2011 Hands-On Explorer Challenge Contest – National Geographic Kids Blogs

National Geographic Society

The 2011 Hands-On Explorer Challenge is in full swing. If you’re a legal resident of the United States (excluding residents of Puerto Rico) or Canada (excluding residents of Quebec), and you will be between the ages of 9 and 15 by July 1, 2011, you could win a trip to the Cayman Islands! Remember to submit your entry before December 1, 2010.

Read the contest rules and find out how to enter.

Looking for inspiration? Read excerpts from the 2009 Hands-On Explorer Challenge winning essays.

Check out the winning photographs from the 2009 Hands-On Explorer Challenge!

Photograph courtesy Cayman Islands Department of Tourism

Comments

cowgirlexplorer
September 22, 2010, 10:37 pm

Wow! they must really be trying to get kids to enter this year, they sure are advertising a lot. I am super excited for it. I just dont want to let time slip away from me and then not be able to write the story that i want. I am kinda nervous, just in that aspect though.

I am really excited about this contest and i cant wait till they announce the winners!

~Celeste~
shastasteph
September 22, 2010, 11:37 pm

cowgirlexplorer, you’re right. They really must be trying to advertise. They basically posted the same thing twice. I still wish there weren’t any Canadian entries. It was really neat that this contest was for budding U.S. explorers exclusively. Oh well. I haven’t had much time to write my essay as well, let alone explore. I have to go finish studying for my two tests now.
Michigangirl14
September 26, 2010, 3:47 pm

i havent started with any essay yet either. sorry i havent been bloggin in a while school just gets to me sometimes. 9th grade is hard!!! write below if u were ever in the geographic bee at ur school. i have been in it the past 3 years. but i was bummed when it only lasted till 8th grade. write below if u have ever been in it. cant wait until they anounced i already have an idea fo my essay. i love water so this should be easy
cowgirlexplorer
September 26, 2010, 9:11 pm

I was at my friends house today, and we found ( well she already knew it was there) but , we found a really old miners cave. it went back ssssooooo far into the mountain. we joked and said that Sasquatch lived there! it as really cool. There some weird things on the animal droppings down there though. (i hope that doesn’t sound too gross) but it looked like white fuzzy cotton balls. they were actually kinda pretty, strange enough. haha

~Celeste~
Skimp27
September 28, 2010, 3:43 pm

I checked the blog and was like “Hey, there are only 4 comments. What happened?” That was when I noticed it was a different blog. Hey michigan girl14, I was in the geo bee. I was second in my school before.
cowgirlexplorer, that sounds pretty cool. It would be kind of unnerving to just trek into the mountain like that. The fuzz on the droppings are fungi and bacteria breaking it down. I’ve seen it on old dog droppings before (it is kinda gross.) Later
shastasteph
September 28, 2010, 8:32 pm

Michigangirl14, I’ve been in the Geography Bee at my school as well. I think it’s really fun. The winner who won a year ago at my school even advanced to the state competition. Even thought he lost, he still was in the top ten.
cowgirlexplorer, wow. An old miner’s cave? I think I would be too afraid to go in there, even with a flashlight. I wouldn’t want it to cave in or to have something dangerous lurking in there. It’s still cool that you found something like that though.
Skimp27, I think you’re right about the fuzz. I’m pretty sure it’s bacteria, actually a type of mold. I tend to find fungi in being a more strong, firm state.
luckstomper
September 29, 2010, 10:23 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. No, I’m not dead. I just took a 24 day snooze. Don’t worry I have been avidly reading everyone else’s comments and stories. I just have been so bogged down by homework that I can’t comment any more! Okay, no, that’s a lie. The truth is I’m really too lazy. You have no idea how many times I have said to myself, “Oh I should write a post” but never get around to following through with it. But honestly, I have no time during the week to write at all. Between high school cross country (remember I’m only in 8th grade and I’m also the 2nd fastest on my team), homework, studying for the school play, staying after school for student council activities, my life is jam-packed. Today I just said to myself, I’m not going to bed until I write a post and let my fellow bloggers I’m still conscious and active. So I feel as though I’m accomplished for the day. I’m also glad to see no one has stopped blogging.

Cowgirlexplorer, I too can see the blog slowing down. I think I speak for everyone when I say I blame it on school. Am I right? I can believe the company who owned the mine wouldn’t close it off after finishing. However if I were you I would’ve started to walk down, until I hear a noise, then get paranoid, and run back home. Haha, I know I’m strange. And fuzzy cotton balls? Sounds,…..peculiar. But, like everyone else I believe its a type of fungi or mold.

Michigangirl14, I have participated in the GeoBee before, but sadly that was in 6th grade and I didn’t even make it past my homeroom preliminary round . I wish we did it again, but I don’t think anyone has had enough motivation to bring it back. Until then I am “GeoBeeless”.

Hey guess what happened to me this past weekend? On Sunday I was sitting on my couch in my family room when all of a sudden….BANG! I quickly turn around to find a little chickadee hyperventilating upside down from whacking into my slider door on my deck. I didn’t know what to do at first so I open the door and close the screen door and watch the little bird, helpless, hyperventilate. Then I went over and picked up two leaves and I propped the chickadee right-side-up. Still completely in shock the bird just sits there. My mom comes down and watches too. Then to let the bird know I was here to help and not hurt I pet it’s head few times. After that he closed his beak and flew away. But then he turned around landed on the deck and started chirping. I took that as a ‘thank-you’. It was wicked cool. Has anything happened cool to you recently?

My birthday is in less than 11 days! I can’t wait. I’m one of those people who don’t give a wish-list for my birthday or Christmas. I leave the fate of my present choice in the creativity department of my relatives’ minds. Last year my Grandma and Grandpa (I call them Gam and Grampy) won with the most creativity by getting me 13 packs of Betty Crocker cookie mix, for my 13th birthday.

Well I suppose I should go now. Talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
M@l!Nd@9291
September 30, 2010, 2:44 pm

Thats AMAZING!
renaval
September 30, 2010, 6:02 pm

Hey,
I haven’t blogged lately because of not haveing any thing interesting happening and of course school. I’ve been very busy with cleaning and homework. I joined the club CHASE (Community Helpers And Student Educators) at my school.The main thing that the club does is volenteering. It’s supposed to look really good for college.

I’ve participated in a few Geo Bees. In sixth grade i came in second place for my school and in eighth grade I came in about Eighth.

Did you guys see the contest for the animal atlas on this site. I pretty sure i won it! I got an email back from nat Geo asking for some more information because they want to send me a book. It hasn’t come yet but my mmom said it takes about 6 to 8 weeks before you get the stuff. I was so excited. I can’t wait too acually get the book.

Do any of you whatch the TV show bones? I do and i love it. It’s very interesting and funny. It has also won awards for being scientific. I really enjoy it and i learn qwiute a bit from it. The new season started last week.

Today in Honors biology we started disecting Owl Pellets and it’s really cool. I was a little dissapointed because they are pretty small and most of the bones are broken. I’m almost positive our pellet had a mouse in it because I found some distinct tail bones.

Well hope everyone is doing good,
~Valerie~
Skimp27
September 30, 2010, 8:12 pm

Hey guys. Today I was watching a show called “Untamed and Uncut”. I don’t know if any of you guys have seen it before but there was a guy who was in Stingray City in the Cayman Islands. He was feeding the stingrays until he ran out of food. One of the larger stingrays then swam up and bit him, and now I’m not sure about the Stingray City part of the Hoec trip. But what are the odds of that happening again? Well that’s all. Later.
luckstomper
September 30, 2010, 10:04 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. Welcome to the blog M@l!Nd@9291! I figured out your username code. It says Malinda, so welcome Malinda!

