Who said research couldn't be fun?! This summer I certainly have my plate full with respect to the number or research projects I've got my hand in. As I've done for 3 of the past 4 years, I have about 3 weeks carved out to teach a math program that helps K - 12 teachers become better instructors. The difference this year is that the content is different than every other year, which means a lot more preparation on my part. Add to this an 8-week research mentoring program that I've committed to, and a research project of my own that must be completed in the same time span; and summer suddenly doesn't feel like summer anymore.
But with all of that said, on Thursday I got a chance to involve the entire family in a little bit of research; and it definitely made for a good time. My research student is studying the water absorbency properties of different fabrics (wool and cotton)... And instead of just taking cotton samples from our Fruit Of The Looms, I thought: How cool would it be to get our samples from living, breathing animals? So off we went to the Fuzzy Farm!
48 Miniature Llamas. 2 Alpacas. And a one-year-old that fears nothing. Jasmine found the largest llama on the property and chased it around like she was going to take it down for dinner. My student bagged up her wool samples. We all got educated on some really cuddly animals (not to mention we got to eat eggs that were laid just a few HOURS earlier... and store-bought eggs suddenly taste years old). And most importantly, we added one more tab to our growing book of family memoirs. In short, we had a really good time (the kids are both ready to move to a farm) and the kicker is, I got to call it "work". I guess it's not a bad summer after all.
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