Thirty educators from across the US departed for the Amazon last week to participate in a unique professional development program – The 2013 Educator Academy in the Amazon Rainforest sponsored by EcoTeach

Charles Darwin made the Galapagos famous with his famous works on evolution. Today, we look at this region of South America a bit differently.

Do you like to get off the beaten path, while traveling? I do, too. It’s always fun to get a new perspective on a place. Most travelers think off the beaten path means driving rural roads and visiting small villages. But there’s another way to explore off the beaten path – via ship!

Back in the day, science was often relegated to wealthy, self-funded explorers and “gentlemen scientists” the likes of Benjamin Franklin, Charles Darwin, and Isaac Newton. One could argue that they were the original “citizen scientists” but back then you had to have money and time to explore the world and formulate big thoughts.

What I packed & what I shouldn’t have brought: one girl’s struggle with over packing and condensing.

When I find out I’m going on vacation, my first thought (aside from being excited that I’m going somewhere) is ‘oh shit. How am I going to pack?’

“You don’t have to be a beachcomber to like Galveston,” I told my sister recently.  We were talking about our plans for summer vacation. I had said I was visiting Galveston Island. She did not like going to the beach, she had retorted.

“The beach is way too hot for me. Even when I use a sunscreen and take an umbrella, I burn while shooing away the birds,” she said. Her reaction hit a nerve with me. Suddenly, I found myself sounding as if I represented the Galveston Chamber of Commerce.