The Out in Nature and Into Science Project Week, led by Upper School science teachers Melissa Dowling and Tressa Wilde, spent five days in Grand Teton National Park, a vast and mountainous landscape near Jackson, Wyoming. We spent the week trekking in cross-country skis and snowshoes and were rewarded with beautiful views and a solid workout.

We left our dorms at 9 every morning, and spent the day at different places around the national park. We were guided by Teton Science School staff members. On the cross-country ski days, our group had fun hiking up hills and skiing down them. This led to a lot of P-Week members, including me, falling face-first and involuntarily eating snow.

“I really enjoyed learning cross-country skiing and getting to explore the national park through that,” junior Isabella Carney said.

Perhaps the most challenging part of the week began as soon as we arrived at Teton Science School on Monday morning: We all put our phones in a bin and didn’t get them back until Friday.

Although at times it felt bizarre and annoying to have no technology—on multiple occasions I panicked that my phone wasn’t on me while it was sitting in a bin in a closet—It allowed me to form deeper connections with my classmates and explore some strange time-passing activities.

“It was definitely a unique experience going tech-free,” Isabella said. “But once I was used to it after a day or two, I really appreciated the opportunity to live in the moment.”

Junior Shiv Opal also appreciated the opportunity. “The lack of phones really made me get to know the people in my P-Week a lot better,” he said.