Hi.
This is Aki Watanabe speaking.
I'm a doctoral student studying dinosaur paleontology here at the American Museum of Natural History.
This is my office.
So, I wanted to use Google Glass to show you the types of things that we sort of pack for
the trip.
So, the Mongolia Expedition actually has special significance for the Museum because it really
started with the famous explorer Roy Chapman Andrews who led a series of expeditions to
Central Asia in the 1920s.
So, he's the one who was responsible for finding some of the first dinosaur eggs and dinosaurs
like Protoceratops in the Gobi Desert.
So, he was a key figure in the history of this Museum.
So, let's go to the other side of my desk.
And these are the bags that I'm responsible for carrying to Mongolia.
So, let's start with these two bags here to the left.
So, this first one, believe it or not, is a bag just full of cheese.
And so, this is a bag for all the cheese lovers watching this video.
So, we got different kinds of cheese—gouda cheese...
More cheese here.
We've got Padano.
What's this?
Cheddar cheese.
So, basically, we wiped out half the supply of cheese selection at a grocery store.
So, this bag is just cheese.
And it's actually quite heavy.
And it's just cheese.
And this bag here, next to it, is also a bag for the team.
And it's mostly food.
And we have a lot of sausages here.
So, there are a few dozen in this bag.
And yep, more sausages here.
Looks tasty.
And in this bag, we also have some key equipment for the field.
So, here are GPS devices.
So, we'll be looking for fossils, so the team members will be walking around individually
to look out for any bones that are sticking out of the ground or that are exposed.
So, we'll need some GPS devices to keep track of the site and also to not get lost and be
able to come back to camp or the cars.
Here is a satellite phone.
We're making long distance calls from the middle of nowhere, the Gobi Desert, so it's
crucial equipment to have.
Here we have a couple cell phones that we'll be using when we're in the city, the capital—Ulan
Bator—when we have actually signal and when we're preparing to go out of the city into
the country.
So, it's a communication device until we head out into the Gobi Desert.
We've got some canned beans.
So, these are actually the favorite kind of my advisor and he'll be celebrating his birthday
during the expedition.
So, I thought it'd be nice to bring some of his favorite canned beans.
And we have some DVDs here for saving photos and distributing them to the helpers in Mongolia.
They really like to have photos of the trip at the end.
Walking sticks.
And I think that's it for this bag.
And these two bags- these two bags here are my personal belongings.
So, some documents, a book, toiletries, headphones, pencils, netbooks.
So, these are the kind of things that I'll be using on the flight, the long flight over
to Mongolia.
So, I've got a field notebook, iPod - very important so we don't go insane out in the
field - some snacks for when I'm on the flight.
So, this smaller bag is basically my carry on.
And this bigger backpack has things for when I'm out in the field.
So, we have a field hat, thermos, sleeping bag.
So, this is going to look very familiar for people who camp frequently.
So, these I think are chargers and cables.
Yep.
And these are some of the tools that we'll be using out in the field.
So, gloves, bandanas to cover my mouth when there are sandstorms out in the desert.
So, we don't want sand in our mouth.
Brushes for brushing away sediment around the fossils.
Flashlight and pocketknife.
And these are the clothes, most of the clothes that I'll be wearing out in the field.
Kind of sounds gross, but I'm only bringing two sets of clothes.
And we'll be out in the field for two and a half weeks.
But it's important to pack light.
And these are sort of shoes.
These are sandals for walking around in the Gobi Desert.
And I also have hiking boots that I'll be wearing.
And rain jacket.
Water container.
And additional sets of clothes.
So, I think these are the clean clothes I'll save for when I'm coming back to the U.S.
Don't want people on the airplane to be complaining about my body odor.
And some towels.
And I think there's a poncho here.
So, a lot of things that are pretty normal for anyone who's gone camping.
And then I've got some additional snacks—dried fruits, some nuts, and I about 30 Cliff bars
for the trip.
And so, yeah, these are the things that I'm responsible for carrying.
Other team members are bringing additional types of food, but a lot of the grocery shopping
will be actually done in Mongolia, which is nice.
And so, we don't only eat meat and cheese out there.
We actually cook a lot of foods.
So, we cook gnocchi, sometimes even gourmet food.
So, that's it.
I think I'm ready to head over to Mongolia.