BASEF @ CWSF 2009

Homeward Bound

2009-05-17T22:52:00.009-04:00

Wow... the week has actually drawn to a close. Though everyone is in need of some extra sleep, a sentiment heard over and over again was "I can't believe the week went so fast" and "why does it have to end".

What were the highlights of the week? There were many answers:

"Meeting new people!"
"The tours!"
"Trading pins with other finalists!"
"The Dance was amazing!"
"The food!"
"Feeding apples to Prairie Dogs!"
"The Free Night and Shopping!"
"Star Trek was Amazing!"

Everyone had a good time, and a lot of new friendships were made.

Sunday morning was our latest wake-up time so far - an 8:00am meeting in the hallway, and a leisurely breakfast (having done most packing the night before). At 9:00am we gathered to clear out our rooms, and made way with our project bags and luggage through various twists, turns, elevators and stairways, until we got to some picnic tables near where the buses would be loading. Another fine, sunny Manitoba morning greeted us, so the wait outside was no problem. By 11:30 we were on the bus and headed to the airport.

After grabbing a quick Tim Horton's lunch, we made our way through security and on to the plane for the quick (2 hour) flight home. A smooth landing in a sunny Hamilton, grabbing our bags, and then it was hugs all around as new friends said goodbye. Then it was over - the arrivals lounge was quiet, there were no more roll-calls or headcounts, and Canada-Wide Science Fair was really finished for another year.

Editor's Note from George: Speaking personally, I have to say that I immensely enjoyed this trip and the company of these great kids. This was a terrific bunch of young women and men, and I look forward to what we'll see from everyone in the future. These are kids that can succeed at whatever they set their minds to, and I thank them all for allowing me to share in their experience at the Canada-Wide Science Fair. I hope you all had even just half as much fun as I did.

As always, check out the many photos of our projects and events at our BASEF flickr site !

Public Viewing and Project Teardown

2009-05-17T00:39:00.006-04:00

Saturday began with a 3-hour public viewing of all the projects. A lot of people came to visit, though to be honest a lot of our students have been a bit "talked out" about their projects and found it a bit hard to stay and focus...

Saturday also gave the Delegates (Roz, Tom, Cathy and George) the first real chance to see the projects since they were set up, as during judging there is a strict "no delegates" rule enforced. It was great to see not only the projects of our students, but many of the great projects from around the country. Competition at Canada-Wide was clearly very stiff with lots of excellent projects in all categories.

After lunch it was time for project take-down. Everything went smoothly, and we were out of the exhibit hall (for the last time!) shortly after 2pm. A bit of free time was enjoyed by all, and soon we gathered for a last dinner in the cafeteria.

After dinner there was a bit of music and entertainment, with some of our group spending time in nearby activities such as a game of pool in the "Coffee Shot/Billiards Room", a bit of dancing, and an impromptu picture taking session in the stairway of our Residence with anybody that dared to pass by.

As we settle down for our last night in Winnipeg, our projects are all packed up and waiting for the buses on Sunday morning. It has been a great week, and everyone is tired, but there is also a bit of apprehension of the fact that we will soon be saying goodbye to our new friends for the final (for now!) time tomorrow.

Once again, be sure to check out the latest pictures on the CWSF2009 flickr.com site!

Awards Night!!

2009-05-16T01:58:00.009-04:00

Friday began with school tours through the fair projects. Unfortunately most of the visitors in the tours were not very interested in the projects at the fair, so there was a bit of boredom in our students throughout the morning.

After lunch things got a lot more exciting, however. A quick change into our formal clothes and we were on our way to the Awards Banquet. Our gang got seated and the ceremonies began!

It should go without saying that everyone who made it to the Canada-Wide fair is already a winner, having won at their local and regional fairs, competing out of a total of about 500,000 science fair projects done every year in Canada.

This year's Canada-Wide fair included about 475 projects, and there were 350 awards presented, offering over $1 million in prizes.

Without further delay, here are the Team BASEF winners for 2009:

Sophia and Gillian : Honourable Mention and Bronze Medal
Ryan : Honorable Mention
Madison and Hannah : Bronze Medal
Sylvie and Emily : Bronze Medal

Congratulations to the Team BASEF winners, but even more importantly congratulations to all of Team BASEF for their excellent projects and hard work to make it to the Canada-Wide Science Fair. Good Work everyone!

The Awards Ceremony was followed by an excellent Awards Banquet dinner, and then another Dance that was a hit with many of our team.

The schedule has been keeping everyone very busy this week, so we haven't had as much time to pass along more details, but more information and pictures will be posted shortly. For now, it's time for bed before another busy day tomorrow that includes Public Viewing in the morning, and project take-down after lunch.

Winnipeg Tours Day

2009-05-15T00:34:00.003-04:00

For Thursday our team split up into a number of different tours all over the Winnipeg area. Emily, Sylvie, Kristina, Natalie, Brittany and Zunaira went to the Fort Whyte nature site. Aqsa, Madison and Ryan toured the National Microbiology Laboratory and the Canadian Blood Services Lab. Andjela and Rachael toured the St. Boniface Museum and related First Nations exhibits. Sophia and Tom toured the Boeing Aerospace plant and the Western Canada Aviation Museum. Hannah and Julia visited the Canadian Mint followed by a trip to The Forks historic area. Gillian was off to the Art Gallery. John and George took a tour of the RCMP Forensics laboratory, followed by a trip to Assiniboine Park that included a visit the botanical conservatory and a special guided tour of the Assiniboine Zoo.