Reneval- You’re dissecting owl pellets in Honors Biology? Really? I dissected owl pellets in the 5th grade. I got a rodent of some sort, most likely a rat. Check an see if anyone in your class got a bird, because its rare to get a bird skeleton in your pellet. Its pretty fun from what I can remember.

Did anyone start watching The Amazing Race this past Sunday? I know I did. It was, um, interesting. There are some characters this season. Yikes. I hope it gets good, and hope no one else gets completely smashed in the face with a a baby watermelon. If not The Amazing Race, how about Survivor: Nicaragua? If you do, how do you like it? I’m back and forth on Survivor nowadays, because I feel as though everything is scripted just to make the show interesting. And how about this Old vs. Young thing. I thought that was weird too. I don’t know what Survivor is thinking, but I hope this season is at least semi-good. If you’re curious about watching these shows, they are both on CBS. The Amazing Race is on Sunday at 8:30pm EST, and Survivor is on Wednesday at 8:00pm. I really encourage everyone to watch The Amazing Race. Its not only wicked good, but its travel oriented.

Well tomorrow I have a home cross country meet, a dance, and I’m making butter so I suppose I should go to bed. Well that’s all for now. Talk to you soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
luckstomper
October 1, 2010, 4:54 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here.

Skimp27- That’s a little nerve-wracking to hear about that story on Untamed and Uncut. By the way, I watch that show all the time! But 3 years ago when I went to Antigua and Barbuda, I went to Stingray City (SC). The only other Stingray City in the world. In order to go to SC you rode in a motorboat from mainland to a shallow part of off-coast area then you are plunked on to a dock that is attached a fairly good sized netted off area. Then when you’re ready you enter the nets of doom,…psh, I mean fun-ness. Back then I was freaking out and when the guys, who assured us that all of the stingrays were harmless and trained, brought out the food. It was a frenzy of overly-friendly grey discs! They were like cats rubbing against your legs. I, along with my sister freaked out, like a full out freak out. Now I’m sure I would have a blast because I know what to expect. But I remember that when you feed the stingrays, you want to remove your hand from underneath them as soon as you feel suction or else you will get a hickey (yes that’s what they said) on your hand. But other than that the guys working there said they have had no problems other than that. What happened to that guy I don’t know, but my best bet is that the real reason the guy was bitten was no because of the lack of food, but some other trigger. When and if any of us win the HOEC I’m sure it won’t happen. Well that’s all for now. Talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
P.S. I have a school dance tonight! Psyche!
cowgirlexplorer
October 1, 2010, 8:46 pm

I went to a Brad Paisley/Darius Rucker/Justin Moore concert last night, and it was … AWESOME!~ He had the coolest set on a concert i have ever seen! It was really amazing! Country Music Rocks! haha

~Celeste~

P.S.- I think the reason that the cave wasn’t closed off was because it was several hundred years old. which makes it even that much cooler
Skimp27
October 2, 2010, 10:59 am

Hey, does anyone know if there are any blog posts from the South Africa explorer team?
shastasteph
October 3, 2010, 12:26 am

luckstomper, that’s good that the bird seemed to be okay. You must have had a really neat encounter. I remember when a bird flew through our window since it was open, and we didn’t have screens. After flying all around our house, it went and at on the sill of the open window. It chirped and sang and just sat there. I went to get some wild bird seeds, but when I tried to approach it, it flew away. It was still really neat seeing it. I’ve been watching Survivor on and off as well, but my reason is because I’ve been very busy with school. There’s just too much work nowadays. I also agree with you about the reason that guy was bitten. It probably was his fault.
reneval, I don’t watch Bones. I actually don’t even know what it is really, so sorry about that. Unfortunately, I never have and won’t get to dissect an owl pellet because the class I was put into only does a few labs, while the other grade class gets to do a whole bunch of labs. It’s not really fair, but I guess I can’t do anything about it. There’s a lot of volunteer clubs at my school as well. There is a Key Club volunteer club, but I forgot to go to the informational meeting. I’m going to try to join next year though. I want to join this other volunteer club called Branches though. We will get to build bikes, toys, basketball hoops, and all kinds of other things for the less fortunate.
Skimp27, I love watching Untamed and Uncut! Actually, I basically like almost every show on Animal Planet. I really like shows such as Animal Cops and Dog 101. Blue Planet, Planet Earth, and Life are my ultimate favorite animals shows though.
I am super excited because I just got the invite for the volunteer appreciation party from zoo that I volunteer at. This year they have a new feature: an exclusive behind the scenes animal encounter! The choices are the giraffes, aye-ayes, bears, lions, animal hospital, or others (that I don’t yet know of). I’m really excited about this. Does anyone have any suggestions about which one I should pick? I’ll definitely tell you about it after, too. Also, I’m got a little bit of inspiration from past photos that I’ve taken, so I’m going to at least start doing my entry. What’s the status of your entries as well? Did you start? Are you almost done? Are you still trying to get some more inspiration? I know I’m going to keep looking for inspiration.
luckstomper
October 4, 2010, 7:56 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. Ah here comes my favorite season: Autumn. Right now it’s about 7:15 here in MA, but it’s 4:15 in California, so that’s a bit of a difference. Currently I am sitting at my what-seems-to-be 300 year old desk in my room and through the window I can hear the wind literally howling. Obviously I can’t see the leaves right now, but the trees are slowly shifting to their brilliant shades of red, yellow, and orange. Its quite a sight; something I recommended everyone see if they haven’t already. How is autumn’s weather where you guys live? Here in New England, it’s 20-60 degrees Fahrenheit each day (it won’t get down to 20 till mid-November). The cold wind nips at your skin all of the leaves change color and they fall on the ground. It also starts snowing mid-autumn.

Skimp27- I know the South Africa trip did have a blog, but it was not on the this blog like Australia and Peru. I remember reading little tid-bits of posts from the winners on their blog, but I’m not quite sure what they did with the blog itself. Also were they blogged was a new profile thing that NGK was promoting, so I’m guessing that that wasn’t successful. I can see you have been searching for examples for your essay. I will tell you that I did manage to find the essays and pictures for the Galapagos trip (the first ever HOEC). Let me tell you, the quality of writing has sky-rocketed. I’m not sure if I can still find the essays and pictures now, because I found them last year. I hope that helped.

Shastasteph- I am still very jealous of you because you get to interact and help out at a zoo. Sadly there is no zoo near me so that hope is out of the question right now. I like this Volunteer Appreciation Party, where you get to interact with the selected animal of your choosing. Personally I would choose the giraffe, because its one of my favorite animals along with whales. That’s my opinion, its your opinion that matters. Here are my answers to your multiple rapid-fire questions at the end of your last post. Let’s see, the status of my entry, how do I put this? Um,…ZERO, NADA, ZILCH, CERO, NOTHING. I honestly haven’t had the time to conceptualize any ideas or thoughts. Quick little sentences have ran across my mind a couple of times, but not recently. I really, really need inspiration for my essay and quick. The deadline is sneaking up faster than I had imagined. We only have,…57 more days, and if you don’t have your inspiration before mid-November you’re doomed, and better act fast. I need one of those “nothing days” where I have nothing booked and just free time to go out with my camera and snap some photos. I really need that inspiration soon, because I fear my procrastination will soon dictate my motivation for going out and exploring.

