When CAST AWAY producers wanted a survival consultant for Tom Hank’s tropical island scenes, they came to BOSS. When National Geographic Explorer wanted to film outdoor survival with industry experts, they came to BOSS. And when people feel the desire to learn traditional skills and explore the wilderness without dependence on modern equipment…they come to BOSS.

Since 1968, the Boulder Outdoor Survival School, the oldest and largest survival school in the world --- known to most simply as BOSS --- has delivered life-changing, wilderness-based experiences to adventurous people all over the world. Based out of corporate headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, we have a field office in Southern Utah’s small town of Boulder.

BOSS Courses range from 1 to 28 days in length in Utah, Colorado, and Mexico, and students range from 18 to 70 years old. Courses include field courses, skills courses, explorer courses, and custom courses. One of the reasons BOSS classes are small is to ensure that quality is maintained and that each person is given our full attention.

At BOSS, we recognize that the quality of your experience depends on the quality of your instructors. All instructors are selected for their sound judgment, strong leadership, interpersonal and communicative skills, and their broad knowledge of traditional living crafts and arts. And all instructors are offered a series of refresher-courses each year to help keep all relevant skills in top form.

True, you may never need to know how to make fire from sticks, or how to build shelters from leaves, but there is a part of all of us that benefit from this knowledge. It is only with this understanding of “primitive” philosophies and the wilderness that our culture can successfully move forward. If you are interested in walking along these paths of ancient wisdom and skill, we look forward to seeing you on the trail with us at BOSS.

Do Dolphins Have a Language?

We know that dolphins make unique sounds, but is that a language? If you’re interested in it, you are welcome to the activity recommended by Denise Herzing!

About Denise Herzing

Denise Herzing of Florida Atlantic University (FAU) is the organiser and research director of the Wild Dolphin Project, which has a goal of understanding dolphins’ social system, behaviour, and communication. For over thirty years, she has spent each summer watching Atlantic dolphins carefully in the Bahamas.

Activity Guide:

Purpose:

Dolphins use sound to communicate, but they can’t make sounds in the way we humans make. Out of the water dolphins can make different sounds by changing the shape of their blowhole (呼吸孔), which is similar to changing the shape of our own mouths. Underwater, though, they use a totally different system, and they make sounds without letting any air out. You can learn more about how that works here. In this activity we’re going to try to talk like a dolphin.

Materials:

Nothing! But find a partner, maybe a brother or sister or a parent — or if you have one, a dog or cat. After all, this activity is about communication between humans and animals.

How To Do It:

Take a deep breath, hold your nose to keep it shut, and try to communicate with your partner. If your partner is a pet, try saying its name or asking it to “come here”.

When you’re done, think about what made it hard, what solutions you found, and think why dolphins may have developed to communicate in this way.

Then listen to sounds from all kinds of sea animals and compare your dolphin sound to theirs.