The evening's theme was "Manitoba Hoedown", and nearly everyone enjoyed the music and western dancing, getting in to the spirit of things with some lively activity.

Then it's off to bed again, to prepare for the School Tours of the projects on Friday morning, and the anticipation of the Awards Ceremony and Banquet on Friday night. Another busy day to come!

Final Judging Day

2009-05-14T00:01:00.000-04:00

Wednesday is the second (and final!) day of judging for all the students. It's a bit less busy than Tuesday since only special awards are judged today - such as the Interdisciplinary Awards for Environmental projects (qualifying BASEF students include Madison, Hannah, Sophia, Gillian, and Ryan), and Automotive projects (John). A number of other awards such as Astronomy (Sylvie), Australia Youth Science (Sophia and Gillian), Renewable Energy (Brittany), and the Dr. Michael Smith Innovation Award (including Zunaira, Rachael, Julia, Kristina, Aqsa, and Andjela) are also being judged today.

Some Canada-Wide registration issues with Madison and Hannah's special awards list came up in the morning, but after some quick response by Roz and Cathy (and help from the Ontario Zone representative Carolyn Whipple), the issues were resolved, panic averted, and judging proceeded normally.

Unfortunately the great weather we've had since arriving has taken a break, and we woke to a grey and drizzling morning today. Given the great sunny and warm weather so far, I guess we shouldn't complain too much! We're hoping that things clear up before the tours tomorrow, and that the possible snow in the forecast stays far away!

Wednesday night is "Free Night", and the group had some choices - shuttle buses to a local shopping mall were made available and were a popular choice with our kids. The mall presented a wide range of shopping and browsing options, and also a multiplex theatre showing "Star Trek". Alternately, a tour of Winnipeg was chosen by Gillian, Emily and Tom ("you can see stores and movies back at home, but you can only see Winnipeg in Winnipeg!")

Tomorrow is Tour Day, and a lot of very exciting tours are lined up. We may all be getting a bit of sensory overload by now, but we're all looking forward to seeing more of Winnipeg and some of the interesting tours and demonstrations lined up for us.

Check out the latest pictures on the Team-BASEF flickr site!

Judging Day!

2009-05-13T00:36:00.003-04:00

Tuesday was the first day of Judging for the Fair. Everyone was ready to go bright and early, and from 9:00am until 4:30pm (except for an hour for lunch) our team was in the Exhibits hall talking to the judges (or waiting to do so). Our students report that the judges asked lots of questions, which is always a good sign, and seemed very interested in the projects being presented. There will be some more judging tomorrow, primarily for the special award categories.

Following dinner we gathered for a special presentation on International Polar Year with a panel discussion by three of Canada's world-renowned Polar scientists. The audience heard about the leading-edge work being done and had the chance to ask questions of the experts.
We were back at the residence by 9:00pm for some 'early to bed' time, a fact appreciated by our hard-working team!

Check for new pictures on flickr !

Science Activity Day

2009-05-12T09:37:00.003-04:00

Monday was for Science Day Activities at the fair. A number of presentations and demonstrations from a variety of University of Manitoba departments were held throughout the day. UofM does world-class research in many areas including materials, robotics, agriculture, nutrition, and many more. University researchers and professors eagerly shared their work with all the students.

Check out pictures from the fair:

www.flickr.com/photos/team-basef/tags/cwsf2009/

More info to come soon!

Arrival and Set-up

2009-05-11T07:45:00.004-04:00

The team arrived in Winnepeg afer an uneventful flight, and our Winnipeg host committee volunteers were ready and waiting to help us with our project bags and directions. A short bus ride later we were on the University of Manitoba campus, and a quick boxed dinner was waiting. Soon after we were up in our rooms, ready for the night.

Sunday was project set-up day, and everything went off smooth once again. All that practice pays off! No bags were lost or misplaced, so with the expected BASEF-student efficiency all the projects were up and ready for safety check before lunch. Everyone passed safety check smoothly, so it was time to relax a bit.

The evening opening cerimonies were great and enjoyed by all. The Leuitenent Governor of Manitoba was one of many to give us welcome, and we were entertained with some great dances from Chinese, Irish, Fillipino and Ukranian dance performers. Dinner was wonderful too, and it was followed by the student dance that was also a highlight for many of our team.

Pictures will have to wait until we can get a better internet connection - look for them to come soon!

BASEF at Canada Wide Science Fair 2009

2009-03-27T18:29:00.003-04:00

Team BASEF 2009 Prepares for the trip to Canada-Wide

Follow the BASEF Canada-Wide Science Fair trip winners from May 9th to May 17th, 2009. We'll be reporting on the team's progress and activities as the week progresses.

Stay Tuned!