It's Been a Wonderful Journey with You, Sir!

This quarter, Sir Ryan introduced us to our last and final project: The Blogging Project. 

The Blogging Project

     This project was a whole lot different project than the others. It wasn't our regular old projects where we research, make a power-point, make a handout and present it to the class kind of project. It wasn't making a oral defense either. So when Sir Ryan told us about the Blogging Project, it surprised us. We got to express ourselves through our posts here in blogger! You could see in our faces the excitement and curiosity building-up. Questions then formed in our minds like “Who among our members in the group is going to make our blog?” and “What's going to be the name of our blog?” and other questions similar to those. The Blogging Project is where we would get to express ourselves and feelings about our field trip, projects, and experiences through our posts in Blogger!

     We admit, we had a hard time making our blog. We didn't know how to make one and who's going to make it. We then decided to go online so we could chat or 'IM' each other and Alex was able to make our blog. We thought of our name, we were desperate to find a good name for our blog so we kept thinking and thinking until we came up of “The Science Adventurers!”. Now, what's our URL going to be? We had a fun time mixing the first two to four letters of our name and came up of: migadikhalexclar.blogspot.com. We were ready and excited to share our adventurers in and out of school with you!

     Now the name of our blog was all set, we encountered our first problem: Only Alex can access the blog even though she gave us the password she used for the blog. We had to send our compositions to her so she would be able to post them which was probably difficult to her because she was the only one doing it. It turned out that we needed the password for Alex's email which we used to make the blog to access the blog. We solved this problem when Alex gave Clarisse the correct password for our blog so Clarisse can help too. When Alex was absent for a week or so, luckily, Clarisse was able to access the blog or else they would rely again on Alex who was sick.

     Now, if we were given a chance to do this CEO all over again, would we still do it? We would be honored to do this project once again only if it's Sir Ryan who would be still handling it and if we have more adventurers like field trips with him, but sadly, it's our last year in TLT. We would do this project once again because we don't usually have these kinds of projects in Science Class. We also learn how to express ourselves and making posts for you to read! It also develops our team-work with each other. We think this project can be further improve by not giving deadlines before exams and tests because it hassles us. This CEO was perfectly handled by Sir Ryan... except for the part about the deadlines being on the night before exams problem.

     We learned so much important things in this awesome and fun- filled project we don't know what would be the most important. We learned that we all need to work together in order to accomplish the tasks. We learned that we shouldn't be lazy and not to cram about our posts because it will effect the outcome of our post meaning grammatical errors and stuff like that. We learned to have fun with our batch mates and We realized that we should treasure our environment given to us by our God. We should preserve and conserve them.We also realized that we might not have a project like this again because we will be leaving TLT and Sir Ryan, the one who introduced us to this wonderful project who will be staying behind, is unique in his own special way and we are grateful that God gave us a science teacher like him.

So Sir Ryan, we salute you and we will miss you when we leave. 

'Till the next time, Urban Guru!

Our wonderful journey stays in our hearts.

We had fun sharing our experiences with you, readers! 

So long, farewell to you my friends

Good bye for now until we meet again. 

Signing off for the last time,

Miguel, Adi, Khael, Alex, and Clarisse

The Science Adventurers
Honored to say GOODBYE. 

Makiling Botanical FOREST!

     In our field trip, our last stop was the Makiling Botanical Garden. When we first heard the name “Makiling Botanical Garden”, we first thought that it is just like a small garden you see everyday in people’s backyards. Well, no. In fact, it is a large tract of tropical forest containing endemic floras. Then maybe its name should be changed to “Makiling Botanical Forest”! Nah, forget that we said.

     We expected that since it is called a botanical garden, we will learn about plants. We will probably learn about different species of flora endemic to the Philippines and on which division they belong to, since we were taking up Kingdom Plantae then.

     During our hike through its steep and slippery path, we encountered a lot of plants, from the smallest moss to the tallest trees. One of the Science Adventurers, Miguel, then noticed something green in the trunk of a tree. Wondering what it was, he asked Teacher Rye what the green thing was, and Teacher Rye answered that it was lichen. So during the hike, we discovered how lichens looks like.

     Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a symbiotic association of a fungus with photosynthetic partner. This photosynthetic partner can usually be green algae. The characteristics of lichens are very different from those of isolated fungus and algae. Lichen can also survive in some extreme environments like arctic tundra, hot deserts, and toxic slag heaps.

