On Monday, September 24th, Mrs. Geerlings’ ESSR class headed down to the ESSL (Earth, Space, and Science Lab) to discover new things about our planet and its Sun. Their class was accompanied by the Middletown ESSR class, which is the only other ESSR class in the county.  

     After being shown a short film about how events occurring on the Sun’s surface can affect our own planet, the class then went to two different rooms. The first detailed how the trade winds create and affect currents, how denser arctic waters sink when they meet the warm surface water further South and how that may affect the migration of fish because of its effects.

     The next room had the class experiment with different waves of light- ultraviolet, laser, red, green, blue, and, white light- to analyze different sets of frozen platters. Each of the waves of light were used to show how certain satellite sensors are good for finding certain things- such as using lasers to gain information about depth.

     Finally, they went outside to the observatory and got to catch a glimpse of the Sun through the telescope, with careful analyzation, they were even able to see Sunspots and prominence. But, best of all, the class got to meet the adorable iguana mascot of the facility- Drupal!

     Overall, the ESSR students had a fun and educational experience visiting the ESSL!