Cowgirlexplorer- I personally am not a Country music fan. I am more of an ’80′s/”what’s popular now” guy. My current favorite songs are Dynomite- Taio Cruz, DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love Again- Usher ft. Pitbull, Club Can’t Handle Me- Flo Rida ft. David Guetta, Just A Dream- Nelly, Mad World- Gary Jules, Gettin’ Over You- David Guetta ft. Fergie, LMFAO, and Chris Willis, and Waka Waka- Shakira. Haha that’s more like a list but whatever. What kind of music fan is everyone right now? And what are your current favorite songs?

Well that’s all for now. Talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
P.S. My new nickname in science class is MC or Mr. Capital, because I knew the capital of Botswana and many other random countries off of the top of my head, and my teacher was flat out amazed, I think he thinks I’m a kid prodigy with OCD (you wouldn’t understand the OCD part). Yikes.
shastasteph
October 6, 2010, 12:29 am

cowgirlexplorer, that’s cool that you got to go to a concert you would enjoy. I’m guessing you had a lot of fun. I’ve never been to a music concert before except those ones that are free in some public area in the city where I live, but that’s good enough for me!
Skimp27, as luckstomper had mentioned, there were essays from the South Africa and Galapagos Islands trips, but they are not posted on the National Geographic website(s). You can try Googling them, but it might take you some time to find them. Good luck!
luckstomper, I guess sometimes there are good things and bad things about living in a city. Even though I get to volunteer at a zoo and can interact with some exotic creatures from around the world, in your guys’ towns, there are many places that are perfect for exploring your native wildlife. In large, highly urbanized city, such as the one I live in, there really is no place at all where you can just explore and be in tune with nature. Every place with trees has countless cement roads and facilities winding through it that only pigeons, rats, raccoons, and other city-dwelling animals choose to have a life in. Still be optimistic though. Maybe an animal shelter will open up or your town will finish rebuilding that butterfly house that you said was wrecked. Hopefully you’ll get to volunteer there. Also, thanks for answering my questions. I know there were a lot. Ha ha! I think many of us except for the few that have blogged about there finished essays are having trouble finding time to explore to get inspiration due to the demand of schoolwork. I hope everyone will be able to explore a little bit this coming Columbus Day holiday. I’m sure that we’ll all do really well on this contest. I know we will win for sure this year! I think I’m also into the present-day music. My favorite songs include “Replay”, “Solo”, “So Big” (all by Iyaz), “Just the Way You Are” (Bruno Mars), “California Gurls”, “Teenage Dream” (both by Katy Perry), and many others. There’s too many too name, but I think you get my idea.
cowgirlexplorer
October 8, 2010, 7:28 pm

Hello Hello everyone!

Luckstomper– i also like almost every one of the songs you mentioned, but deep down i am just more of a country girl. Speaking of hte country– i placed 3rd in livestock judging out of almost 200 kids. So now i am headed to Billings MT (biggest city in MT) to go the the NILE (look it up to do some ‘serious’ livestock judging. haha Our school kinda banned overnight feild trips a couple yrs. ago, so this is the first one iam going to get ot go on in a while. I am kinda excited.
Is anyone else in FFA– and if you are, dont you LOVE it.
So i think thati finally got some insperation for my essay. I am kinda excited about it because i think that it a really unique aproach to hte challenge. — at least i hope…
THe weather here has been cold and rainy. I went to a local ranch today- on my day off of school (early in the morning) to go and judge some market lambs for practive for the NILE. It was freezing! And the people who lived there decided to go and try ot herd the sheep which got kinda irritating. The dogs were chasing them all over the pen and were like biting their legs and ripping out their wool. THen my teacher and us got really mad and then took over. We finally got the sheep into the shoot to look at them a little biit closer. And the were wet and smelly, so naturally, everyone else got smelly because we had to touch them to fell the finish and loin measure on them. And did i mention it was freezing!

CAnt wait ot see you all soon in the Caiman Islands! I know we will all be there very soon.

~Celeste~
ninjaboy
October 9, 2010, 11:33 am

Wow what a amazing video!
Anonymous
October 9, 2010, 6:18 pm

PERCY JACKSON
luckstomper
October 10, 2010, 6:38 am

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. Welcome to the blog ninjaboy! What do you mean by “wow what an amazing video!”? There hasn’t been a video on this blog for years.

Yesterday the 9th was my birthday! It was probably one of the best birthdays I have had in years. To start my day out I went to cross country practice from 9:00-11:00. The reason for it being 2 hours long was because at the end of practice the team celebrated mine and another of my teammate’s birthday (it was her birthday too)! They made me a birthday card, one girl made cupcakes. Olivia (the girl I share my birthday with) brought munchkins. You guys probably have no idea what those are. They are made by Dunkin Donuts, and they are the little balls of dough from the center of a doughnut, and they made them all different types of doughnut “flavors”. All I wanted to bring was cupcakes, but my mom brought cupcakes, doughnuts, and apple slices. It was good start to my day. Then once I got home I got ready, along with others, to go to Davis’ Mega Maze. Its the best cornfield mega maze in the United States, according to facts I believe. The guy who creates the mazes each year is the founder of corn mazes. He also holds like 7 Guinness World Records. After a while of preparation we were on the road. We eventually got there and entered the maze. In the beginning there was a time stamp so you could tell how long you were actually in the maze for. In the end we did it in exactly 1 hour. After the maze I chose my restaurant of choice and we went there. It was a mexican restaurant that we had been to many, many times before. At the end of the meal the servers sang happy birthday to me, in Spanish, and smeared whipped cream on my face. It was good dinner. When I got home I just wanted to relax, and that’s just what I did. Oh yeah! After cross country practice when I got home I opened my presents. From my sister I got earphones which were much needed, and that was the only item on my Birthday List. Then from my parents I got a introductory flight lesson for a glider. If you don’t know what a glider search it on Google. But I was wicked excited. If I like the intro flight lesson that I take I could take lessons and eventually get my pilot’s license. I’m take my intro flight lesson today, and I’m pumped, I can’t wait. Well that’s all for now! Talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
P.S. Happy 10-10-10!
Skimp27
October 10, 2010, 8:35 pm

Hey everyone. Yesterday I went to a small airport not too far away. An organization called the EAA was sponsoring a flight day there at their 448 chapter. The EAA does all this stuff with flight school and bringing the next generation to the knowledge of aviation. They were doing a program called little eagles where kids 7-17 got to go up in a two or four seat airplane with a pilot and fly around the area. It was an experience of a lifetime. I learned how an airplane works, did a pre-flight check, experience two G’s, see the chesapeake bay from the sky, and even take over the cockpit and fly for a bit. I would highly recommend checking out the EAA website. If you know the airports zip code you can find out about events like this in the future.
Shastasteph/luckstomper, I’ll be sure to look for the previous HOEC trips online. Thanks for the info. I like all of the songs you listed. I listen to rock and some country too. I also like Waka Waka by Shakira because I’m a football (soccer) guy. Shastasteph,I got some pictures and got some exploring in the late summer. Since then I haven’t had much time. I wrote an essay and a half when the contest was first announced out of pure excitement, but after looking over them they aren’t my best work and don’t meet all of the judging criteria. Cowgirlexplorer, I wish I could get involved with farm animals like you. In elementary school I went on an overnight field trip to a farm. I really liked it. ALOT. I hope to see you in the Cayman
Kenna
October 12, 2010, 9:44 pm

Hi everyone!
Wow, this is getting more and more exciting!
How are your essays going? Any inspiration for essays or photographs so far? I’ve been doing some research on the Cayman Islands. They seem amazing!

I have a little trivia question for you guys about the Cayman Islands: What is the most intriguing animal, insect, or plant you can find on the web that lives on the Cayman Islands? Can’t wait to hear your answers!

