Mrs. Renz's 4th Grade Class JASON XV Expedition Panama Field Notes

Real Science. Real Time. Real Learning.

Mrs. Renz was selected to join the JASON XV Project expedition team, traveling with the scientists and production team to the remote locations of Panama including Barro Colorado Island and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in the middle of the Panama Canal Zone. This opportunity allowed the student and teacher Argonauts joining Dr. Robert Ballard, world class scientists, and guest researchers at the expedition site. Mrs. Renz was in Panama two weeks. Her fourth graders followed her journey each day as she updated her website with her daily journals and photos.

Mrs. Renz's Field Journal

Today "live" broadcasting began and was fed to the participating PIN sites all around the world. The Student Argonauts filmed five different one-hour shows with a 30-minute break in between. My job today was to learn what the other Teacher Argo Melissa's team did on their cameral location so I could fill in for her the next day. It was fun to watch the film crew zoom in on the action of the student argos and to watch the sound people catch every word that was uttered. The students worked with Meg Lowman's team and conducted canopy experiments.

My team of roving argos was scheduled to go in two boats to film an "Expedition Field Notes" segment on sloths but the sloths did not cooperate and were nowhere to be seen when it came time to film the segment. Jackie Willis scouted the island in search of a sloth and reported back when one was located and our segment could be filmed. Jackie Willis, the camera crew and Student Argo Lisa boated to the other side of the island and they were filmed the segment. I was able to watch the live broadcast on the TV monitor in the dining hall. I can tell you this...it is no easy task filming in the rainforest and I have a new appreciation for people in the media and production industry, and also for the scientists and researchers who spend hours collecting data and help us learn new things. It was another wonderful, hot, humid day in the rainforest and I felt so lucky to be here as our boat sailed back at a sunset down the Panama Canal to take us back to our hotel in Gamboa.

Mrs. Renz's Photos from Panama

This is my least favorite hill on the whole island of BCI.

It is incredibly steep!

Water color in the Panama Canal in Gatun Lake.

Student Argo Ben looks at a leaf cutter ant waste pile

Mike Kaspari talks with student argos during the live broadcast.

An agouti on BCI

Another beautiful sunset in the Panama Canal

zone on the boat ride from BCI to Gamboa

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Feb. 1

Redmond, Oregon