By Harris Yu

It’s another cold and rainy day in the pacific northwest. Fogs and clouds block every single trace of warmth from the sun. To be honest, I did not dislike rainy, the feeling when being alone, sheltered by the sturdy wooden rooftop, surrounded by the paddling sound of drops, the only thing that could make this even cozier is a mug full of hot chocolate in hands. Not long after, the rain stopped. The fresh smell of earth and grass slowly begin to emerge, as if it was suppressed by the rain this whole time, smell particles burst out from the ground and filled every inch of space around you. “There’s no better way to begin a day with such scenery,” I said to my self.

We are about to start our study projects, each and every single one of us is going to do research on specific topics that we are interested in. Derek is very kindly to be our advisor. He has a tremendous amount of knowledge about the people around here, by talking to us individually, we manage to device a research topic and plan for every student here. Personally, I’m interested in shellfish and worms, and Derek managed to hock me up with a local shellfish farm and conduct my research there. I am very joyful that there’s finally a project that I can devote myself completely.

After lunch, we head towards the lab. On our way there, Derek gave us a tour in the STEM building at the local public high school. I was astounded by the amount of resource and support for student to develop their talent here. We saw 3d printers, VR headsets, and unnamable machine we have never seen before. However, what holds the treasure is behind a wooden door. There was a workshop that looks like a hanger, computer hardware, and tools scattered around the room, but at the center of it, there was a futuristic looking car. After a closer look, we found it was powered by batteries. This vehicle itself is a masterpiece of pragmatism and aesthetic at the same time, I was amazed by the complexity and overall built of this beauty, It must have taken a lot of effort to make this come to life. It was even more shocking after we learn that it was built by a group of 8th graders, it was hard to believe the talent and creativity of those students who have made it.

Then we arrived at the Friday Harbor Lab, it wasn’t the most comfortable walk I’ve had in my life because of the rain, but the beauty of the forest on our way there made it a quite enjoyable experience. We split into different groups after the arrival, some dedicated themselves into the collection the lab have in the library, some went to the fish lab with Derek, and some went to explore the tide pools. In the lab, there was that hideous looking fish we found two days ago from the beach. There were also other fascinating fishes in the lab like flounder and rockfish.

Overall, it was a lovely day. we were glad to have a specific study subject for the next couple of weeks, and we had plenty of fun in the lab.

Today was another rainy day in the San Juans, but thanks to our longboat excursion, this rain paled in comparison to the weather we experienced on the water. It was an earlier start than normal today, and this was mainly because of the low tide we wanted to catch at 11:00 am. We traveled about 20 minutes (a long drive by San Juan standards) to the western side of the island, where we arrived at Lime Kiln Point State Park.

We split our group of 18 into 5 smaller groups, where we were each assigned a scientific task involving the intertidal zone. One group was in charge of mapping the state park using an amazing 360 degree camera. We set it up at different points around the park in order to get as complete an image as possible. Another group was in charge of finding a deep tidepool where we could place a GoPro in to capture common tidepool life. Even without the underwater camera, it was easy to see the incredible amount of life living in the tidepools, from fish to plant life to crabs and sea stars.

The other groups were tasked with activities such as barnacle counts and 3D modeling of ocean life. Although the barnacle count was the least favorite activity, it was no less important than the others- all will give us important data that we will analyze and discuss further. We got back to the house at around 2 o’clock today, and it was a nice surprise to find that we had the day off until dinner started. Almost everyone gathered on the couch to watch a Zac Efron movie. Not a personal favorite of mine, but it was nice to spend a relaxing afternoon with everyone after a chilly and wet day on San Juan island.