Saturday, May 22, 2010

Day 7 - School Viewing, Awards, Banquet, Dance!

Just when we start to think that they couldn't fit any more into a single day, somehow they find a way to do just that.

The bonus to start our day was the fact that the organizers arranged the "early bus" group (ie, us) to change with the "late bus" group for the last two days. So the extra 45 minutes of sleep was appreciated by all!
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Today started with a trip to the project center for a morning of elementary school tours. Not too many of the elementary kids were very interested in the projects, but there were some occasional questions. At noon this viewing was over, and it was back to the Trent campus for lunch. After lunch it was time to get dressed and prepare for the Awards Show. Off onto a short bus ride again, and then into the awards hall - a full house. The awards show started right on time and remained fast paced - there were lots of prizes and lots of winners!
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It wasn't long before Team BASEF members started to show their stuff - Calvin started out the podium march with both a Special Award and a Bronze Medal.
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Andrew picked up an Honourable Mention for his division.
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Justine received a Silver Medal.
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Joy also received a Silver Medal.
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And Team BASEF's hero of the hour, Patrick, was called up to the Gold Medal winners podium to receive the top prize for his division, Junior Engineering project.
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After all this excitement there wasn't much time to rest - a few quick family photos, then back on the buses and back to the Trent Campus - and off to the Awards Banquet. Dinner was very good, there were a few speeches and thank-yous, and then we were off to prepare for the next event - the Dance Party. From 8pm to 11pm the majority of the team were partying away, though some of the kids were feeling the exhaustion and called it an earlier night.
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All in all an exciting and fun day for all. Team BASEF 2010 is a great bunch of students, with some truly incredible projects. Those that didn't win an award today are still among the top highest fraction of all science fair projects across the country, and the entire team deserves praise and recognition for their hard work. Well done!
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