If you are looking for a sunny, warm place to spend a week in early March I do not recommend Northwest Elementary School in Jackson, Michigan. If you’re looking for an awesome group of enthusiastic educators who are passionate about inspiring their students, then this is a world-class destination. I can’t tell you how much fun I had talking to over 1300 students at my alma mater as part of their “March is Reading Month” programming. I also can’t tell you how COLD I was throughout my entire week here!! It was mid-March and there were still huge snow drifts everywhere, brutally cold wind chills, no sign of the sun the entire week, and we even had to squeeze all of the planned third day talks into my second day to avoid having them cancelled due to a snow day. But I digress…

Once I was safely inside the school, my visit was fantastic. I had great support from all of the teachers (including my former – *not* old – fourth grade teacher Mrs. Koon, who helped get me started in sharks) and the kids were amazingly enthusiastic and attentive. They asked great questions and only a couple of them vomited while I was speaking. -Better than most of my talks!

The opportunity to reach this many students ranging from pre-K to 5th grade and to experience their energy and enthusiasm was a huge thrill for me. It always reminds me of the curiosity and wonder that first led me into this field, and that still gets me out of bed in the morning. The organizing teachers also had the foresight to re-schedule Wednesday talks for Tuesday in the event of a snow day, and they were proven right for doing so. This is a top-notch program at NW Ele. and it’s clearly because they have top-notch people working there. Thank you so much Mounties! A few photos from my visit can be viewed in the gallery below.

A couple scenic views of March in Michigan.

This is why I don’t live here anymore. #alsonosharks

You can probably tell from the photos that the kids were a great audience.

You can also tell that there was not a professional photographer traveling with me.

I have not given a talk wearing a sweater in 14 years.

Projector screen shows one of the first sharks I ever tagged.

Future scientists Lou (left) and Logan, kind enough to take a photo with me.

Thanks for the pic, Emma! Got one with big sis Abbey too but pic came out blurry.

Madison and I were each others’ favorite.