All Over the Map

Getting involved in a project is a lot of work and planning.  Since we're almost half way through the first project cycle, it's time to finish Exploring and dive into the Investigation.  Purely by coincidence I found myself in Madison this week.  What a great time to take advantage of what the UW has to offer.

Starting out the day with Bucky at the lake side

Thinks to think:  Being on one of the Big 10 campuses gives me pause to think about mascots and iconic images that help identify a group or organization.   This Bucky is themed "Retro Bucky."  There are others all over the city.

• Why choose an animal for a mascot?
• What does it do besides offer a marketing point?
• How did it get started?  Was there a bet?  Was it just friendly competition?

Mrs. Perry and I (here for a colloquium for the book study) had half an hour to kill on campus before the 8:00 start so we enjoyed a short walk near the library and took in some of the sights and college nostalgia.  Our walk included but was not limited to:

University Center.  On the lake and a place where students can meet, collaborate and hang out.  Sometimes there are entertainment events but always a hub of activity during the day.

Thought about magnet fishing as we were standing on the dock.  Not sure if you can see a pair of hemostats lying on the bottom of the lake.  A magnet would surely pick that up!  I wonder what else is down there.

I don't like cities, but I do love the old architecture.  There was a picture in my hotel room of this building with a caption from 1898.  That's a long time ago and makes me think about universities and how they developed.  Considering Wisconsin became a state only 50 years before, the University mustn't have been far behind.

More different Bucky.  This one is more streamlined and "cool" and I think wearing a pair of Saucauny shoes. 

One of the joys of and things I miss most about being on a university campus is the time you have to discover yourself.  I have no idea who this person is or what she was doing sitting on the lake shore, but I noticed as I walked by that she was hand-writing in a book.  Could have been a journal, could have been someone writing down inspirational thoughts, could have been a journey of discovery.  The point is this - it could have been anything but the environment at the university allows you the freedom to become what you want or need to be.

We finally came to rest at the colloquium for Great World Texts.  A commitment we've made to do a school-wide book study and tie it into different components of ELA, Social Studies, Science or whatever else we can think of.

And, since it's a college campus, we took advantage of what that offers.

Dinosaur costumes and cheerful college students inside.  This was a display set up to get students to register to vote.  A very liberal campus that I'm sure has an impact on voter turnout amongst young adults.

Falafel at lunch.  Who knew it was a fried ball of garbanzo beans?  Not this guy.  Worked up an appetite running from the T-Rex.

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Since we were on campus and it's an institute of learning, we stopped by the library to check out information about the CCC.

Greeted inside the Historical Library was a statue that had SO much majesty.

People at the reception desk ready to help direct us to documents about the CCC.

Tah Dah!  Tons of information in thousands of books on millions of topics.  What a great place to go in my quest for information.  I chalk this one up to Consume and Explore!

Information about how to prorate pay for someone who leaves early from the CCC. 

This pic represents something that was very interesting.  The program was developed to help rebuild America after the wave of destruction by the colonization of America and to provide jobs to 600,000 men.  This breakdown of pay really shows the program from the inside.  Interesting that this book was in the documentation from the war department.

Funny enough, there's a lot of information on railroads.  Another theme popping up.

Yep, Railroads.