Eric Fowler Earth Life and Time December 16, 2008 Holtz/Merck ELT Field Trip On my ELT field trip we first went to the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. to see the Exploring the Early Americas exhibit which featured items from the Jay I. Kislak Collection. A first item I examined was a Mayan sculpture of a Jaguar barring his teeth. It was approximately 3 feet tall and appeared to be made out of red clay or something similar. The jaguar was extremely important in Mayan culture. The second thing I looked at was an English translation of the New Law of the Indies, put into effect by Charles V of Spain in 1542. The laws protected the island natives from being bullied around by Spanish colonists. These laws were soon removed because the colonists resisted them with violent actions. The third item I examined was a map of the pacific of the pacific coast of Guatemala and Peru from the sixteenth century. Maps like these were used by conquistadors and other early explorers of the Americas. This map was important because it was the first map to include the Galapagos Islands, which was unheard of at the time. We also journeyed to the National Air and Space Museum. The first exploration project I approached was the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. The ASTP was the first joint flight between the U.S. and Soviet space programs. The primary purpose of this project was to relax tensions between the two nations and pave the way for future cooperation. The Pioneer 10 was a fascinating exhibit I explored as well. The Pioneer 10 was a NASA funded probe launched on March 2, 1972. Its goals were to study the atmosphere of Jupiter and some of its moons, along with solar winds and cosmic rays. The data gathered from this mission has helped scientists identify the compositions of the atmospheres of Jupiter and its moons and has shed some light on the phenomenon of solar winds. The Apollo 11 mission was the first manned mission to the moon, which launched on July 16th, 1969. The exhibit showed the Apollo 11 Command Module, which was the living quarters of the three astronauts. We finally got to analyze moon rocks and soil samples along with valuable observations and measurements by completing this mission. The Library of Congress and the National Air and Space Museum had very different styles of exhibits. The items in the library of congress’ exhibit were small artifacts and manuscripts from the Mayans, Aztecs, or the Europeans who were colonizing America. The exhibits at the Air and Space Museum on the other hand, were gigantic rockets and other pieces of spacecraft. The exhibits were also fun and active so the museum can appeal to a younger audience as well. The two museums displayed how important exploration is to society. It is important for the explorers of today to keep the tradition going and continue to discover more and more about the world.