Miss Martinez
All about Miss Martinez amartinez5@eaglepassisd.net
I was raised here in Eagle Pass and I attended Memorial Jr. High from 7th to 9th grade.
After graduating from C.C. Winn High School, I attended Texas A&M University. While there, I majored in Wildlife and Fisheries Science. As a junior, I traveled abroad to South Africa to study eco-tourism and wildlife.
After graduating, I returned to Eagle Pass to earn my teaching certificate and began working in the classroom. I then earned a Masters of Education at Sul Ross State University, Rio Grande College. I hope to start working on my EdD soon because I love to learn!
Study Abroad in South Africa
Mission Control at Teacher Space Camp.
Meeting Homer Hickam, writer of Rocket Boys that became the movie October Sky.
In Telluride, Colorado during G - Camp, a geology field camp for teachers.
All About SloMo
SloMo is our class mascot. He loves science and has been with Miss Martinez for 6 years. (He will be 6 years old in November.) Students can follow SloMo on Instagram (@slomoluvsscience), Snapchat (slomothesloth7) and YouTube (SloMo The Sloth). SloMo allows me to share my adventures with my students through social media. I wish I could take all my students to all the cool places I go, but I cannot. SloMo allows me to virtually take my students along with me!
National Geographic
Recently, I became a National Geographic Certified Educator! This allows me to network with other teachers from all over the world and participate in professional development that helps me become a better teacher. I have also been chosen as a Grosvenor Teacher Fellow and have an upcoming expedition!
The National Geographic film crew in Jackson, Wyoming.
SloMo at a National Geographic teacher professional development in Jackson, Wyoming.
PolarTREC
During the summer of 2019 I traveled to Northern Alaska to help researchers studying the effect of climate change on plants in the Tundra. I spent 2 weeks in Barrow, Alaska and 3 weeks at Toolik Field Station, which is along the Dalton Highway (think Ice Road Truckers!) Check out the Resources Tab above to view a virtual field trip I created about my experience. Every object in the picture links to a YouTube video I made while out in the Arctic field!
Miss Martinez at Point Barrow, the most northern point in the United States. That is the Arctic Ocean behind her
PUFINS at Sea
This 14 day expedition aboard the RV Atlantis allowed the team to collect deep-sea sediment cores off the coast of New Jersey and Nova Scotia.
Read the blogs here.
From the PUFINS site:
Scientists hope to recover cores from the Holocene period (the last ~12,000 years) to reconstruct sea-surface temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean by examining the changes in alkenones recorded in the fossils found in the sediments. This data will allow researchers to address questions about the “Holocene Conundrum”, an issue hotly debated in the climate community, where cooling trends are observed in the North Atlantic during an otherwise warming world.
Miss Martinez digging up a dinosaur leg fossil.
Paleontologists of the DIG Field School.
Digging up Dinosaurs
A couple summers ago I had the opportunity to go out into the field with paleontologists and dig up dinosaur bones! The DIG Field School takes teachers out every summer to learn all about the past of Hell Creek Montana.
Teacher at Sea
In 2012 I traveled aboard the Exploration Vessel Nautilus as a part of Dr. Robert Ballard's research team. Tune in to nautiluslive.org to watch a live video feed of remotely operated submarines Hercules and Argus exploring the bottom of the ocean. You can submit a question one of the other educators at sea will answer. Watch Dr. Ballard's TED talk here: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/on-exploring-the-oceans-robert-ballard
JOIDES Resolution
E/V Nautilus
Zooming with students while onboard the JOIDES Resolution.
Again, in 2015 I was able to travel for two months as an Education and Outreach officer aboard the JOIDES Resolution. This expedition was tasked with starting a hole to drill to the mantle! While onboard I gave students tours of the ship through Zoom and answered questions about the science going on aboard the ship.
Click here to visit SloMo's Instagram
Check out SloMo's Instagram @slomolovesscience
for more adventures!