Sunday, June 21, 2020
By:
This week’s update has to do with three mountains, two natural and one metaphorical.
First up is a range you have probably never heard of- the in Southern Utah, home to Cedar Breaks. The online format of the internship allowed me to spend some time with family in Southern Utah. While these mountains are a bit of a trip from Washington D.C., they are only a few hours from the Salt Lake area. As I only need Wi-Fi for my work (granted the connection wasn’t as good as I had hoped), I was able to enjoy a few half days and a weekend around the peaks and lakes of Southern Utah. The views were fantastic, consisting of volcanic and red rock, and to top it off, I was able to enjoy the dark skies.
My internship update for the week is the metaphorical mountain, a summit. I am happy to say that I completed a draft of my first lesson plan! I think the next two weeks will be easier now that I am familiar with the process. Furthermore, I am particularly happy with my first teaching guide because it focuses on a heavily covered topic (across many levels of physics teaching): the law of inertia. I also hope that the historical research I included can serve as a useful launching point for future interns interested in Arabic, Turkish and Persian contributions to physics.
The third mountain range is one that I have never seen: the Appalachians. During the interns’ hangout this week Samantha shared her love for the Appalachians. Most of my knowledge of the Appalachians comes from hearsay from friends I have met in the West (and I learned my biases for Western mountains quickly). Mountains came up again during our call with the Executive Board of SPS, when I learned that quite of few members of our group enjoyed mountain biking. While I am more of a hiker than a biker, it was cool to see everyone’s love of different mountains and outdoor activities. While I still have a healthy affinity Utah's ranges, I look forward to the day I can hike the Appalachian Mountains.
Until next week!
Maria Stokes