Best of luck to you all! I’m having fun keeping up with the blog posts.
McKenna
~HOEC 2009, Peru
luckstomper
October 13, 2010, 9:08 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. I’m wicked tired right now. I ran my cross country meet today (remember I’m running high school varsity even though I’m in 8th grade). I complete demolished my old personal record (PR) for a 3.1 (5k) course. I ran it in 18:07 (minutes). My old PR was 19:36 and that was set about a week ago. I feel very accomplished. I’m now officially the 2nd fastest kid on my team. Have any of you ran a 5k (3.1 miles) before? Or any race of some sorts. What’s your time if you can remember.

Hey Kenna! It’s so nice to hear from you again! Your visits always spark conversation and pick up the blog again. You I praise you on a job well done. Now let’s see, what is the most intriguing animal, insect, or plant I can find living in the Caymans that I can find? For plant it would have to be the Schomburgkia Thomsoniana. This flower is absolutely stunning, I would love to see this sometime in my life! For animal it would probably have to be the Agouti. This is a small rabbit-sized rodent. They sort of look like a capybara. I know bird wasn’t on the list but if it was it would be the Zenaida Dove. And lastly for insects its going to be the Dynastinae Beetle. I don’t know much about each. But I think it would be cool to see each of them in real life. I can’t wait to hear was everyone else says!

Well that’s all for now. Talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
renaval
October 15, 2010, 2:35 pm

Hey,
I have not been on here for like a month. i’ve been so busy. Luckstomper yes we did disect an owl pellet in honors biology but we had to do alot of other stuff with our data like celculate biomass and the energy transfer between trphic levels.I was in cross country in 5th through 8th grade but when i got to highschool i realized that i reaLLY hate running so i didn’t do it. I can’t rember my times but we did’t do normal lengthed races like 5ks but most of the races were from 1.3 to 1.8 miles. I usally ran them in about 9 to 11 minutes.my schools cross country team is pretty good most of the guys and some girls finish 5ks in sixteen minuetes or under.
I’ve typed up my essay but i’m not a very stroung writer so it still needs lots of editing. English is not my strong suit science is.
My dad went to a work conference where they sell stuff for labs and animal testing and research and a ton of other stuff. He said he met an old guy who own a company and he used to be the vet for the monkeys that went up into space. My dad talked to him for awhile about it and said he pretty much lived with these monkies. Isn’t that cool.
I have today off from school because we had conferences. Do you guys get columbus day off? We don’t but i wish we did.
The leaves are definetly changing here in WI. The magority of the trees have most there leaves off already.
Well i have to go do my hommework.
by,
~Valerie~
cowgirlexplorer
October 15, 2010, 6:08 pm

hello hello everyone!

Im not sure about what animal in the cayman islands would be the coolest or most inriguing animal in the cayman islands would be… thats hard. I am not all that familiar with the wildlife there, and although it may not be the most intriguing animal there, i would have to pick hte sea turtle. I just think that they are so cool. — by the way, its nice to hear from you again Mckenna.

well thats about all ive got to say for now, talk to you all later!

~Celeste~
shastasteph
October 15, 2010, 8:16 pm

Wow! I really haven’t blogged in a while. School has been really busy, especially with midterms and my running in the student council elections. Voting is on Monday, so I’m really nervous now!
cowgirlexplorer, congratulations on your livestock judging win! I hope you have fun on your trip to Montana, and good luck in the contest! Those people who tried to herd the sheep shouldn’t try that again. They really need to train their dogs better and become more experienced. That must have been an interesting practice with the cold and odors.
Skimp27, your experience sounds really cool. I wish I could fly a plane. I live in a big city, so there really isn’t any room to have that kind of event. Nevertheless, I might look up that event to see if they’re coming to a place near me.
reneval, that’s neat that your dad met someone who worked with the ‘space monkeys’. It must have been really cool to hear all about it.
luckstomper, happy belated birthday! Sounds like you had an amazing day, and I love Mexican food! I always go to a Mexican restaurant for my birthday. However, the restaurant I go to gives me a Mexican cake instead of smearing whipped cream on my face. I hope you have fun on your introduction flight. By glider do you mean a hang-glider or an actual glider plane? I’m guessing you mean the plane since you mentioned piloting. Congratulations on your cross country improvement. I don’t run competitively since there wasn’t a track/cross country team at my school. Now that they do have those at my school, I think I’m going to try out for track. I know I’m not a good runner because I am very short, but if you don’t try you’ll never know! I’ve run both a 5k and a 10k before. Actually, I’ve been running one of each every year. I did this year’s 10k back in August. It was fun. For a 5k, my time is about 35 minutes. For a 10k, I can do that in about 50-55 minutes. I can run 6 1/2 miles in one hours. That’s basically the extent of my running abilities. Like I said, I’m not very good.
Kenna, it’s really nice to hear from you again! So far, my entry hasn’t been going as well as I hoped. I haven’t had a lot of time to work on it due to all the schoolwork I have currently. I’m thinking of just using a picture I have taken before and writing about that, but it’s definitely not one of my better photos. Hopefully I’ll have some more time to explore and get inspiration. I think the blue iguana is a pretty intriguing animal of the Cayman Islands. There is a common green iguana (which I will soon be able to hold after training!) at the zoo where I volunteer, but in pictures, the blue iguana looks so much larger! I think it would just be really cool to see and learn about one. What do you think is an intriguing animal?
cowgirlexplorer
October 16, 2010, 3:44 pm

Hello Hello!

Have any of you happened to look at the pictures of the spider webs? They are so cool. I think that spider webs are so cool, they really interest me. Have you noticed how it seems like one day a year, every spider has a web somewhere, and when you walk outside its like your being attacked by tiny, sticky, and practically invisible little strings. It is so annoying. Maybe thats just around here, but that “day” just happened two days ago, so thats what made me think about it. So many webs…

~Celeste~

P.S.- sorry if my spider webs descrition didnt make any sense- it can get kind of confusing.
cowgirlexplorer
October 17, 2010, 5:46 pm

Hello Hello everyone!

I just started writing my essay and it is so much harder than it seems. It is one thing to finally get an idea for it, but then having to actually put it into words is much harder than i had anticipated. I am stratign to get worried. I mean December 1 is coming up really soon, and i dont know if i can really get winning story in time. I want to go so badly though, so im hoping that drive will help me get the story i am hoping for.
How is everyone else coming along with their essays?

~Celeste~
Skimp27
October 18, 2010, 6:23 pm

I think I finally found the topic for my essay! I won’t say anything now, but by next March I hope you guys will be able to read it here.
Well Kenna, I think that the green heron is an amazing creature. It’s just different. I also like all of the bats, geckos, and iguanas. Shastasteph, did you know that the green iguana is actually native to Central America? It is an invasive species, result of imported pets gone wild. Good luck in running for student council. Luckstomper, that sounds cool that you can have glider lessons, and happy birthday. In Ohio, where I used to live, there is a huge corn maze. The theme changes yearly and this year it was the Ohio State-Michigan college football rivalry. We like to visit our family and friends there at least once or twice a year. They’re big on cross country there. If I lived there I know I would run (I love to run), but where I currently live, no cross country. I’ve run 10k’s and one milers, but nothing in between, but an 18 minute 5k is crazy! I might be able to run one in 22 minutes if I book-it. Well nothing much more to say, so later.
shastasteph
October 19, 2010, 9:07 pm

cowgirlexplorer, I’m also having trouble trying to write my essay based on the small notion of inspiration I possess. I think all the thought of this possible being one of our last years is getting to us too much. We should just really focus on writing an essay that explains our passion for exploring instead of trying to make the entry so perfect. I hope you, and everyone else, is having at least some luck on their entries!
Skimp27, you’re very correct. The common green iguana does originate in Central America and is an invasive species. That’s why my zoo has one, so it can study its behaviors and effects on the native wildlife in the U.S. The green iguana at my zoo is such a unique and powerful animal even thought it’s not that big. That’s why I wanted to learn about the Cayman Island’s blue iguana. It looks so much bigger in pictures, so I’m sure it has some really unique characteristics. I know all of us on this blog will win this trip to the beautiful Cayman Islands. Blue iguanas and other Cayman wildlife here we come!
waterlily
October 23, 2010, 10:54 am

