I was really looking forward to today and it exceeded my expectations! We left Jerusalem early and headed to Masada in the Judean desert, above the southwest corner of the Dead Sea. The landscape is harsh and the sun is intense. I can’t imagine how hard it would have been for people 2,000 yrs ago to live in this environment, but they did! Masada is one of King Herods marvels of engineering. I can’t believe how big it is, how it was built, and most of all….how they got water! This is definitely an “engineering challenge” that I can share with students.
After Masada, we headed to the Dead Sea. Again, I was stuck by how large the sea is. I also pictured in my head just pulling over on the side of the road and jumping in. I was not expecting a large resort/spa! After another amazing lunch, we headed to the water. The water had a slippery feel to it because of the high salt content. It was warm too. We all had a good time playing in the water. I teach density as well as buoyancy at school and this was an experience that I can definitely bring back to the classroom.