From June 14 to June 26, 2009, the
ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp was held on the
campus of the
Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute. A total of 50 middle school students in
grades 5, 6 and 7 with proven expertise and interest in math and
science took part in a two week session concerning the topic of
Astrobiology and "The Quest For Life". The goal of the Science Camp
was for the students to propose a mission to search for life on
another planet. During the two exciting weeks, students went on
several field trips to The Albany Pine Bush, New York State Museum,
Herkimer Diamond Mine, Museum of Natural History. They were
privileged to watch the launch and follow the mission of the LRO
and LCROSS spacecraft during the camp. Students also took many
classes and completed many activities dealing with topics such as
life, astronomy, space exploration, the cosmic calendar, the Drake
Equation, and satellites and geocaching.
It was the study of satellites and an involved geocaching
exercise that provided the motivation for hiding this cache. You
may be familiar with the
two
Golden Records that were sent along with each of the Voyager
spacecraft. Taking the idea of the Golden Record, what we had the
kids do is come up with their own list of objects that would
introduce alien species to life on Planet Earth. Our eight teams
wrote their lists on index cards, which were then laminated. They
will be registered as travel bugs as soon as the tags arrive.
We hope that just as the records on Voyager are traveling the
universe, our more local versions will travel the global
neighborhood of Earth and inspire you to think about the
possibility of life elsewhere. What would you choose to offer as
proof of life on Earth? Feel free to ponder this question and leave
your suggestions in the log.
This cache is located outside near a building and is therefore
available 24/7. It is also weather friendly and available
year-round. The building it is near is quite remarkable, and if you
can go inside, I would highly recommend having a look. If you like
puzzle caches, please try "To The Moon" nearby. It's a lot of
fun!
Special thanks to Dr. Brant Nelson for launching this cache!