each and every species of echinoderms and ostracods

Post date: Jul 6, 2013 8:06:09 PM

I have been to many summer programs so far, and by far, this one is one of the most unique so far. To be honest, I never explored paleontology and just as a naturally curious person, I thought I would apply here to se how it is. Turns out it proved to be a great decision.

So far we have been collecting data. We have been rigorously and carefully measured each and every species of echinoderms and ostracods. While this seemed to be quite repetitive, it allowed me to see how some scientists obtain and create data. Also, it further allowed me to accept that ground breaking research need not to be conducted in a lab, just like my own science fair projects.

Then we went to the beach to look at fossils and tide-pool dwelling organisms. Obviously, I was excited because it was a drastic change from data collection. In the end, it was really interesting to look at the fossils in the rock and tide pools near the ocean that I would have otherwise blissfully ignored. I love how the sea urchin hugged my finger...it was really cute! At the same time, I realized that this type of work is really hard, time consuming, and stressful. I can imagine how much time, effort, and energy that the paleontologists placed in compiling those volume of books we are using right now.

I also thought that the presentations were really interesting. I liked the grad student from Australia. Not because I was born in Australia, but because he used this really cool algorithm, known as the "ABC algorithm" for searching and finding the highest point. The cool thing is that it takes full inspiration from bees. I was so inspired that I decided to implement the logic religiously myself in my other science fair projects.

I can't wait to develop my project. I heard we are starting on Monday, so I know this will be a blast! :-)

Photo credits go to Long Nguyen.