Lichen  Flavoparmelia caperata

1. Name
   Common Name: Lichen
   Scientific Name: Flavoparmelia caperata

2. Characteristics

     Lichens are composite organisms consisting of a dependent union of a fungus with a photosynthetic partner. This photosynthetic partner can usually be green algae. The characteristics of lichens are very dissimilar from those of stray fungus and algae. Lichen can also survive in some extreme environments like arctic tundra, hot deserts, and toxic slag piles.

      We chose this organism because of its interesting features and maybe because Miguel really likes his topic in reporting: Fungi!

     Of course when we went home from the field trip, we were very tired. After going to the sites, our long and tiring walk in the Makiling Botanical Garden, and the long but very entertaining bus rides, who wouldn’t feel tired? It's hard to say good bye to UP LB but we were happy that we learned a lot of things as we expected! Probably, the most important lesson that we learned is to take down notes and learn how to explore the small or large things in our environment. And of course, the most important lesson in this field trip is to HAVE FUN! We will never forget this learning experience because it was our last field trip in the Learning Tree. This was the field trip where we learned the most things and probably even the best field trip ever thanks to our one and only favorite science teacher; TEACHER RYAN!  

Rice, Rice, and More Rice!

Hello again, readers!

     So as you can see in our previous post, we had scrumptious lunch and got tour around the Museum of Natural History. After that, we then left to visit the International Rice Research Institute or IRRI. Now before we begin our journey, you might be wondering “what is IRRI?” Well, according to IRRI's official website, 

“IRRI, or the International Rice Research Institute, is a nonprofit independent research and training organization. IRRI develops new rice varieties and rice crop management techniques that help rice farmers improve the yield and quality of their rice in an environmentally sustainable way.”

     So in shorter words, IRRI is a research center where they grow and develop new types of rice and teach the farmers how to handle rice so that the farmers can improve the yield and quality of their rice.

     Okay, going back to our visit, as we boarded again in the bus, you could feel the curiosity forming in our minds, “what is in IRRI?” We, of course, expected that we were going to learn more about rice and it’s composition and properties. We were excited to learn about rice since it has always been part of our meals. But other than that, we did not know what we were going to learn about.

     Alas, we reached IRRI and entered its doors. Upon our arrival, we were sent to an auditorium. In the auditorium, we were showed a video. We learned, in the video, about rice, just like we expected. We learned that there are rice shortages around the world so we should not waste our precious rice. But sometimes, there are also over rice productions and it can also be a catastrophe because the rice that is not needed by the people will rot in storage. We, of course, also learned more about the institute itself, IRRI.

So here’s an organism that we met: RICE!

Reader, meet rice. Rice, meet reader.

Okay, so moving on. Here are some facts about rice.

1. Name

Common name: Rice

Scientific name: Oryza sativa

A rice plant
Oryza sativa

2. Characteristics

   We chose rice because it is a very important staple food for most of the human population especially to us Asians. And we chose rice because we love rice, suman, bibinka and all those Filipino kakanins!

3. Ecological Relationship

     Rice is a producer because it makes its own food by photosynthesizing. Farmers harvest them so they can be used for human consumption.

That’s all for now! Hope you had a fun time reading! Stay tuned for our last destination in our Los Baños, the Makiliing Botaical Garden. 

Round and Round the Museum of Natural History

     It was around 12:00 in the afternoon when finished touring the IPB. After the DTRI and the IPB, who wouldn't be hungry? We headed to the Makiling Botanical Garden to eat but it started to drizzle and rain. Unfortunately, we had to eat and play game number 3 of EcoDama INSIDE the jam- packed bus. As soon as the smell of our lunches was gone and we finished our EcoDama games, we headed to the Museum of Natural History with our umbrellas. 

     We expected that we would be toured around the Museum and learn more about the natural resources endemic to our country. Teacher Ryan said that we would be free to roam around the museum with our buddies or groups. We were all really excited because for the past two destinations, we were toured by a lecturer but now, we were free to explore by ourselves! We learned so much from just looking through the glass window and reading its captions. We even saw some animal fetuses! Preserved, of course. Actually, most of the displays were preserved but we still got to see them. 

A beautiful Barn- owl
Tyto alba

We met so much organisms in our expeditions around the museum but the owl with big eyes caught our attention.

