Have you ever done research on a topic you are passionate about, or did a deep dive on anything you like? I did a project called Capstone that is just that. My Capstone was about the Manhattan Project. I came up with a main question, What was the creation of the atomic bomb, and how did atomic spies help to save America. I had smaller questions to break this down, such as what the research and materials were, who the scientists were, who the atomic spies were and what they did, and what missions people went on. The process to create my presentation had a lot of parts, but overall, it was really fun!
When I was doing research to learn more about my topic, it was a lot more difficult than I thought. I had to go to individual websites to answer each of my sub-questions. I found many books that helped me along the way as well. When I was doing research for my first sub-question, I remembered that I had read a book called Bomb, by Steve Sheinkin, and I remember how it talked about how the atomic bomb was made physics wise. I got a lot of research out of that book. In my second sub-question, I used Norwich University’s website, and it gave me information on all the scientists individually! For my third sub-question, I found websites about some of the most important atomic spies. The websites gave me information on their betrayal, and all the information they stole from the Americans. I learned that the atomic spies were working for the Soviet Union, and were forced to gather classified American information on weaponry. Lastly, in my fourth sub-question, all the information I got about missions was in Bomb. Research was difficult, but when I found the right sources, it made life easier.
When I was doing my Capstone Essay, as shown here, I used all the research I had, and made my research into an intro, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. I had around two pages of research for each sub-question, so you can imagine how long my essay might be. In my opinion, the essay was the hardest part of the process. It was not easy to plug research in an essay. When I had finished my essay, I realized that after I timed it, it was way too long. I had a fifth sub-question, and I had to delete it, because it would make my essay shorter, and make it sound better. My essay was different from what I thought it would be. I thought that the essay was going to be pretty short. I was very wrong. After my first body paragraph, I was already over a page. Even though the end result of my essay was very long, I still was able to manage.
My script, as shown here, was a long process. Using some techniques from an immigration script, I was in good shape. First, I needed to choose a TED Talk, or a WeVideo/Movie. I chose a TED Talk, because I thought that it would suit me, and my topic better. I felt that there would be more, and better pictures on Google Slides, than on WeVideo. Choosing a TED Talk infinitely made me feel better about the script making. I started with my script by copying and pasting my introduction from my essay, to the template. While I was doing this process, I had to make some changes because of the time limit I had. I copied and pasted, then re-adjusted the wording of my slide. I also had to figure out what pictures I thought might match what I am saying. Because my essay was so long, I had to cut it down to fit the time frame. After I finished each part of the script, I timed it. Then, when I was finished, I had a time of 5:45, which was perfect.
When I was making my slideshow, it was decently nerve-racking. I knew that everything would have to be perfect, and centered, and precise, and professional. I made my slideshow pretty quick, so I could be really prepared, and completely memorized, come the day of CapCon. The way I practiced was by doing one slide at a time. Once I felt like I completely memorized that slide, I practiced how I would really do it ten times. This made me feel really prepared. When I had finished doing this, I practiced doing ten slides at a time. Finally, I did the entire thing thirty-eight times before I felt completely ready. The week before CapCon, I practiced doing it at home every night. I felt very ready.
Overall, my Capstone experience was not as difficult as I thought. I was able to complete everything at a good time, and I never felt rushed, or upset because I wasn’t ready. I think that this was a great project for me, because it helped me a lot, with time-management, and much more!
“I laughed another time when they were trying to use a stick to get the rope back. I would have been able to make it but my hands gave out. That was really one of my favorite experiences during the trip. In addition, I got to work with my team to find the best strategy possible because it just feels so good when you execute a plan. Another one of my favorite courses was the Indiana Jones walk. It is very complicated. You have to walk across beams, Climb up a tree, go through the tree, walk across wires and swing on two feet apart swings. Yeah, It’s really hard. I loved this activity because it taught me how much trust I need in myself. You have to test yourself and your ability to balance. On this course I had passed all the thin beams and was working my way up the tree. I had almost reached the top but my balance gave out. I was extremely upset but I knew that I had to try again. I remember my friend named Dowlat complaining that he had fallen on the first beam. He was so upset and said, “I fell on the first one.” That was really funny. The last challenge I loved was the wire walk. There were unlimited strategies to this challenge. I had to crawl on my stomach while trying to get to the checkpoint. We got really lucky because there was a fallen tree and we got to use a pad on the ground to make it easier. I had to think, legs, knees, hands, or stomach. That was my favorite part, getting to choose what strategy to use. These were three of my favorite courses/challenges.