Kent State biology and photo students spent three weeks in Costa Rica over winter break, conducting research experiments on plants and animals, documented by the photo students. The pho- tographers roamed the country, looking for interesting stories and immersing themselves in the lives of the natives and nature in Costa Rica. After spending the first night in San Jose, Costa Rica’s capital, the group began the first leg of a four-part journey.

The first stop on the trip was the seasonal dry forest and marshlands of Palo Verde National Park. With temperatures into the 90s, it was the hottest stop on the trip. After four days, the group packed up and moved high into the mountains. They stayed at a private research station in the cloud rainforest of the Alberto Manuel Brenes Biological Reserve. Temperatures stayed in the 60s, and humidity stayed at a constant 100 percent with regular rain showers everyday.

Next, the group descended from the mountains into the low- land rainforests on the Caribbean side of the country. This rainforest research area is one of the most famous in the world, with hundreds of world-renowned researchers traveling to the small national park of La Selva.

The biology students, who gathered field research, and the photo students will present their projects about Punta Marenco and its wildlife in Franklin and Cunningham halls at the end of the semester.