1. Name
   Common Name: Barn- owl
   Scientific Name: Tyto alba
   
   
2. Characteristics

     For us, we think that owls are naturally awesome creatures. So maybe that's why one of the Science Adventurers, Khael, couldn't keep his eyes off the TV screen in the bus when the Legends of Ga'Hoole was showing. So anyways, back to owls, they're nocturnal, meaning they sleep all day (Don't you just envy owls for sleeping all day?), and maybe hunt at night. Speaking of hunting, owls have great hunting skills. We also chose the owl because we think it's creepy and "cute" at the same time.

3. Ecological realationship

Owls are predators. They eat smaller organisms like rats and some also eat fruits so owls are omnivores meaning they eat both animals and plants or fruits.


Well, that's all for now, folks! Stay tuned for more blogs coming up. 

Power Plant Girls.... and Boys

         Hello, bloggers! After our tour with the cows, we headed to our next destination, IPB or the Institute of Plant Breeding and we are now going to discuss to you our journey in IPB.    
    

Our excitement ranged to the 100^th, as we walked and passed by the rustling sounds of the plants and aromatic flowers. As we entered the door of the institute, we started looking around for even just a minute. For us, the Science Adventurers; it was the best 1-minute glance in an institute. The lecturer discussed the growth stages of plants, the loss of water in the farm fields and how it affects the nutrition the people taking it. If the water is too much, it would cause the rapid decrease in number of plants.

Here’s another one, aside from rice, there is a newly introduced type of corn that will fill your appetite from morning to dinner; white corn. It has essential nutrients such as calcium and many more. The White Corn can be a substitute of rice for the rice crisis we had experienced in the past few years.

Now we met so many plants in our tour around IPB but one plant truly caught our attention.

A Dragon Fruit Tree-
Hylocereus undatus

 

1.   Name

Common Name: Dragon Fruit Tree or Pitaya

Scientific Name: Hylocereus undatus

2.   Characteristics

     We chose the plant because it had a cool name, dragon fruit tree. The tree looks interesting and different from other fruit trees. The dragon fruit also looks fascinating because of its round, often red or pink colored fruit with scales. Not to mention the fruit’s sweet and delicious taste.

3.  Ecological Relationship

     The dragon fruit tree is a producer because it can produce its own food by photosynthesizing. Farmers plant the tree and harvest the fruit when it’s ripe for the people to eat and enjoy its delicious taste.

These are just some of what we’ve learned and seen and it’s just the beginning of our Los Baños field trip! Stay tuned for our next destination: The Museum of Natural History!

  

We're fine! COW about you?

    Hello again, Reader! Last February 4, we 6th Graders, Almaciga and Lauan went to UP Los Banos to explore the different Institutes. We joined the field trip because we've never been to UP Los Banos and we would want to see its wonders. We expected a lot from this field trip. What we expected is what we got. We expected to learn so much things and to have fun all the way! Actually, before the field trip, we all felt excited. But then as the bus took off, adrenaline was rushing through our veins! We were all excited!

First Site: Dairy Training and Research Institute (DTRI)

    We expected to learn a lot more things about the DTRI because we LOVE cheese. We learned that milk should be modulized. Cows are milked twice a day, 4:00 in the morning and 4:00 in the afternoon.
Now, we are about to discuss to you the organisms we found in the DTRI.



Curisium vulgara



 
1. Name: DISCO  

Common Name: Bull

Scientific Name: Curisium vulgara

Taxonomic Classification: Mammalia

Characteristics:



We chose the bull because it is the one that mates with the cow and it was the first animal we saw.

Ecological relationships:

Omnivore because it eats both meats and plants.

It also cannot make its own food so, it's also a consumer.

Bulls compete with other bulls for their mate and for food.

    Thanks again, Reader for continually supporting us! Stay tuned for more adventures on the Los Banos fieldtrip! Next stop! Institute of Plant Breeding!

Plants Galore!

Oh, hello there! Are you ready for our Plants Special?

Plants are here and there. Join us as we venture to the Plant Kingdom!

