Stimulating Science Simulations

Where to begin?  This has been an amazing trip!  My husbands sister and her family live in North Pole, Alaska.  We flew out here on July 6th and planned to stay for one week.  On the way to their house from the airport, we saw a moose crossing the road. They are HUGE! One of the first places we visited was the Alaskan Pipeline. The first three days we had beautiful weather and spent lots of time exploring the great outdoors of the Alaskan Interior.  They have two Rzrs (4 wheel ATVs) that were tons of fun for riding on the trails and playing in the big mud puddles. On one of our rides, we saw moose tracks and we even ran into some firefighters who were getting ready to make a cut line. Of course, I went into teacher mode and conducted an impromptu mini interview on the spot. Day three took a turn for the worse when our oldest son flipped a Rzr on its' side, resulting in a broken humerus and dislocated elbow. Two hours in surgery, two plates, and 8 screws later... good as

    Today was spent experiencing the Niagara Falls Aquarium and the American side of the falls. Over the years, I've spent plenty of time at the falls.  It is always a great place to visit and a nice place to spend time with family. This time I wanted to get some pictures and video that could enhance my science lessons too. I wasn't disappointed.   We spent about an hour in the aquarium. (It isn't very big.) The turtles, anemones, poison frogs, penguins, seahorses and sea lions were a big hit.  I got some great shots that I can definitely use as discussion starters while meeting NC science essential standard   5.L.2 Understand the interdependence of plants and animals with their ecosystem. We headed over to the falls and walked around a little before deciding to splurge on a ride on "The Maid of the Mist."  As many times as I've been to the falls, this is something I have never done.  The pictures and video I got while riding the boat are well worth i