Stand back, we are going to try science! on Quidditch Pitch

Clark Dill, Science Club Coordinator

February 18, 2016 3:05 PM

Stand back, we are going to try science! by Clark Dill, Science Club Coordinator

Clark thought his format from last year had worked well for the Science Club and the varied interests of its members. At the beginning of each term, they held one all-hands planning meeting where everyone came with some thoughts as to what kind of sciences they wanted to explore over the next months. Then Clark would take those ideas and make sure the most popular ones got on the schedule several times and everybody who came got at least one meeting devoted to something they were interested in. That schedule then got posted in each common room and the library and people could pick and choose which meetings they wanted to go to based on the topic. Members could come to every meeting or just one during the whole semester; it was entirely up to each person how much science they wanted in their life.

Before each meeting, Clark would put up fliers a few days in advance to advertise the upcoming topic in case anyone not already a member wanted to come but wasn't sure if they were allowed to (they were; each flier made sure to prominently display that ALL were welcome to come and learn).

This particular week, the science club would be studying Geology and the effect the ground and surrounding earth had on magical potency. The fliers had advertised a short lecture on the topic, and then some hands-on experimentation.

Clark had done a fair amount of research on the topic. He had toyed with the idea of making geology one of his independent studies, but hadn't gotten the paperwork in on time, so his dabbling in the topic was more of a hobby than a disciplined research opportunity, but he'd picked up enough that he wanted to share it with the school's other science aficionados.

Once it looked like nobody else was coming, Clark cleared his throat and spoke up, saying, "Hello and welcome to another meeting of the Science Club. Today we will be looking at some magical properties of the rocks and soil around us, and how the nearby geology can affect your magical potency. First I'll go through some research I've done, then we'll check it out for ourselves with some of these samples." He gestured around them to the stone configurations around them that the elves had kindly helped him find and set up.

There were several different varieties of stone and metal imbued rock, each having three testing areas: one flat spot to stand on, one area with pillars or piles rising up around the experimenter, and one enclosed cave like area that all but fully surrounded the tester. Clark's thought was that the more an element surrounded a person, the greater its effect would be on their magical potency, but that was just a hypothesis, and the second half of the meeting would prove whether that panned out or not.

"Okay, everyone try to get comfortable, because I'm about to start the lecture now." They had gathered on the ground of the Pitch so there wasn't much in the way of seating, but there was grass and (for today's meeting anyway) rocks to sit on or lean against.

He tried to keep it short and interesting, but he was naturally long winded and he had discovered that what he found fascinating didn't always mesh with what other people found fascinating. He wasn't sure if that was an alien thing or an Aladren thing, but he was beginning to suspect the later, so maybe he was okay in this company. In any case, it was at least an enthusiastic lecture about geology.

Eventually, he wrapped it up, and nudged a pile of papers (weighed down with rocks, of course, to keep them from blowing away in the day's light breeze) with a foot and concluded, "I've got printouts of what I just covered and some more related information, as well as my sources, here if anyone wants a copy. Otherwise, get to it, testing out those effects. If everyone could give me your notes and results when you get done, I can collate the data this week and get everyone a full set of observations from our study."

OOC: So the study is pretty open ended. Some rocks will amplify your magic (maybe your lumos spell is brighter than normal), some will dull it, others might have no effect or some odd side-effect like, for example, a ringing sound when magic is done nearby. Have fun with it. Try not to hurt each other.

1 Clark Dill, Science Club Coordinator Stand back, we are going to try science! 277 Clark Dill, Science Club Coordinator 1 5

Jack Spencer

March 09, 2016 11:36 AM

I like science. by Jack Spencer

Jack was the typical Aladren: he loved academics, researching and reading. He also loved sports and being active outside. The Aladren Quidditch team was strong and he was easily convinced they were the best team (and house) out of all the others. Next year his younger sister would be joining him and he wasn’t certain he was ready for that. Sonora had become a haven for him. If Lily ended up joining Pecari or Teppenpaw--she most certainly wasn’t going to join his house--Jack was afraid she’d cause havoc and create messes that he’d have to clean up. It would be like home all over again, except this time she’d have accomplices. Jack shivered whenever he thought of it, like a nightmare.

This year he wanted to get more involved with different clubs. It would not only impress universities, but he would also have the chance to get to know other people. He wasn’t very close to his peers; the closest friend he’d consider here was his room-mate Barnaby, but even then they weren’t best mates or anything. Jack hoped to find others who shared his similar interests through these clubs.

One particular club he’d been intrigued by was the Science Club. Obviously it was an Aladren who was in charge of the club, and Prefect no less. Jack hoped to be as ambitious and proactive by the time he was a fifth year. Though he knew he wasn’t a natural leader, Jack believed he could achieve anything if he worked hard enough. The only boring bit of Science Club was the lecture at the beginning of each meeting. However, Jack loved the experiments they were allowed to do and he looked forward to it. Though he enjoyed reading and Book Club, doing activities and experiments was more fun than sitting around discussing literature.