     Our fourth quarter CEO or Creative Expansive Output is similar to our 3rd quarter CEO; we need to make a report about respective topics. But instead of animals, the project focused on plants. We had the same requirements too; a power point, a handout, again, photocopied 20 times, and a 10- item quiz about the topic. But this time, we got to work with our classmates in partners or groups but you could also work individually. And like the 3rd quarter CEO, the reporting started from the least diverse to the most diverse organisms in the Plant Kingdom.

Clarisse: Division Lycopodiophyta

     Clarisse worked alone in this project because she thought that it would be easier because with a pair or a group, you’ll have to talk to each other and assign schedules and call each other for the requirements. It’s also fairer because it’s unfair if you have a partner or a group that did nothing gets the score you get.

   Division Lycopodiophyta is the topic that Clarisse got. She had a harder time in researching on this topic due to the limited information so she had to really research hard for the information she needed. The limited information was one of her problems so she worked harder and researched more. Clarisse thought that the most important thing she learned in this project is learning to believe in herself by believing she could finish doing her CEO and doing her best in it. Clarisse also learned that plants are not only important to humans like us but are also important to the balance of the environment so we must preserve and take care of them.

Miguel: Division Bryophyta

     Unlike last quarter, Miguel made a report about Kingdom Fungi but this time his topic was Division Bryophyta or simply mosses. He learned interesting facts about bryophytes. He thinks probably the most interesting is the life cycle of mosses.

     Miguel chose to work alone. He thinks that by working by himself is much easier because when you’re working in a group, you still need to plan with your group mates and divide the tasks. You don’t need to do this when working individually, you’re all alone and you just have to do all the work. Preparing this report was easier for him because he already had experience in making hand-outs and power point. 

     Miguel encountered a problem while doing the project. The problem was that the life cycle of bryophytes is somewhat complicated. The first time Miguel read it, he did not understand it so he resolved it by reading more about bryophytes’ life cycle and soon he had a better understanding of it. The slides of Miguel’s power point were also wordy so he cut the wordy slides into two slides.

     The most important lesson that Miguel learned is that if there is something that he does not understand well in his report, he must research about it. It is essential that Miguel knows everything about his topic so that he will be able to explain and share very well his report to the class.

 

Adi: Division Coniferophyta  

     In this project, Adi worked with his partner, James reported on Division Coniferophyta or also known as the Division Pinophyta. Conifers are known as cone-bearing plants with vascular tissue, woody plants, mostly trees and leaves that do not shed during winter. They have leaf structures that are awl like, needle like or scale like. Their seed is not enclosed in an ovary. Most conifers are Monoecious, but some are subdioecious or dioecious. They can survive in stressful environments, including drought, high winds, heat, and cold. Adi and James had a slight problem with the division of the labor so they decided to help each for an agreeable result for their work. This Power Point Presentation taught them to work and trust each other. 

Alex: Class Monocotyledones

     In this project, Alex worked with 2 more group mates, Gabbie and Toni. They had to make again, a powerpoint, a 10-item quiz and 20-photocopied handouts. They had to explain how the Monocots reproduce, where they live and much more. Did you even know that there are more than 59, 300 species of Monocots? Wow, right? Species here are also grown for animal consumption. It was harder for Alex because the group didn’t really know how to divide the work among themselves. Advantages for being in a group, is that she had such a fun time with her group mates. Disadvantage is that work was divided unequally. Alex and her group did encounter problems along the way. They had a problem with their powerpoint because the settings in a Mac computer is different with a PC. The background was bad and the text was all over the place. She learned that being in a group is hard and everything comes with a problem. And that the most important thing in a project is that every person has fun and they do their best to make their project the best. 

Khael: Division Cycadophyta

     In Khael's 4th Quarter Ceo, he was made to choose whether to do the CEO with a partner or by himself. The 4th quarter CEO was a lot easier because Khael did a report with a partner and they divided the work among themselves. Instead of doing everything just like in the 3rd quarter CEO, Khael made the handout and photocopied it 20 times, he also prepared 10 questions while his partner did the powerpoint. The advantages of this project is that Khael and his partner helped each other. They discussed the project together and shared ideas. The disadvantages Khael and his partner discovered were that they didn’t have the same schedule when using the computer. Khael together with his partner didn’t agree on what to put and what not to put. 

     Khael and his partner did not encounter any problem. What made it easier for us to prepare was dividing the work equally, discussing with each other. This CEO taught Khael a lot because he learned how to be responsible with the work assigned to him. Lastly, he learned about team work and how important it is.