...and then there was the fair...

First of all, I apologize for not posting the past few days, but there was not many "photo ops" since these were the "work days." Jared felt really good about his judging sessions on Monday, and really enjoyed doing it. I was not allowed in...hence, the lack of photos. He said talking to the judges was really easy and was able to answer most of their questions with confidence. Wednesday night, he attended the student mixer where he played games and ate in a carnival-type atmosphere.

Thursday was public viewing, and that was awesome. While Jared talked to many people about his project, I went around and saw some stuff that other kids are working on. Some really intense and awesome projects! Some of the projects may be able to help move some of our current MaST kids along. That night was the Special Awards Ceremony and Friday morning was the Grand Awards...both very long, but really cool. Jared didn't win any awards, but says that the experience has been great, the competition tough, and looks forward to continuing on his scientific path throughout college at UF. I am very proud of him, and look forward to seeing where he goes in life.

Brittany, the other student from our region, won a Special Award from Science Buddies, and a 3rd place category award! We were very happy for her and her father, Jeff, as she has already accomplished so much...and is just a freshman. Looks like MaST will have some good competition for the next few years!

Jared and I would like to once again thank Susan Puchalla, the entire Sarasota Regional Science and Engineering Fair committee, and the Education Foundation for sending us on this trip. It truly has been an amazing experience and we are both the better for it.

So long, from San Jose...

Headin' out to San Francisco...

After all the excitement of the Opening Ceremony,

Jared and I took a day trip to San Francisco before the big judging day Wednesday. We woke up early so we could take the express train there with all of the commuters. We were in San Fran by 9:00 AM...and we had an awesome day. We walked from the Caltrain station to Union Square and ate breakfast at Lori's Diner...our best breakfast yet!

We got a few shots of the Dewey Monument and then hopped on a Cable Car to Fisherman's Wharf. Jared had never been to Frisco, so this was his first Cable Car experience...and of course we had to ride standing up off the side. Got close to a few objects on the street, but didn't get hit!

Fisherman's Wharf is a really cool area, and we spent a couple of hours there. There were a bunch of different characters, sea lions, weird shops, and fresh crab (delicious!). Great views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. There's also an arcade with a bunch of antique games where Jared an I spent a little time...of course he beat me in almost any game we played...I must be getting old.



We got lunch at In-N-Out, my favorite burger joint (none in Florida), went to Ghirardelli Square, and then rode the bus to the Golden Gate Bridge. We ended up walking the whole thing and coming back...and it was really cool. I have been to San Fran twice before, and had never done it. We had really amazing views of the city and Alcatraz, and you end up realizing it's really high up! Definitely worth it if you ever go there.

Form there we rode the bus and thought we were going to Golden Gate Park...but ended up passing the stop, so we turned around and went straight to the Giants/Padres game at AT&T Park. We had really cool seats in the "Splash Zone," which backs up to the Bay. It was an awesome experience...we had Garlic Fries and ballpark food, slid down the giant Coke Bottle, and watched some good baseball. We left early so Jared could get back in time to get some good sleep before "Judgment Day," and hopped back to the train to San Jose. It was a very exciting day and a lot of fun. San Francisco is an awesome city and I would recommend it for vacation to anyone!

Stay tuned for more science tomorrow...

Day 2: Google and Opening Ceremony

What an awesome day! We woke up and went to breakfast at a diner. Then we went and experienced all the ISEF activities at the Convention Center. The displays were so cool and interactive. There's a digital graffiti wall, a DJ station, and an Expo where different companies set up displays...including Rock Band and Wii (Jared did beat me, though). The Army had a display, so we had to get a pic of Jared in a Bullet proof vest.







Google has a display that's really awesome. You can drive a robot using an Android phone, play with all of their Apps, sit in the car they take all the Street Maps pics with, and use Google Earth on a huge surrounding flatscreens. We zoomed into Mount Everest, and it actually felt realistic. We also got our picture with the inventor of USB from Intel, Ajay Bhatt.



Then we ate a quick snack/lunch and headed out to go on our tour of Google and the Computer History Museum. Google was really awesome inside...although it looks like they have a lot of stuff to goof off with and are teated very well. They have exercise rooms, laundromats, pool tables, foosball tables, 17 cafeterias, and some really cool stuff in development. No pictures are allowed inside, but I took an outside shot. After visiting Google, we went to the Computer History Museum. Not the most exciting museum in the world, but pretty educational (also half the musem was closed off).

We made it back in time to walk with the other Sarasotans down to San Jose State University for the Opening Ceremony dinner...some good buffet style food. We had some time to kill before the Ceremony started, so we found the Student Union, and you guessed it, bowled a game (kind of a MaST tradition).

The Opening Ceremony was AWESOME! There were some very cool performances beforehand. There were a lot of countries, and they had kids from each come on stage. Larry Paige, the co-founder of Google, mad a guest appearance. The head of Intel gave a talk and some of the Intel "Rock Stars" gave a really cool panel discussion. But the highlight of the ceremony must have been when the director of the Society for Science was giving her talk. She was highliting a few projects, saying "we have projects ranging from .... to ...." She did that for only about 8 projects, and the last one she said "and we have a project where flexible body armor was made using a shear-thickening fluid." I gave a little shout...but it was really cool to hear Jared's project as one of only 8 described during the evening (Over 1600 students are here, by the way). Hopefully it's a shape of things to come. :-)


Well, after a day filled with excitement, we went back to the convention center and checked the final violation list. Jared's project was not on it, so it looks like we're good to go to San Francisco tomorrow!

Do you know the way to San Jose?

This morning, Jared Cater and I (Andy Harshman) set out from Tampa, FL to go to the INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, California...10 years after I was a participant in Detroit! I decided we should document this trip, and a blog is the easiest and most effective way to do so.

Well, Jared's mom picked me up and dropped us up at the airport...thanks Mrs. Carter! Easiest check-in ever, so we had some time to kill. Jared brought his "Bright Future" card game he won at the Regional Science Fair and we played it. Here's a picture of Jared...you can see how much fun the game is!
We had a smooth flight and had a 2 hour layover in Denver, where we had burritos for lunch.

Then after another flight, we landed in San Jose! The baggage was all there, and the shuttle picked us up right away and dropped us off at the Sainte Claire Hotel...a really nice place!

We registered with the other student from Sarasota County, got Jared's modified abstract approved, his project set up, and his display has already been approved! There are a lot of cool projects being set up. Jared is truly in his element (Boron), and it's really cool to see so many kids who truly care about science and making a difference. It is an awesome experience for both of us, and we are both very grateful to Susan Puchalla for coordinating the Regional Science Fair and our Travel arrangements and to the Education Foundation for funding it. What an awesome thing for them to do!

We ate dinner at Johnny Rockets and Jared went to the student pin exchange and then back to the hotel for some shut eye! Another busy day tomorrow...Google Tour and Opening Ceremony!