May 27

We had a great day with great weather. We started our day by making a stop at a local farmers market.  Once here, we were put into groups and given an assignment by our guide Adrian.  Each group was given money and a fruit or vegetable to purchase.  Off we went walking up and down trying to locate these fruits we have never heard of, seen or eaten.  The street was lined with booths with each stacked full of different items.  Towns folks enjoyed the park, chatted with friends and purchases fresh produce.   The fruit was fresh and totally amzing.





From the farmer market we headed to the INBioparque. This was an amazing facility that was similar to an open zoo.  Birds flew over head, butterlies zoomed in and oiut of bushes, and other critters ran across our path as we made our way through the park.  The animals were all out and active and making a lot of different noises. It was a lot of fun to see all the different types of animals and plants that Costa Rica has to offer.  As we walked through the park our guide Leah shared details about the different plants and animals we were seeing.  She shared what the plants were and how they were used by the local people.  Before we left Arizona each of us chose a different Costa Rica plant and animal to study.  During our walk, if we saw our plant or animal we were given what is called "a teaching moment" to share with our group what we learned about our plant or animal.  This park was a great introduction to Costa Rica's environment, plants and animals.


 After Inbioparque we headsed to the Children's Museum.  Getting to act like a five year old again at the Children's Museum was a lot of fun.  We had the opportunity to explore all the different rooms and hands on science activities. Seeing all the different activities that the museum offered to teach about science was great and a great look into how they learn.  An interesting fact about the Children's Museum is that it was once a prison!  The halls were lined with pictures of how the Museum looked when it was a prison.  The prison was a large facility so turning it into a museum offered a lot of space an possibilities. One of my favorite parts was the area for bubbles.  All of us  had a great time using the tools to create huge bubbles.  Another fun area was the shadow light area.  Here you stand in front of a wall with the light on, then you move and your shadow remains.  All in all it was a lot of fun.  After the museum we were off to explore San Jose.  We walked around the city a bit stopping to look at some of the old spanish style buildings. They have some of the same restaurants that we have in the USA.  We got to stop at a little walking mall area where they sold great souveniers.  The weather was beautiful and sunny until later in the afternoon when it rained. The rain helped to cool off the temperature and get rid of the humidity.