Hello,I havent writen in a while and here are my excuses:in the past 3 months i have started 6th grade(I’m still ajusting),I have been loaded with homework, and let’s just face it, I’m lazy.michigangirl14:I’v never participated in a geobee ,but 4 years ago,at the the middle school I go to,there was a sixth grader,he loved geograpy.He spent 6-8 hours every day studying maps and atlases.He won the class preliminary round,never missed a question.he won the school geobee,never missed a question.I mean this guy was GOOD at geography.he went to state,never missed a question and won.he then went to washington D.C. and won the national geobee.that,s a pretty cool story right?I have to go now.bye.reilly
Michigangirl14
November 5, 2010, 7:34 pm

haha its been a long time!!! i havent commented in a long time. school has been buggin me. finally starting to write my essay and its goin great.

Waterlily- what a Great story. i loved Geography but maybe not as much as him and thats why i only got third in my school!

cant wait to find out who goes to the cayman islands

_Brooke

ps. welcome to the blog malinda
Skimp27
November 7, 2010, 8:16 pm

The “Great Migrations” marathon just came on. I think it will be pretty cool. My family likes all that “Planet Earth” and “Oceans” stuff.
luckstomper
November 9, 2010, 6:41 pm

Hello Everyone!

Luckstomper here. Holy smokes (that’s an old expression )! There has been no one commenting! I was wondering if it was just Nat Geo not updating the blog, but I guess not! Anywhom a ton has happened in my life in these past weeks or days, or…that’s beyond the point. I think I will write a whole summary of my life on my day off from school on Thursday. But today I’m just going to say a few things.

This past weekend (I will go into further detail later), I placed 17th in the state of middle school cross country, and my cross country team placed 6th in the state!

Has anyone else started a MySpot on NatGeoKids yet? I have. It’s my same username. Tell me if you have signed up, I want to see your photos!

Lastly, has anyone been watching The Amazing Race?

Well, that’s all for now. Talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
cowgirlexplorer
November 10, 2010, 7:49 pm

Hello Hello everyone!

I am getting extremely nervous about my entry, i have ideas but i just dont know how to turn them into an essay or how to even put them into words. I am so worried that i will run out of time! How is everyone coming along?

Today after school i went and collected food for our town food drive for FFA. It was actually alot of fun. Does anyone else do FFA? I love it, it really has something for everyone. If you are not in it, you should join, its alot of fun!

Anyway, it is getting cold here, but all of the snow melts practically the second it hits the ground, i wish it would stay cuz i want to go snowboarding…haha

Well, i am going to go try to work on a winning essay…hopefully-haha!

~Celeste~
Michigangirl14
November 11, 2010, 4:10 pm

Wow i can not believe that the entries time slot is almost over for the HOEC contest. i just mailed my entry last Tuesday. i am gonna stay positive about the contest. i wrote an awesome essay and i have a very good photo. We all have a very good chance at winning this contest. im in the 9th grade and this is my last year to enter. if any of you guys have ever watched the secret or read the book. it will change the way you think.

skimp27- i love planet earth but the crazy thing is that we also watch them in my honors biology class too!

well heres a cayman island trivia question
1.whats the cayman islands time zone?
2. how did the cayman island get their name?

~Brooke~
shastasteph
November 11, 2010, 6:08 pm

Happy Veterans Day everyone! A big shout out and thank you to all the veterans out there and people currently serving in the military. We really appreciate all you do for us.
School has been so busy! I haven’t had any time to really work on my entry, and the deadline is coming right up! I’m so nervous and worried that it won’t be my best. Well, oh well. I’ll just do what I can and try my best.
How’s everyone been? People really haven’t been commenting in quite a while.
Last Saturday I went on a whale watch. It was so much fun! We saw mostly humpback whales, but we also saw a couple gray whales, some albatrosses, Roussou (spelling?) dolphins, harbor seals, and harbor porpoises. It was really hard trying to get a good picture with my little digital camera since the boat was rocking so much! Also, it was difficult timing the whales’ surfacings with the time my camera took the picture (since it’s not one of those really quality cameras like the Rebel and DSL, my camera has about a 1-2 second lag). My camera was also running out of battery even though I had charged it the night before as well! It was really weird. Most of the pictures I took were blurry, off-centered, or far-off. However, I did get a decent picture of a fluke. One time during the trip, a humpback whale breached straight out of the water about 20 yards away from our boat. It was so cool! If only I could have gotten a shot of that! Oh well. I’m probably not going to write about the whale watch for my essay since my pictures are bad, but it was definitely a great and fun experience.
Skimp27, my family also loves all the Planet Earth, Life, and Blue Planet documentaries. It’s pretty surprising too because usually it is only my dad and I who like those kinds of shows. They did an excellent job. I missed the first episode of the Great Migration series, but I love watching it! It’s so cool. Great job National Geographic.
I hope everyone is doing well and is having luck on their entries!
Anonymous
November 13, 2010, 9:40 pm

I think I’m going to write an essay! I hope I win!:)
Michigangirl14
November 15, 2010, 5:16 pm

Its great to hear that everyone is almost ready with there essays. i was really nervous about my essay but then i just thought about it and it just came out. i mailed my entry in and all i can do is hope for the best!
i really recommend each one of you guys to watch ” The Secret” or read the book…..it will change you (in a good way) it talks about the law of attraction and if u believe hard enough…the universe will give you what you want.

shastasteph- i love marine animals!!!! if there was one animal i love the most is whales but i really love beluga ones? did u see any belugas on ur whale watch

i have a my shot i will upload pics soon! same username

~Brooke~
cowgirlexplorer
November 15, 2010, 10:33 pm

Luckstomper-

How do you get a myspot, i cant find anything about it on the website.
HELP!

~Celeste~
Michigangirl14
November 16, 2010, 2:51 pm

try under photos. thats where i found it
luckstomper
November 16, 2010, 5:59 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. If its under photos go there.

