STEM Trip to Seattle – Cutting-Edge Science and Technology

Today we will travel from Portland to the Mount St. Helens area.

Visit the Mount St. Helens Science and Learning Center at Coldwater for the Overnight Volcano Outdoor School. The program will be focused on geological outdoor activities. The Center is home to the National Volcanic Monument, created in 1982 by the President and Congress for research, recreation, and education. Inside, the environment is left to respond naturally to the disturbance. Scientists and visitors follow the changes in the landscape and the volcano. Surviving plants and animals rise out of the ash, colonizing plants catch hold of the earth, birds and animals find a niche in a different forest on the slopes of Mount St. Helens. This overnight excursion includes a stay at the Learning Center where breakfast, dinner, and snacks will be provided.

One of the first programs your group will participate in at the Johnston Ridge Observatory is an Eruption Talk (20-30 minutes). Join a ranger to explore the geologic processes that build up and tear apart volcanoes. Students will discover evidence of three powerful events from the May 18, 1980 eruption. Students will discover the largest landslide in recorded human history, the lateral blast that blew down 230 square miles of forestland, and searing flows of pumice that poured down into the Toutle River. Students will also have the opportunity to learn about the 1980-1986 and 2004-2008 lava dome building eruptions. A second program that your group will be participating in is the Rock Identification Activity (50-minutes). You will discover eruptive stories told by volcanic rocks as they identify intrusive and extrusive igneous rock samples by color, texture, or crystal type. Today we will travel from Mount St. Helens to Seattle.

We will continue to The University of Washington, which will be our base for the next five nights. While here, we will enjoy breakfast and dinner at the college.

Seattle, a city built on hills and around water, boasts beautiful surroundings. It has several parks and gardens, as well as a number of arts and cultural institutions, many live theaters, and a downtown art museum. Pioneer Square was once the heart of the city and is now an important historic attraction.

Take the 41 second ride up 520 feet and stick close to the windows. As you head up the Space Needle, Seattle reveals its green and blue glory beneath you. Once on deck, take time to soak in the 360 degree view of Emerald City.

Living Computers: Museum + Labs provides a one-of-a-kind, hands-on experience with computer technology from the 1960s to the present. LCM+L honors the history of computing with the world's largest collection of fully restored - and usable - supercomputers, mainframes, minicomputers and microcomputers. A new main gallery offers direct experiences with robotics, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, big data, the Internet of Things, video-game making, and digital art. Along with admission to the museum, we will also have a two-hour project-based programming activity in the Labs. Tonight we will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.

Tour the Amazon Headquarters where you will learn more about how the online retail giant was once a simple bookstore. See the campus where all of the technology that powers the website is being constantly developed and advanced.

Tour the Microsoft Visitor Center. From the moment you walk through the doors of the Microsoft Visitor Center, you'll experience a glimpse into the future, balanced with a nod to the past. You'll see the latest from Microsoft Artificial Intelligence + Research and the very first personal computer - and the history of innovation in between. Explore hands-on exhibits and let your imagination take flight as you immerse yourself in the ways that technology enables people to do amazing things.

Explore the dynamics of flight and experience new aviation innovations with the Future of Flight Tour at Boeing. Design your own airplane and have a free picture taken with the Boeing factory in the background in the Gallery. Then tour the Boeing Assembly Plant inside the world's largest building (by volume) to watch Boeing 747, 777 and 787 Dreamliner jets being assembled.

Travel through time and space! The Museum of Flight is full of an incredible collection of aircraft, spacecraft, artifacts, galleries, exhibits, facts and stories that embody the past, present and future of flight. Tonight we will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Visitor Center takes visitors of all ages on an interactive journey that brings to life the connections we share with others across the globe. Discover innovations and inventions that are helping to create a world where every person has the opportunity to live a healthy and productive life. Immerse yourself in debates about education, health and poverty. Take action on a cause that you care about.

Visit the a one-of-a kind coffee shrine in Starbucks' hometown that captures the past, present and future of the world-famous coffee shop. The Roastery is where Starbucks Reserve® coffees worldwide will be roasted and packaged. Less than 1% of all Starbucks beans will qualify for this distinction, and some are so scarce they might never be available again. Discover the art, science and craft of truly inspired coffee at the Starbucks Reserve® Roastery & Tasting Room.

Cruise to nearby Blake Island State Park to explore the 475-acre island which lies north of Vashon Island and south of Bainbridge Island. Eat a Northwest flavors-inspired buffet meal featuring traditionally-prepared alder fire roasted fish and experience a Northwest Native American storytelling show. Don't forget your camera because the views of Seattle and of Mount Rainier from the island are spectacular!

Bill Speidel's Underground Tour is Seattle's most unusual attraction, a humorous stroll through intriguing subterranean storefronts and sidewalks entombed when the city rebuilt on top of itself after the Great Fire of 1889. The 75-minute guided walking tour begins beneath Doc Maynard's Public House, then spills into historic Pioneer Square, Seattle's birthplace, before plunging underground for an exclusive, time-capsule view of the buried city. Tonight we will enjoy dinner in a local restaurant.