My Scientific Summer

In the past, one of the first assignments I gave to my students was to write about their summer, from the point of view of a scientist.  I had advanced students, the type of student that read about Newton and Einstein for fun so most had an above grade level understanding of scientific concepts.  I am inspired this summer to do the assignment myself.  Currently I am flying from Houston to Denver and already I am noticing the science around me.  

There is the obvious, the airpalne itself.  A wonderous piece of engineering technology.  The mechanics involved in keeping the plane in the clouds.  The clouds themselves outside my window, the condensation stage of the water cycle.                 

The plane ride really got me thinking about all the science around us all the time.  Driving from Denver to Avon, in the Vail Valley, I was kicking myself for not being able to magically stop the car and take a thousand pictures.  The layers of sedimentary rocks in the canyon walls, the river that had carved out the canyon over millions of years, and the rocks that had been weathered by frozen water and literally broken in half.  It was super cool.  Yes, super cool.  

I am inspired to bring this project back into my curriculum.  What a great way to get to know my students level of knowledge and ability.  I want to model the assignment with my vacation, perhaps using Prezi or a movie making application.  I want to use my own Scientific Summer to get them excited about the science in their lives.

Any ideas on using this sort of project in your own classroom?