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
Michigangirl14
November 17, 2010, 6:32 pm

u have great photos luckstomper….check out mine. just search michigangirl14
Skimp27
November 19, 2010, 9:42 pm

Hey guys. I am almost ready with my essay. I’m in the process of revising and editing one last time. Today my younger brother and i went out and i got some awesome pictures. the only problem is i don’t know which one looks best. Michigangirl, you said the secret? I’ll look out for it. I really hope that we all win this, especially those who have only this last chance to win. I have another year or two and I’d feel bad if I win and I’d still have another chance later on. Shastasteph, next time you go whale watching, tell me and I will sneak on some airplane and somehow find my way to your house in time. My brother and I are trying to win the “Great Migrations” drawings to win a whale watching trip. haha. I guess that’s about it, later.
Skimp27
November 19, 2010, 9:43 pm

Hey guys. I am almost ready with my essay. I’m in the process of revising and editing one last time. Today my younger brother and i went out and i got some awesome pictures. the only problem is i don’t know which one looks best. Michigangirl, you said the secret? I’ll look out for it. I really hope that we all win this, especially those who have only this last chance to win. I have another year or two and I’d feel bad if I win and I’d still have another chance later on. Shastasteph, next time you go whale watching, tell me and I will sneak on some airplane and somehow find my way to your house in time. My brother and I are trying to win the “Great Migrations” drawings to win a whale watching trip. haha. I guess that’s about it, later.
shastasteph
November 20, 2010, 1:52 am

There is just not enough time in a day. I have been so busy doing homework, studying for tests, and working on projects, especially since my teachers decided to make everything due right before Thanksgiving break! Yippee (sarcasm intended).
luckstomper, congratulations on your cross-country accomplishments! That is really amazing. You seem like an amazing runner considering all the titles you’ve been winning recently.
cowgirlexplorer, I know what you mean. It is very difficult to put some feelings and descriptions on paper. You know you have an amazing and wide vocabulary, but sometimes you blank out and can’t find the write words.
Michigangirl14, marine animals are really amazing. Unfortunately, our party did not see any beluga whales. The waters we were in (mid-Pacific Ocean) are too war for them. If I ever go to a whale watch in Alaska or Canada, I’ll definitely let you know if I see any belugas. I just love their faces! Narwals (spelling?) are also some pretty cool cetaceans with their tusks.
Good luck on your entries everyone, whether you already sent it in or are still working on it. I know we can win this year! All of us dedicated to this blog have such passions for nature and exploring.
I myself am using what little time I have to try to work on my essay and just be out in nature, but I haven’t had many opportunities. Now that winter is upon us, my area is receiving torrents or heavy rain storms. The good things is that when it stops raining, all the animals come out of their shelters and you get to see so many creatures all it once. Have a great weekend everyone!
waterlily
November 20, 2010, 11:32 am

Hello everyone. so much has happened I don’t know to tell you.Lets start with,We[my classmates &I]took a test.the said test had a bunch of geography questions on it.this test would determine wether or not I would be in the geobee.out of about 130 students, I was one of the top 5 scoring 6th graders.so I will be attending my school’s preliminary round.
~~~waterlily~~~[a.k.a reilly]
Skimp27
November 21, 2010, 6:03 pm

I just got a my shot, same name.
Michigangirl14
November 22, 2010, 3:52 pm

cool waterlily….thats very good. i was ranked number 2 last year in the geobee class round and then i was tied for 1st int the preliemary round and then i got 3rd in my school! i love geobee
skimp27 i will be sure to check out ur pics….i have a my shot too….same name
cowgirlexplorer
November 23, 2010, 9:33 pm

Hell everyone!

I just got a my-spot page usder the same name. You might not want oto look at it just yet, because you might get a little bored-no pics yet. but soon…

My dad just brought a calf home. it has been so cold here lately that its’ ears froze solid. She might be able to keep her ears, i hope. I have been spending the past hour trying to thaw them out. She is very cute. After they thawed, i wrapped her up in a blanket, and she looked like an eskimo, it was pretty funny.

I have only looked at luckstompers my spot page so far, it was the only name i could remember, but i am headed now to look at the rest of yours. Cool pictures by the way!

~Celeste~
Skimp27
November 24, 2010, 9:47 am

Great job waterlily. The geobee is fun. You get out of class and, if you really like geography like me, it’s fun. Just remember, the Cape of Good Hope is in Africa and Cape Horn is in South America. Also Charleston is in North Carolina, not South Carolina. (I always mix those up. It cost me 1st place in school) Shastasteph, your right. We can all win if we put our minds to it. I just hope I can finish putting my essay together because I only have a week left.
cowgirlexplorer
November 24, 2010, 11:46 am

Hey i just posted some pictures on the my-shot thing–Not sure exactly what is is–

~Celeste~
luckstomper
November 24, 2010, 12:59 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. Wow, school has bogged me down and I can’t post as often as I would like. I have been looking at everyone’s my-shot pages. So far they’re really cool, I’m glad Nat Geo Kid’s came out with this. And holy crap the deadline is creeping around the corner! I have to write my essay ASAP! I haven’t even attempted to write it for fear of no inspiration! I’m freaking out. But I have assured myself that all we be good and I will send it in within the next 6 days. Today me and 4 other friends ran our school-wide event, that we designed ourselves, put together ourselves, and got the materials ourselves. The teachers were very impressed. We did a Minute To Win It day. Where for and hour for each grade we called kids up and had them participate in events. It was really fun. Well I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving break! Talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
November 24, 2010, 10:24 pm

I am not going to enter because I am too busy but good luck to those who do!I really do mean good luck to every single person who enters.(I don’t know anyone personally or anything!)
thx,
abc etc.;)
shastasteph
November 25, 2010, 1:54 am

Hey everyone! Finally, a little bit of a break from school. I still have quite I bit of homework though. Just in case I don’t get to write tomorrow (I’m going to be chowing down big time!), HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
waterlily and Michigangirl14, good job in the geobee to both of you. I remember my school had a geobee as well, but ours wasn’t official. The winner in our school never went to the next competition or did whatever you had to do to advance.
cowgirlexplorer, I hope your little calf’s ears are okay and won’t have to be amputated! That would be so sad. I’m hoping for the best for you!
Skimp27, I always remember the Cape of Good Hope from Cape Horn because a horn is pointy, like the southern edge of South America, while the Cape of Good Hope is rounded. I too am in the process of editing my essay and making those final changes. I live on the west coast, so I want to send my entry in at least a few days before the postmark deadline, so it has some time to get to D.C. I’m a little nervous, but I tried my best, and that’s all I can do. Good luck to you and everyone else!
I looked at many of your My-Shots and all your photos were amazing! I still have to make mine. I will do it soon!
Michigangirl14
November 25, 2010, 9:52 am

charleston is in south carolina not north. what costed me 1st was that i forest about a riverway
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
November 26, 2010, 8:37 pm

omg this contest is so cool i would enter but i am to busy these contests on national geographic r awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!the thing that is really nice about these cool contests is that nobody makes a big deal if u dont win.this idea was grrrrrrrrr8 and i hope every1 thinks so. people r soooooo nice on national geographic,u just want 2 meet them!My little cousin is here and so r my uncle & and aunt.Waterlily, I dont know how u did it!By the way, what grade r u in?I would so like 2 know youre secret-if u have 1!got 2 go!by-by

~a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z~
goiahawks:).4500
November 27, 2010, 11:05 am

i think this will b totally kewl
lulubean10
November 28, 2010, 8:52 pm

Hi
I’m new.
Welll…
Not really.
I am 12 used to subscribe to NG Kids but now subscribe to adults. I did this contest when I was 10. Missed it last year! I am in 7th grade, am a girl, play lots of sports and volunteer a lot. I hope to post more regularly!
-Ellie
lulubean10
November 28, 2010, 8:58 pm

I have a friend who went to the Cayman Islands and she said they were amazing! I saw he pictures! Hope I win.
luckstomper
November 29, 2010, 4:49 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. Welcome to the blog abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz and lulubean10! I hope everyone’s essay and photo are sent in! Mines not yet sent in. I’m sending mine in the last day possible. I have this really bad procrastination habit you see, and it crept up and latched on to the HOEC contest. Luckily, I live relatively close enough to Washington DC, that it will make it there in less than 7 days (I hope…I’m taking my mom’s word for it). I hope I win this contest, I really, really do. This could be it for me, if they change it back to ages 9-14. So fingers crossed. I’m sure that I have met all of the requirements on the rubric for the essay and the photo. I think I executed each well. I’m sure all of you did. I’m just paranoid that I won’t have sent my essay in soon enough, and that its not going to make it. I really do want to meet all of you, and I think MyShot was an excellent idea because we can all express our lives even better in our photos. I’m going to put up my photo that I will enter for the Hands-On Explorer Challenge as soon as I choose it. But for now, I’m just going to reread my essay and look over the 3 photos I narrowed down to and just make it my best. I like to go right up to the 300 words, anyone else? That’s probably my biggest enemy in the rules. I hate having to limit what my point is. But I have to look in their perspective, of reading thousands of entries, and just want a more direct to-the-point answer. Well off to revising! Talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
cowgirlexplorer
November 29, 2010, 6:27 pm

AAAAAHHHH!
I am FREAKIN’ OUT!
i have finished my essay and my pic, but the pic did not print very well because i dont live close enough to anyplace where i can get it printed so i tried to print it on photo paper, but it didn’t turn out very well. Also, I haven’t sent it in yet (obviously) and im worried that it wont get there in time. Unlike you Luckstomper, i live in the middle of nowhere, and you cant exactly “overnight” things from Montana. What if it doesn’t get there in time….?
As for the word count, i finished safely with 240 words. I could have written more but my dad said that in some strict cases like national geographic, the definition of a word can be considered 4 characters. What!?-i know…
i was gonna post the pic that im using for the contest on My spot, but them i took it off, cuz i didnt want Nat Geo to think that i plagerized(sp) the picture off of the website if they didn’t know it was me.
Hopefully all will go well, I want to meet you all so badly!—

~Celeste~
luckstomper
November 29, 2010, 7:54 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. I AM FREAKING OUT. I’m pulling it close here. I e-mailed my mom my essay and had her look over it at work today (along with my possible photo submissions), and asked for some critiquing. Which isn’t always a bad thing, because in this case I want another person’s perspective on what they got out of the essay and the photo. When she gave me her feedback, they one that drove me most insane, but very helpful was the picture had no relation, that she could see, with the essay. Apparently I had a topic flowing throughout my essay, and then my photo wasn’t about that certain topic. So I literally just rewrote a whole flipping new essay! I think this one is pretty good too, if I may add. I just really hope my procrastination hasn’t gotten the best of me once again. Because like I said in my post before, this could be my last year seeing as though they change it back to ages 9-14. So I’m just praying. I’ve gone over the rubric and such, and my photo this time actually relates to my essay, (I hope). All I can do now is hope for the best, and hope that my submission doesn’t get lost in the mail. Well that’s all for now. Talk to everyone soon.

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
P.S. Cowgirlexplorer, what does your dad mean when he said that a definition of a word can be considered four characters? I’m confused. Because I went right up to the 300 words with this essay too….
Skimp27
November 29, 2010, 9:32 pm

You guys are right. I too am FREAKING OUT. I don’t have mush to worry about if I send my entry in tomorrow or the next day because D.C is 30 minutes up the road, but indecision is KILLING ME!! I’ve narrowed my pics down to two but I can’t decide which to choose. Both are pretty good and they both go good with my essay, but this is a game of inches. If I don’t choose the right one it could cost me. I’ve resulted to praying I’m so nervous. Luckstomper, I am probably going to end up with 300 words even in my entry. I keep trying to juggle words around to make the limit. It’s hard because if I find myself over the limit, I take a sentence away and switch some words and I feel like my essay is missing something. I put another sentence in to fill the “gap” and guess what? I’m over the limit again. My mom says it’s perfect, but I’m so nervous that I can’t stop revising, editing, cutting, adding on. I’m probably going to over perfect and fail. I’m glad I don’t have to feel this way by myself. It would be awesome to see all of you. Write good essays guys, and good luck to those who already sent the stuff in. Later.
P.S welcome to the blog lulubean 10 and umm, I’ll say alphabet for short.
luckstomper
November 29, 2010, 11:17 pm

Hi Everyone!

Luckstomper here. I can now officially say I’m done with my Hands-On Explorer Challenge submission! I don’t think I can trim and polish my essay anymore. My picture I am proud of too. I made sure I had the shipping address correct so I wrote a rough draft on a napkin about 4 or 5 times. Then I meticulously wrote it down on the envelope, then inserted my Information Page, Essay, and Photo. All that’s left is for my mom to take it to the Post Office and ship it off. I have a good feeling about this year’s entry. Well this is it, I promise, 3 posts in one day should last me awhile. Talk to everyone soon!

