Day 1: Orientation

Day 1 started with orientation. The goal of which was to introduce the researchers to one another, and break the ice with an activity.

We began work by looking over the work done previously on the projects. This included an overview of the project we are going to work on.

Next we started to take apart a leaking antfarm. The antfarm is essentially a skinny fish tank, glass sealed with silicone, which will be filled with sand or other sediment. The process took most of the day. We used sharp objects to separate the pains of glass, and scrape away all of the silicone we could without strong solvents. The day was wrapped up by coating all of the glass sides in a solvent to be left overnight. Hopefully the silicone will be easier to remove tomorrow.

One lesson learned is to wear work clothes you don't mind getting messy, and to use solvents in a well ventilated area.

Sheiny, Andrew, and Ethan scraping silicone from the glass