Thinking about clubs made him think about Lily again and how much trouble she would be in a club like Science. Lily would have to take care of herself when she came to Sonora. He wasn’t going to coddle her here; at least, he would try not to. It would be difficult breaking habits he’d grown up practising.

Today’s lesson was about geology. Rocks and dirt. Jack liked to climb rocks and play in the dirt as much as any other wizard, but he had never been interested in studying it before. However, when Clark talked about how rocks and dirt could affect magical potency, Jack’s interest was piqued. He’d never thought about that before nor tested it. He sat and listened to Clark’s enthusiastic lecture, hoping to find something more to intrigue him. However, listening to him rant on about rocks and such wasn’t nearly as interesting as professors lecturing about magic, so Jack slowly tuned out towards the end.

Once the boring bit was over, Jack took a copy of Clark’s lecture notes, eager to begin experimenting. He started with the stone he’d been sitting on. If it affected magical potency, well, that would most certainly be very interesting and something he would have to look into further. “Lumos!” Jack’s wand lit up, but it looked as bright as it usually did. “Maybe I have to be sitting on it? Or my wand has to be touching it? Or maybe this stone doesn’t work?” he muttered to himself.

40 Jack Spencer I like science. 299 Jack Spencer 0 5

John Umland

March 14, 2016 8:29 PM

You may have come to the right place, then. by John Umland

Even someone with no social life, no meddling adults, and no reasons to feel he should focus on this or that could not read everything worth reading, at least not this century. Since John was a person who enjoyed none of those luxuries, geology was a subject he was fairly clueless about. He thought he might be able to speculate a tiny bit from what he reviewed of his old physical science book notes before the meeting and the fragments he’d picked up along the way from going over Ancient Runes this year, but he had never made a focused study of the subject for its own sake. He knew little more than the three broad classifications of rock. Earth science was one of his weak points in general, which was why he was quite excited to hear what Clark had found out about it.

He would have been happy to do so under – well, most circumstances, anyway, but he had to admit, he also looked forward to Science Club meetings these days just for the opportunity to spend time in a group that wasn’t his challenge group. Here, more than anywhere else at Sonora, he felt like he fit in. As the meeting began, he found a comfy-looking rock to prop up against while he listened to the lecture, smiling slightly as it began. It was always fun to listen to Clark talk, though he had to be careful not to get too caught up in his friend’s enthusiasm and end up committing to huge projects he didn’t really have time for on subjects that were far afield from his interests or even knowledge.

This subject, though, sounded like it might just share some ground with something he was - very reluctantly - interested in. He took out his right-pocket notebook and jotted down Compos. of rocks/soil? Age of rocks of type? Multiple metals?

One of those things everyone just accepted the same way they accepted that gravity made things fall was that gold was resistant to – almost – all magic, and that metals in general were…special, metal-charming was a highly regarded specialty for a reason. There was a reason beyond tradition, after all, why wizards didn’t use paper money. Something which occurred to him as Clark talked, though, was another of those inescapable facts: the fact that strong magic shorted out electronics, which ran on electricity, which gold was an excellent conductor of. He’d read that in his first year, trying to figure out why it was so special as he tried to reason his way through Transfiguration with texts more recent than Aristotle. When he combined that fact with the fact that magic was customarily channeled through a piece of wood bound to a bit of animal….

He shrugged, stretching his shoulders while standing in place, as an idea tried to form. He couldn’t say for sure if the mere presence of good conductors, particularly in a setting highly saturated in magic even by magical school standards, was the thing that would have the effect if there was one, too many other substances were in play and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get exact percentages, but….

He scrawled a last note, switching to code, before putting the notebook away. He could play with other ideas later, maybe even with Clark’s help – it was related to what Clark was researching, plus his research might eventually involve asking someone to jinx him at least twice and that was not something he would not invite just anyone to do – but this was Clark’s project right now and he needed to focus on the task they’d been set. Lighting his wand was about as safe as a spell as there was, so he stepped away from his rock to cast the spell and refresh his point of reference, cupping his hand around the end of the wand so he could get a better idea of how bright it was, and then turned it off before looking around at the examples (did geologists call them specimens? He honestly couldn’t remember if he’d ever known that). At the next rock, Jack Spencer was talking to himself. John was reminded again why he liked Science Club. Muttering to oneself or breaking off in mid-sentence to scribble notes were much more expected and acceptable behaviors here than they were most places.

“I’m hypothesizing that effects will be most evident when we’re in direct contact with the metals and minerals,” he said. “Though concentration will probably be a factor, too – probably a good idea to cast the charm in the caves while touching each rock and while just standing there in the circles.”

16 John Umland You may have come to the right place, then. 285 John Umland 0 5