Page 13 - Spring 2019

The Bronx Institute at Lehman College • Bronx GEAR UP Network
www.TheBronxInstitute.org
“At the American Museum of Natural History, we did a work- and leg bones to compare them to the bones of other groups. Later,
shop class that was showing us how bacteria work. One ac- tivity that stood out to me was the activity where we were allowed to explore the museum and swab different things and exhibits for bacteria. I really loved the hands-on experience we got. It was fun because it made me feel like a scientist or an investigator. It was also the perfect opportunity to learn how to use lots of different technology like the new micro- scopes. I want to be an ultrasound technician, so this could actually help me in my future career. When a baby has a prob- lem, I can swab the mother to find out what the problem is or use a microscope to see. This workshop is a great thing for colleges to see what I did and got a certificate for, since that will increase my chances of getting in. In the Museum itself, there were many different types of exhibits. There was one about the oceans, another about fossils, and one about what life was like in ancient times. Those are things you don’t get to see on a daily basis. In fact, every year some of my family comes over from Columbia or Puerto Rico to see the Museum. Kyara Cosme - 9th Grade, KAPPA
In this class, we learned more about space and the things that happen on Earth. We got to observe how it’s been developing over time. Learn- ing about the Earth’s change over time was really interesting. It’s crazy to think that humanity’s time on Earth is really only a small strand of hair compared to the Earth itself. I also thought the Timeline of Earth exhibit was the most interesting one we saw in the Museum. I was able to see visually how Earth has progressed over time and how things have changed. This class is going to really help with the Regents. Things like meteorites were in previous units and climate change is what we’re gonna be learning next. It also helps us learn more about things that are affecting us right now. I loved visiting the American Museum of Natural History. There’s even a meteorite in the Timeline of Earth exhibit!
Yazlyn Nunez - 9th grade, Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice
“For the past 2 weeks, we’ve been studying bacteria, mitosis, viruses and other scientific concepts. The experiment that really left an impression on me was when we experimented with a special gel. We used advanced Q-Tips to swab where we thought people would leave germs, like a chair, a bathroom, or a table. Then we put the Q-Tip in the gel to see what would happen in a week. In every- one’s plate the bacteria turned different colors! If the bacteria was green, it was a fungus. If it was dots of different colors, it was either normal bacteria or proteus. It was interesting to see that some places that you might think have very little amounts of bacteria actually have a bunch of it, and it spreads very quickly in the dark. I used my Q- Tip on the garbage can near the chair and the dinosaur fossil. This workshop and this experience in general would help me pass on new information to my friends and family. Maybe I’ll even be able to tell my future kids about some history!”
Kenny Amaro - 9th Grade, KAPPA
“During our time at the American Museum of Natural History, we learned about the basics of archaeology and the different types of archaeologists out there. We looked at the bones of different ani- mals. My group had the bones of a lemur, and we measured the arm
we did digging and sifting. I found a shell, some arm and leg bones here and there, and something circular that I’m not quite sure about. The instructor explained how archaeologists go through multiple lay- ers of earth while digging. During the dig of King Siphon, they found statues as they went deeper into the ground, and then they found the emperor himself. The dig happened all the way in Peru! The best exhibits in the Museum were the ones with the different skeletal structures, even the ones of our ancestors! We got to see how they evolved and communicated before they turned into what we are now. This workshop will help me decide whether I want to do this kind of work as a hobby or even a career. I’d definitely like to come back to this museum. It has so many fascinating things, and they are things that you don’t learn about in school. The exhibits are really descrip- tive, and you get to examine them as much as you want.
Braisia Ortiz - 10th Grade, KAPPA
“Since we started this workshop, we’ve been scanning bacteria and learning about different concepts like antibiotics. My favorite activity was when we swabbed different things and put the bacteria on a petri dish to see how everything grows. Some people swabbed dinosaur bones, others swabbed pennies and some even swabbed human body parts. Someone even swabbed their tongue and found out it had so many viruses on it, which was gross. I swabbed the air, and while I didn’t find too much, there was still some bacteria on it. As far as things I saw in the Museum itself go, the dinosaur exhibit stood out because there was one whose neck was so long that it stretched through 2 or 3 different rooms! It was amazing to see how long it had stood there without falling apart. The things we learned in this workshop will definitely help when we learn about bacteria and antibiotics in school. For example, I learned that taking a bunch of antibiotics won’t help you feel better because the bacteria will adapt to get around them. You get to learn some things you probably would never learn on your own. Plus, it’s fun!
Kenyon Cooper - 9th Grade, KAPPA
his class helped us learn more about the human race, how we’ve
developed over time, and how our actions impact the Earth. Learning about our galaxy was really interesting. Our galaxy is ex- panding, which leads to a redshift, or when galaxies move farther away from each other. As our galaxy expands, it gets cooler as it moves away from other galaxies. Classes like this are definitely worth taking. Most people aren’t aware of the consequences of their ac- tions. We pollute the planet without thinking about what it does. It may not be today, but in the future, what we’re doing now will affect us. The best exhibit of the Museum is the planetarium. We got to watch a 30-minute movie on dark matter, and it was very interesting to learn how our universe is held together by two opposing forces. There’s dark matter, which holds everything close together, and dark energy that separates them. Without one or the other, everything would either collide or blast apart from everything else. There’s many things about space that we don’t know about, so it’s good to educate yourself. After all, the point of a museum is to collect history so we can learn from what happened before us.
Benjamin Kusi - 10th grade, Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice
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