Day 2 - Project Setup and Welcome

We began the day with an 8am start to head off for breakfast, though there were not any formal events scheduled for most of the day.  After breakfast we grabbed our posters and headed out to the Project Hall to set up our posters on the display boards.

Off to the Project Hall for Setup!

 

Once the team had all the posters and displays set up, it was time for practicing presentations again.  Since there is no public viewing before Judging Day this year, this was the chance for everyone to work on their speeches and get feedback from the rest of the team.  

Soon it was time for lunch, and after lunch we were back at the project hall doing some more practice.  Some of the other regions were still arriving in the morning and early afternoon.  Regional fairs from Northern BC and from the Yukon were arriving after taking 3 or even 4 flights to reach Fredericton from their home regions, up to 22 hours of travelling - so I guess the 6am start for us was not really all that bad!

Once the presentation practice was done for the afternoon, everyone had a bit of free time to relax.  

At 6pm it was over to the Student Centre for the CWSF Welcome Event ... a chance to sample a wide variety of food and activities, and pin trading too.  It was a lot of fun for the entire team to just wander the floors checking out what was going on.

Welcome Event introductions

Chef Michael Smith talks Kitchen Science!

The Sundae Station!

Ummmm

At the Welcome Event

By 9pm everyone was tired, and it was off to bed, to get lots of rest in time for the big day tomorrow... Judging Day!

Day 1 - Travel to Fredericton

It was an early morning - everyone had to be up and at the airport by 6:15 AM ... and everyone was on time and ready to go!

Though that stack of lost luggage behind us in the picture at Toronto Airport's Terminal 1 proved to be a bit of a foreshadowing of some events to come...

It was an uneventful two hour flight from Toronto to Fredericton, with a full plane of science fair students from all parts of the country ... the Northern BC Team was connecting through Toronto after starting from Dawson Creek and flying to Vancouver then Toronto... having been travelling since yesterday afternoon.  I guess our 6:15 AM start wasn't that bad after all...

And hey, you can always sleep on the plane!

Upon arrival at Fredericton airport we were greeted by the CWSF volunteer team, giving us all a very friendly and hearty welcome.

We're here!

A quick bus trip and then we were welcomed at the University of New Brunswick campus, our home for the week.  A short jog to our residence rooms, and then we were off to lunch - and lots of selection for everyone.  The unlimited ice cream was particularly popular!

After lunch we had the chance to get a tour around campus, and learn about both the history and the academic programs of the university.

We even got a glimpse at the Project Hall, were we will be setting up our projects tomorrow...

Soon it was time for dinner - lots of selection once again!  And after dinner it was time to practice our presentations to each other, and then some free time in the lounge - time to meet the Australian delegation!

 

And did we mention the luggage?  Apparently a number of bags were turned back from being loaded on the plane as we left...  three of our team (Katie, plus chaperones Dan and Dana) were missing their luggage when we arrived, as well as a number of students from other teams as well.

Thankfully that resolved itself as the luggage was delivered by the end of the day, to the relief of some of the team...

It's been a long day of travelling, now it's time for sleep...  tomorrow is project setup and more practicing those presentations!

Congratulations Team BASEF 2015

The 2015 Canada-Wide Science Fair Trip Winners

Impressing the judges at BASEF was just the beginning ...  since being selected to represent our region at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, this group of 16 students from grades 7 to 12 have been writing the project reports, re-designing their project display backboards, adding to their binders and notes, practicing their presentations.

And now it's time to pack and get ready to fly out to the national competition being held in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

The signs are already going up in Fredericton !

Our flight departs bright and early on Sunday morning...  stay tuned for our updates throughout the week!

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