story:  There is a war on an earth-like planet between the first two human civilizations called the Alexonians and the Shoewees.  If the war continues on its course then it could result in the death of thousands of people.  The king of the Shoewees wants to rule both civilizations.  The Alexonians have Ballator who is a strong warrior and a special weapon that is a valuable sword but will it be enough to stop the Shoewees?

Designing and Making my Quilt Square:  In designing this quilt square, first I drew a draft on Paper53.  The picture of the world is like a globe and it represents the worldview. I drew two castles on top of the world but on opposite sides. They stand for the power of the two fighting civilizations, the Alexonians and the Shoewees. I chose very bright, rich colours to represent the beauty in the world and the richness of the civilizations. Later I added stars to make it look more detailed.  I reviewed my quilt square design with my group to make sure it fit with the rest of the story. We decided to add the large silver sword between the castles. It represents the fighting between the civilizations and the hero’s sword.

My Quilt Block Drawings:

1  First Draft

Second Draft (added sword)

Final (improved the sword)

Sewing The Quilt Square:

Before I started sewing:

Sewing in progress:

 

Here is a time lapse of me making the quilt:  Click here to see it:  TIME LAPSE

Sewing finished!!  The final version:

Please see Sam’s blog to find out the next part of our exciting story.

I designed three ad posters based on photos taken on our Oregon field study. One was a persuasive tourism poster for a natural landscape and my topic was the Newport Bayfront. Another was a business ad and I did mine on the Yurts we stayed at. For this one we were lucky to interview the volunters that worked there so it was easier to do the ad. The third was an environmental advocacy poster and the topic was don’t overfish. I had trouble getting a picture of an endangered fish so I had to use a different photo of the ocean.

I worked with Canva and Afterlight apps to make them better. I used editing techniques like adding colour text and using a filter. I added  white borders and put text on colour banners to help get it noticed. I tried to add some humorous phrases to make it more memorable. We got feedback from our class and I used that to try and improve the ads. I made them clearer and brighter. Next time I would do more research earlier so I had a better plan for the photos I needed.

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  Final

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I do think that I am like Luke Skywalker because I am very adventurous. For example, I went zip lining and on an adventure course in the mountains of Switzerland. It was a connect-yourself’ course. So you are way up three stories and on a small ledge and if you slip you could die.