Day 4 Storms and Science

The forest is immersive.  It swallows us.  The dawn air is pungent, thick with nectar.  It can be so beautiful here that you forget you are in the RAINforest.  Until last night.  The next time we are watching the weather forecast at home and the meteorologists say "tropical downpour" we will laugh, even scoff, at what we call a downpour in the states.  Think Noah! Need an ark, I know a guy!
SO, it was with a new sense of location, and less sleep, that we started Day 4, our first day of all science.  And then the power and WiFi went out......
For breakfast, we had delicious waffles, eggs, fresh pineapple and water melon, and of course  nutritious rice and beans (Pinto Gallo)!

Working with Escovopsis

Then, we split into groups for a day full of science! In the morning science session, we did an experiment with the Escovopsis in the ant colonies.

Observing our lab colonies

  We then worked on questions for our own experiments, and later went to lunch. For lunch we had delicious fried plantains. Our afternoon was filled with working on our own science projects that we designed completely by ourselves, and after dinner, we presented our proposals of our projects to the everyone.
                  

Team CAKE in action with the Atta ants. They use the scientific method to identify where the Escovopsis is in the fungal garden.

Bamboo Orchid after the rain.

Maisie MacGillivray and Ethan Smith