Summer came and went, and now we’re all back in school. Some of our staff are starting their very first days as new teachers — and you’re all very lucky to have these people in your communities and working with your children for the long term. As for me, the director, I get to think about new waves of future scientists and teachers entering the labs and lecture halls this week, and what I might be able to do to get them to volunteer for Science in the Parks next summer. What I should be doing most immediately, though, is just figuring out what I’m doing in class tomorrow.

Still, when I flash back on what we get to do in the summer, I think I simply need to get my future teachers (and doctors and engineers and all the rest) to play. I think we all need to get our hands in the thick of it and get a feel for the pushes and pulls, the sounds and the colors of nature. So, a lot of what I think I need to do is simply get my university students doing the same kinds of things that our Science in the Parks friends were doing a few weeks ago.

Here’s a handful of some favorite images from the summer. Many more are in our 2016 photo album on Flickr, as well. Stay tuned. I’ll post more updates here about next year’s program, as well as some odds and ends in between.