Earth, Life, and Time, over these last three semesters, has expanded our knowledge of the Science of Nature and the Nature of Science. We have looked at how the physical world and all its components is more understood when we take into account time. Sure you can take other classes, such as biology, anthropology, history, etc. that can also explain these things, but ELT made it a more hands on experience, more interesting, went more in to depth, and it taught me a lot more than I would learn in other classes such as those mentioned earlier, which is mostly just memorization and tests. The books we were required to read, the PowerPoint presentations, the small projects, the field trips, among other things, helped us understand the concept of the Science of Nature and the Nature of Science.

Last semester, spring of 2006, we took a field trip to the National Gallery of Art, the National Air and Space Gallery, and the National Botanical Gardens. At the National Gallery of Art we focused on the Audubon Exhibit. Audubon portrayed nature and science through paintings of birds. He painted them eating, hunting, flying, picking at flowers, and lots of other things. Through his art, people are able to understand birds eating habits, mating habits, and other habits. At the National Air and Space Gallery, we were able to see a unique, artistic perspective on the early years of the Space Age. These two galleries proved that you get more out of paintings than photographs, because of all the intricate detail the painters went through and you appreciate paintings a lot more. Our last stop was the Botanical Gardens, where they displayed plant movement and growth through video and other cool technology. They record the plant for long periods of time, and once they got what they needed, they sped up video so you could see the actual plant movement and growth. For example, flowers tend to move toward the light, but you can’t tell just by staring at them. They showed a video where they shined a light on the flower and it followed the light wherever it was moving. It seemed almost like they were dancing. These field trips gave us a better appreciation and understanding of nature as a science.

Last spring break, we had a family history take home project. We traced the geographic locations of our ancestors at various historical periods. We started out by asking our parents and grandparents our race, and using that to figure out where our ancestors were during different time periods. This helped me, and also the class, realize that there is no “pure” race. Everyone has a bit of everything in them. A lot of people were shocked by the results of the project because they never thought they had ancestors from certain parts of the world. I know I was!

A lecture that I really enjoyed was one we had recently about mad scientists in media and history. It showed there is a difference between bad science and science done badly. Because of the media, people subconsciously think that fictional mad scientist, such as Frankenstein, are based on real scientists. Then there are people like Frank Mezmer and Josef Mengele, who use science as an excuse to hurt people and give good scientists a bad name.

Two classes that I took as supporting courses for ELT were AASP200 and CHEM135. AASP200 was about Ancient African Civilization to about the 1600’s and had interesting information about the origins of humanity and the early years of Africa. Chemistry just broadened my knowledge of things like DNA, the law of conservation on matter, and other things.

Being a part of the Earth, Life, and Time scholars program had a big impact on my college years. As a freshman, I came to the University of Maryland trying to make a fresh start and make new friends. ELT definitely made that easy for me. I lived in a dorm with other scholars, and having that connection made us feel right at home with one another. I became close friends with most of the people on my floor and whenever I needed help with anything, such as setting up a website or help with homework, they were right there to help me. Not only did Earth, Life, and Time make my transition into college life easier, but it made it a lot more enjoyable and stress free. Because of Earth, Life and Time, I am pretty good at making a website, I am full of interesting information, I volunteer at different organizations, I have been many interesting places that I wouldn’t have thought about visiting before, and I am an overall better student. I will hopefully use these different experiences to my advantage during the rest of my undergraduate years and after I graduate from the University of Maryland.