Do You Have A Science Mentor?
My dad was my first science mentor and I've been thinking of him a lot during this trip. Dad studied chemistry in college. When I was growing up he was the Director of Research and Development for Fisher Scientific. He would bring things home and they always had the little Fisher logo on them. For years my mom measured her sewing with a little ruler from Fisher Scientific. So that logo was part of my childhood. I've been seeing that logo around here a lot lately. As a science teacher, I'm used to it; we use supplies from Fisher as well. But it reminds me of my dad and makes me feel a little like he is here with me.
Fisher Scientific
Dad mentored me in science from an early age with his sense of curiosity, adventure and insatiable thirst for knowledge. We collected acorns and owl pellets, gardened and visited museums. We went boating and backpacking together. We had long conversations about the nature of reality, extra-terrestrial life, life after death, quantum mechanics and chemistry. My bookshelf is overflowing with science books that dad recommended and we shared.
I have thought about him a lot during this trip.
But the more constant reminder comes from the fact that near my dorm is a kennel with about twelve sled dogs. In his later years my dad took an interest in Siberian Huskies. Most of you don't know my dad. Dad really did not "take an interest" in anything. He became obsessed with things. All of his activities (and there were many) were accompanied by absorbing massive amounts of written material, making friends with experts and becoming nothing short of an expert himself after investing large quantities of time and money in the endeavor. So, he eventually acquired about a dozen Siberian Huskies (the number fluctuated), bred and sold AKC certified puppies, built beautiful kennels and dog runs on his property, purchased a state of the art cart for "dry mushing" (then his knees went bad so I was left to do the dry mushing) and trained his favorite dog "Sophie" for show. By the way, I had naming rights to the dogs. In addition to Sophie, there was Maya and Echo, Coco, Taco, Shilo, Miko and Bubba. (I didn't name Bubba- my dad was from Texas and that not only explains that, but also my middle name which I am loathe to own up to.)
Dad
I cannot give you a true sense of how much my dad loved those dogs, except to say that in the years after my mom died they were the glue that held my dad together and the love that enriched his life. The raucous barking that ensued whenever I was there filled the Georgia woods and my dad added to it by "talking" to them.
As soon as I arrived in Ny Alesund, I was greeting by the same sound.
I used to take pictures of huskies when I was out and about and send them to my dad. He would comment on whether they were masked or not, their eye color and the way they held their tail. So it just seemed fitting to take a walk out to the kennel and take some pictures for Dad.
Two of the sled dogs, here in Ny Alesund
The kennel in Ny Alesund houses about a dozen dogs
Dad passed away last March after battling leukemia. He knew that I was planning to go to the Arctic and pursue our shared passion for science this summer.
In the "Ask the Scientist"/comment section, tell me about your science mentor. Or mentor of any kind. Or your dad. Dad's are pretty cool people.
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