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Juniors and seniors from Gem State Adventist Academy recently embarked on a STEM trip to California for interactive learning about science, technology, math, and engineering.  Their trip included visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Computer History Museum, the Intel Museum, the Apple 2 Campus, the Exploratorium, the California Academy of Sciences, and the Jelly Belly Factory; as well as observing elephant seals on the coast,  tide pooling at Maverick’s Beach, exploring the Redwood Forest, and walking the Golden Gate Bridge.              

The group also visited Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf, as well as spent a day at Six-Flags Discovery Kingdom and touring Pacific Union College.  The trip closed with the Sabbath on Point Reyes Beach for their final get together.    

Junior, Kelton Turner, says, “The most exciting part of the trip for me was visiting the Apple 2 Campus. The attention to detail in the perfectly designed buildings was stunning. Huge glass panels used for walls gave such a feeling of openness and cleanliness, while the perfectly shaped wooden accents of the buildings gave simple, but completely modern look. However, nothing amazed me more than the perfect fusion of design and engineering efficiency. The Spaceship, or Apple’s official headquarters building, can move up to six feet to compensate for ground movement during an earthquake. The building is placed in such a way that the surrounding hills direct wind towards the building so that air conditioning is not needed for nine months out of the year.  Apple’s headquarters can do this and so much more while still having an incredibly simple design and beautifully sculpted architecture. For me, inspiration could be found everywhere there, and it was exactly what I needed to help push myself to get a good education and to make my crazy dreams a reality.”