Second Day: May 18, 2018 

Cox Arboretum was the first of many trips we went on during this STEMmersion. Before that, however, we created a Haiku poem with the theme of nature. When we finished, we overviewed the scavenger hunt we would complete while at the Nature Park. We waited for the bus outside, and realized that the bus was going to be late. To pass the time, a few friends and I asked to go over to the blacktop and play foursquare; we played for an hour before the bus finally arrived. As soon as we arrived to Cox, it started to pour rain. My partner, Emma Miller, and I decided to deal with the rain and began our scavenger hunt. Pictures were taken of trees, plants, and animals; we also visited the edible garden where we tasted mint leaves, and lemon grass. The highlight of the trip was the wildflower garden, an exhibit that naturally grows colorful and beautiful flowers. In the end, our shoes were soaked, we were cold, and it was still raining; although, we didn’t let that ruin our fun experience for the day.

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This experience was a great way of starting our outdoor trips. Even with the rough weather conditions, I explored and discovered more than what I had known of from previous trips to Cox Arboretum. There was a point on this trip where I sat on a rock almost submerged in water, near a turtle floating in the water close by. I noticed fish swimming in small schools, and tried to get a better look of the turtle through the glare of the pond; it was difficult to capture a decent picture. At one point, I started writing another Haiku poem, and themed it on my surroundings; I felt as though it was pretty cheesy. I didn’t think I would use what I had learned that morning and put it into practice.