A group of Panther Valley area students recently completed a five-day educational trip to California to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The group, led by Panther Valley High School chemistry teacher Frank Karnish, included seniors Meghan Boyle, Charles Byers, Katrina Horvath, Thad Karnish, Jessica Markovich, Gianna Steber; juniors Emily Newton and Josh Faenza; and sophomore Richard Zabroski.

As part of this trip, the group had a firsthand opportunity to explore technology and engineering of the past by walking the span of the Golden Gate Bridge, touring Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, traveling on the San Francisco Cable Cars, and visiting the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, most famous for retrieving the Apollo 11 astronauts after their successful return from the first moon landing.

They discovered modern technology at the Exploratorium Museum in San Francisco and The Tech Museum of Innovation in Silicon Valley.

At Yosemite National Park, they examined the earth sciences and put technology used by rock climbers into practice.

The trip also included the natural sciences with visits to the Monterey Aquarium, the California Academy of Science, Henry Cowell Redwood State Park, as well as a whale watching cruise and observing the sea lions at Pier 39 in San Francisco.

Karnish said, “It’s been many years since an educational trip was organized for our high school students. It’s always a great learning experience to travel and see the opportunities available to students beyond our immediate area.”