~~~~JON~~~~
(luckstomper)
shastasteph
November 29, 2010, 11:23 pm

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz, thanks for all the encouragement! We really appreciate it.
lulubean10, it’s always great to have another passionate explorer on this blog, so welcome!
luckstomper, you are very lucky. I live all the way on the other side of Washington D.C. on the California coast. I sent my entry in already after quite a while of revising. I wanted to send mine in a little earlier than the deadline because I too am afraid it won’t get there in time. If you live pretty close to D.C., I’m sure your entry will get their with time to spare. I also like to use the maximum limit. My essay is at 298 words. It wish I could have used more, but I still think my essay is good enough. I believe in it!
cowgirlexplorer, that thing you mentioned about one word being four words to the National Geographic staff is really confusing. Can you please explain it? You’re getting me a little paranoid now because I’m not sure if my essay will be acceptable now. My picture also didn’t turn out so well. The closest photo printer place to my house had an unfortunate break of their only photo printer! Luckily, my picture still came out, but the worker said it is probably not the best quality it could have been. Oh well. I sent it in with my essay anyways. Don’t worry. I’m sure you’re picture will be great!
Skimp27
November 30, 2010, 5:01 pm

I finished my essay, chose my picture, and sent it all in this morning. With any hope it will be there by tomorrow. The final draft was 294 words and, I believe, really good. I’m fairly confident. my picture can’t get much closer with my essay and hopefully that will stand out to the judges. GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY!! Skimp out.
Michigangirl14
November 30, 2010, 5:24 pm

im sorry to hear that everyones freaking out about the essays. i was FREAKED out about a month ago when i was writing mine. i sent mine out about a few weeks ago. i hope everyones essay turned out great. oh and welcome to the blog abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz and lulubean10

Brooke~
cowgirlexplorer
December 1, 2010, 12:04 am

I understand if a few of oyu were a little confuse about my last post. My dad just said that in some strict areas, the definition of -word- can be consider four characters. So, if your word is “eggplant”(for example) it could be considered two words because it is 8 characters. Now, i dont know how true that is, my dad just said that he had heard that before. I am sure all of you will be just fine on your word count, so no need to worry. Hope all on this blog are winners because we all deserve it. We have been so devoted to this blog, and we are truly into this contest.
I fel realyl confident about my essay, which doesnt really mean anything though because i felt really confident about my essay, and well…. My picture quality is REALLY bad though, so i am REALLY worried about that. Oh well, nothing i can do about it now! haha

~Celeste~
Michigangirl14
December 1, 2010, 9:34 pm

Brooke is here!!! i was wondering if anyone could tell me
1- 1 crazy fact about the cayman islands.

i will start………
its a territory owned by the united kingdom and its located in the Atlantic/gulf next to Jamaica and Cuba

plz comment with your fun/crazy/interesting/wierd fact
Texas Hold'm
December 1, 2010, 9:37 pm

I just got through writing my essay.I do not see why everybody is so worried about writing some simple essay.I mean come on writing an essay is like trying to fix cheese toast.First you write the intro (bottom bread). Next you write the body (cheese).Finally you write the conclusion (bottom toast).I bet my dog could write an essay.First i would have to teach him how to hold a pencil.
cowgirlexplorer
December 1, 2010, 11:27 pm

