Continuing with our conversations around the environment and conservation efforts that we started yesterday at Animal Kingdom, one Disney traveler pointed out this sign.
The busses we have utilized all week are one of only a few fleets to use a renewable diesel! The MASH travelers are heading home today, but continue to check back over the next few weeks for more student reflections and learning from our 2016 MASH meets Mickey trip!! We're spending our final day revisiting the Magic Kingdom! Then it's back to the airport and a flight back to CT!
Disney Travelers explored the animal world today! The day was full of all kinds of "wild" facts about the animals features in the park on attractions like the Kilamanjaro Safari, the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, and The Maharajah Jungle Trek. Check back for updated posts with a few of these facts! In the mean time, any guesses on where Disney gets their animals from?
Science and art combined once again at Disney, with the magnificent Tree of Life, which MASH Travelers got to experience up close and personal before another 4-D show, It's Tough to be a Bug. Then they ended their time at Animal Kingdom with the Festival of the Lion King! When you hear EPCOT, most think of science, technology, and innovation. But the World Showcase highlights the history and culture of 11 countries. MASH travelers reviewed their American History in the American Adventure Show (which featured more of the infamous antimatronic technology). They saw totem poles from the Inuits in Canada, strolled through a model of Shakespeare's Garden in the UK, learned Japanese history through the museum, traveled to France and China in a 360 degree theater (where the movie surrounds you), saw mariachi musicians, and much much more.
We also visited during the EPCOT flower and garden show. Not only did travelers get to see topiaries of many Disney favorites, they also got to walk through a butterfly garden and observe many themed gardens. MASH travelers ended the night in Italy with dinner before the IllumiNations firework show. Any guesses on why the lagoon is surrounded by torches? Disney Travelers made connections to their entire school schedule during their day at EPCOT. As the park designed to embrace and encourage innovations, the most obvious connections were to their science, robotics, video production and technology classes. Travelers took on the role of astronaut-in-training as they traveled to Mars on Mission: Space. They were engineers on Test Track, where they designed their own vehicle and then tested in on a track to determine its efficiency, responsiveness, etc under a variety of conditions. Each of these attractions included additional experiences and activities that put our students' knowledge to the test. Many other attractions provided the travelers with the chance to design prototypes and then test them in simulators. Conservation and ecosystems were another topic studied today as park of Turtle Talk with Crush, The Seas with Nemon and Friends and Circle of Life. They even got to tour a butterfly garden. Living with the Land was a boat tour through a number of farming innovations EPCOT Researchers are trying in collaboration with the US Department of Agriculture. Here there are vertical gardens, fish farming, integrated aquaculture and so much more. Any guesses on how much lettuce can be produced in 2 of the grids posted? Spaceship Earth took students back in time, and connected to their 7th grade social studies class with Mr. Williams. They toured the inventions that contributed to advancements in communications, which included developments made by the Egyptians, Phonecians, etc. Check back tomorrow for more descriptions of the social studies learning that took place today. Pixar also had a series of "shorts" that utilized 3-D technology. As Pixar's John Lasseter says, "the art challenges the technology and the technology challenges the art." EPCOT and its attractions are probably the best example of these connections. Disney Travelers will spend the day at EPCOT today. The morning will be filled with science and in the afternoon/ evening they'll become world travelers and explore the World Showcase!
MASH travelers had a fun-filled and long day finding new favorites in Magic Kingdom, where Walt Disney's imagination and creations can be seen across each of the lands.
Walt Disney's dream of the future fits our science, technology and communications theme quite well and it's no surprise it was a MASH Traveler favorite. It all came to life in Tomorrow Land! For many, Space Mountain was the favorite attraction of the day, where they experienced the effects of gravity, centripetal force, and Newton's Laws that theyreviewed yesterday, but on a roller coaster that's entirely in the dark! Other groups discovered another Tomorrow Land favorite: the People Mover. This attraction takes travelers on a tour of Tomorrow Land and applies the same technology as yesterday's Rockin' Rollercoaster. Just ask a MASH traveler for the "secret!" Walt Disney's infamous animatronics technology was seen by all on many of today's attractions! Though many described them as "a little creepy," the Hall of Presidents was one example of this technology in action. But Zoe and Emily would like to rewrite some of the presentation based on facts they learned in social studies with Ms. Francis, especially about Andrew Jackson! The travelers saw other examples of animatronics and looked for Johnny Depp on Pirates of the Carribean, identified countries in It's a Small World, and learned about the history of technology on Carousel of Progress. The group came together for a Wishes Dessert Party and watched Celebrate the Magic, which is a show that utilizes music and projection images onto the castle. The fireworks followed, and then it was back to Tomorrow Land for a few last attractions before boarding Disney Transportation and heading back to the resort! "Here you leave today and enter the world of tomorrow, yesterday and fantasy."
The first glimpse of Cinderella's Castle as some MASH travelers enter the Magic Kingdom. What do you think of when you hear "Disney World?" Mickey? Minnie? Cinderella's Castle? Rides?
Disney travelers spent the morning exploring how concepts from their science curriculum, like speed, velocity, kinetic energy, inertia and gravity, are also very important Disney terms. They started the day with the Youth Education Series and using IPads and their knowledge from Mrs. Pires, discussed how Newton's Laws of Motion play a role in constructing roller coasters. After a few experiments, they had the chance to experience two of Hollywood Studio's famous rides: Tower of Terror and Rockin' Roller Coaster (rides that some groups returned to again and again as the day went on). As Umarr pointed out, inertia, gravity and force played a role when they dropped on Tower of Terror. It explained why a simple seat belt is all that you wear, why your stomach does that "floppy thing," and why their lanyards flew up when the ride was dropping down. One YES teacher, Chris, pointed out that "we can use our imagination and technology to address gravity." That technology and imagination is behind many attractions, including creating the force on Rockin' Rollercoaster to get cars of 32 people to accelerate from being at rest to moving 60 MPH in 2.8 seconds. Any guesses what that force is? Students also looked for all the details that go into the "story" of each attraction. They soon realized that Disney Imagineers are a diverse group and all contribute to the attraction's story. Our first park of the trip: Hollywood Studios! We paused for a group picture and now we are heading to our Disney YES Program: Gravity!
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AuthorsExperience Disney through the eyes and voice of MASH 8th Graders Archives
May 2018
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