The Weather is Perfect

As I was walking in to Wartburg this morning in the mist, I thought that this was perfect weather to get everyone ready for England.  Damp, grey, green.

Flying over the Pond

We will be flying out of Cedar Rapids Airport on Monday afternoon to Chicago with a scarily short lay-over (40 minutes) to London.  Because we are on a group ticket, I don't have access to seat maps, but when you are in coach class, you get what you get.


The London flight will include Dinner and Breakfast with an arrival into London at 8:30 AM GMT.  I will do my best to sleep on the flight over and encourage the students to do likewise.

Where are we going?

As I told my students, it has been nearly 30 years since I have been outside of London, so we will be exploring parts of the beautiful countries of England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland together.  The history of Mathematics and Physics is richly interwoven with the histories of these countries and we will discover these connections together.

London: We start by flying in to London early on the morning of May 1, 2012.  In most parts of Europe, this would be a serious problem, but England celebrates May Day as a Bank Holiday on May 7 (more on this later).  As leader, it is my job to 1-navigate to the Hostel to drop off our bags and 2-keep the students on their feet for the whole first day so that they don't nap off their jet lag.  Hence, we have some great museums to explore, but not as much math for this first day.  Other days, more math and physics.  Activities in London the first time include:

• The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers Museum
• The British Library
• The British Museum
• The National Portrait Gallery
• The Royal Observatory in Greenwich
• A Wren Church Walk
• The Tower of London

Needless to say for those of you who have been to London before, there is no way we can get through all this in three days, but in some ways, our schedule is heavily weather - dependent.

Planning, Planning, Planning

GM 303 - Historical Roots of Math and Physics at Wartburg College is going to the British Isles this May Term, 2012.  Nothing says - you are nearly leaving - like Mr. Dr. asking for the itinerary so he can put together geocaching pocket queries.  I know I am forgetting things, but can't always remember what they are.  One of the things I wanted to do is set up a blog for everyone back home.