Welcome to the blog Texas Hold’m ( i love your name by the way). The reason everyone is so worried about it is that it has to be something different and special to get the judges attention. And it is not just an essay. Also, if your just gonna write an “essay” and your not gonna take the time and effort to write something really good and try on it, then what is the point of entering if your not gonna put forth your very best? Those are just my thoughts on the matter.
I am in a TERRIBLE mood right now. I am watching my little calf slowly die and it KILLS me inside. I literally cant handle it. And the worst part is that there is absolutely nothing i can do. I have been trying to save him for over a week now, and finally, when they give up, there is nothing more you can do. I seriously is eating me alive, and i don’t know what to do. . I know that probably sounds extremely dramatic, but when you have that sweet little face looking up at you waiting for you to make it all better, and you cant, things start to feel kind of dramatic.
Anyway, tomorrow is a new day, and hopefully things will be better by then…

~Celeste~
shastasteph
December 2, 2010, 12:39 am

Hello fellow hands-on explorers! As I am writing this, everyone should have already put their entries into a mailbox, or better yet, they should have taken it to the post office. Since I am on the west coast, our time zone is a little later than many of everyone else’s time zones. Nevertheless, I wish everyone the best of luck on their entry. I know we can win this! Thought you yourself may feel like some part of your essay is inadequate, believe! Believe in yourself and in your entry!
Texas Hold’m, I totally agree with cowgirlexplorer. We are fussing over our entries so much because we want to show the National Geographic staff our best work and that we deserve to be in the Cayman Islands this coming summer. We want to show the staff our passion for exploring and the world around us.
cowgirlexplorer, I feel so bad for you and your little calf right now! Why is he/she dying? When I sometimes go to animal shelters and there’s new animals, I can see the pain and hurt in their eyes. I breaks my heart. I know what you are going through and I encourage you to stay strong! Things will turn out. Maybe your little calf will decide it wants to live again! Good luck!
oceangrl101
December 2, 2010, 7:33 pm

My mom says what I wrote is perfect but I am like AHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I sent it yesterday but i live close to DC. I cut t close with 299 words. My picture was really pretty though. Of a brook at the end of my street that I regularly explore. We like ran to CVS the day before it was do. So sore from winter track today. Coach made us run a TON!! And to all who fret over the “fourletters a word thing.” Don’t. I’m sure you’ll be fine.
oceangrl101
December 2, 2010, 7:36 pm

Ellie here. So bored. Bye!
oceangrl101
December 2, 2010, 7:36 pm

Ellie here. So bored. Bye!
shastasteph
December 3, 2010, 1:18 am

oceangirl101, my essay is also pretty close on words. Yes, you are right. There’s no point in getting all worried about our essays now. The fate of this contest is in the hands of the Nat. Geo. staff. Good luck to you! Wow, you already started track? For us, track doesn’t even start until after winter break!
tkd girl
December 3, 2010, 1:57 pm

My essay im pretty proud of. I’m really nervous too:) my essay is like 270 words. I also took the most Amazing pic. It is beautiful!!! I hope I win but whoever wins congrats to them in advance.
bye from tkd girl
(aka abi
Skimp27
December 6, 2010, 5:34 pm

Cowgirlexplorer, that’s horrible (about your calf) I’m sorry, but I’m sure it will get better. Never say never. Texas Hold’m, your right about that (even though I’m not sure what cheese toast is, but I get the gist of it) But, cowgirlexplorer is right too. It’s not just an essay for me. I want to win so much, and I want my essay to be perfect and my best work. Even after I’, done, I can’t stop my self from perfecting everything. I can always find something wrong with my essay, and then I start getting really stressed and I don’t think right.
P.S. tkd girl, I love tae kwon do. I have a class tonight.
cowgirlexplorer
December 7, 2010, 7:46 pm

Hello everyone.
Sadly, my calf didn’t make it. We came back one night and he was absolutely freezing. I couldn’t even figure out why because it wasn’t that cold out, but anyway, we brought him inside and s=he just couldn’t get warm and was having trouble breathing. He hadn’t eaten in two days because he wouldn’t swallow anything (and feeding him like that would be like giving a drink of water to an unconcious person), so we couldn’t feed him, and he got weak. I tried my hardest, but sometimes you can only do so much. To answer your question Shastasteph, i am not exactly sure what was wrong with him. When he was born it was really cold so my dad brought him home and we took care of him and then we turned him back out in the field, and he got extremely cold again. Then on top of that, he got really really bad scours. He was just bleeding like crazy, and finally it stopped, and then he seemed to get better, and then one day i came home and he couldn’t get up, and it all went down hill from there. And he was a boy, his name was boing (last year’s calf was bing, and my next one is going to be bong).
Thanks for your concern though.

~Celeste~
tkd girl
December 13, 2010, 7:11 pm

Skimp27,
I do tkd 2 nights a week. just got my red belt. what state do you live in?? I live in Massachusetts.
Im afraid though and I totally freaked on my test.
How old r u and what grade r u in? gonna go now.please reply !!!!!!!!!
BYE
FROM:tkdgirl
A.K.A: Abi
Skimp27
December 14, 2010, 7:56 pm

I’m about to get my black belt next march! I have classes 4 times a week if I can make it. My school is really good. The head instructor has gotten first place in state sparring every year for I don’t know how long. I live in Maryland. I don’t tell anyone I don’t know more than that so I’m sorry I can’t answer your last few questions. Later
Hurdler23
December 15, 2010, 3:48 pm

I can’t wait till the winners are announced, whoever wins deserves it!
<3
Desiree
December 17, 2010, 9:05 pm

wow this current event had alot of things to talk about and my class loved it now my mom and dad are going to sigh me up now cause that is how amazing it was
islandgirlstar808
December 21, 2010, 11:45 pm

Wow so i’ll be happy if I win
how many people have a blog acount?
And did evreyone on here enter tge contest?
Islangirlstar808
Skimp27
January 5, 2011, 6:43 pm

Islandgirlstar808, most focus has shifted over to other blog posts but I’ll try to answer your questions. From my knowlege, not everyone entered the contest. Some people said they weren’t very interested. I don’t know how many people have and account, but It’s quite a bit. Hope that helped, later
tkd girl
January 15, 2011, 1:15 pm

Islandgirlstar808,
yes i did enter the contest,did you???
I CAN’T WAIT!!!!!
EVEN if i don’t win i love seeing the people who did win in the magazines and the pictures they take!!!
VannahExplorer
January 19, 2011, 4:41 pm

hey tkd girl… i think this is the first time i have talked to you well i totally agree i love to see the entries and pictures the winners take then i better understand what they are going to be looking for in the future years and of coarse they are interesting as well…:)

but anyways it looks like there have reasently been a lot of new people on the blog thats cool!

cowgirlexplorer, im sorry about your calf btw
that is really sad

anyways bey guys talk to you soon I KNOW SOMEONE ON THIS BLOG WILL WIN THE CONTEST!!!!! ))

~LOVE YA~ ~VANNAHEXPLORER~
jess980
January 29, 2011, 7:05 pm

Hi!
Yeah, I’m really excited! I wish u all good luck!
It took me a while to write it all!
P.S. I love exploring!
bye!
turkey
March 17, 2011, 1:49 pm

THAT LOOKS SO FUN!
artemis+aphrodite123
March 26, 2012, 10:02 pm

once we found a snake that was like half crossed with a dog and it was sooo cool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. It was in India and it was during winter! (weird huh?)

From
The anonymous lover of Greek Gods

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