On December 12, a research poster session was held in the gymnasium of the Samani Junior High School. The posters were created by the elementary 6^th graders through junior high 9^th graders, and they were presented by each group and grade level. Students were joined by adults from the community who listened to the presentations, asked questions, and shared their impressions.

Parents, Samani Elementary teachers, Urakawa school principals, and Samani town employees also participated.

The students all worked very hard! The posters were creative in design and content, and various tools were also used during the presentations.

I went by Mt. Kannon on Dec 9^th to prepare for a Kan-Kan Lecture in January. To my surprise, I found a hole that was expressing warm air! Even though it's already winter here, the warm air kept the area clear of snow. It was very mysterious!

The January Kan-Kan Lecture is an observation of winter, so I hope there is still snow on Mt. Kannon by then. Of course, that all depends on the weather and climate patterns, so there's no way to know what Mt. Kannon will look like by mid-January.

I also found some fox tracks. Fox prints are distinctive because they are always in a straight line.

A raccoon dog, maybe?

On Dec 4^th, Samani Town received a light blanket of snow, and then some more snow on the 5^th.

Kobushi Magnolia winter buds and seeds (the camera did not want to focus on the buds)

A fallen Oriental bittersweet on top of moss (the fruit is missing)

We held the latest Kan-Kan Lecture Series "Glass Engraving & Fossils" on November 23^rd.

Participants used a router to engrave designs on a glass. The intent was to have the participants look at reference books and rock specimens while engraving their glasses.

The Samani Folk Museum introduced fossils found in Samani. The participants found the sand-dollar sea urchin fossil so interesting, that they couldn't believe it was an actual sea urchin!

Participants were invited to look at the books and handle the fossils (ammonite, inoceramus, sea lily, etc).

The participants engraved many different designs into their glasses, such as Mt. Apoi, food, animals, and even musical instruments. Everyone enjoyed talking about what they would use the glasses for, like drinking barley tea or making it into a lantern.

PS: I carved a dinosaur on my glass and wanted to use it to make pudding. I was looking forward to excavating the dinosaur while I ate, but unfortunately, the white carving did not show up well against the yellow pudding.

I joined the Urawaka Elementary School 6^th Graders for a geological field trip. We visited two geological formations shaped by water's power and one formed by volcanic activity. Urakawa Town has well-defined alternating beds of sandstone and mudstone and outcroppings perfect for educational observation.

We even found a fossil. The students were impressed when they learned that Urakawa is famous for ammonite fossils. After that, we went to see the volcanic rock outcrops.

The students were excited and had many questions and observed the area until the very last minute! "What's that rock? Is that a fossil? How is this strata that was formed in the ocean right here?"

They also left with a sense of autumn ending and winter beginning.

The red Japanese bush cranberries (gamazumi) really stand out.

Oubayuri seeds (also known as Monkey Money)

Kiboushi (?) seeds

By the way, when I visited the site the day before, the stones were stuck to the ground, there was enough wind for me to put on my woolly hat, and it was very cold, but I was surprised to find needle ice forming in the middle of the river! Needle ice forms when the moisture in the soil freezes.

Needle Ice

Inoceramus fossil and needle ice