Arrival at YVR for Pickup

Team South Fraser is on Flight AC 0345 departing Ottawa at 6:00 PM and arrive in Vancouver at 8:15 PM. 

Please be at YVR at 8:15 PM to pick up your child. 

Awards Ceremony

Today was another public viewing day. However it did start out with a Team BC photo in front of the Carleton University sign. There were approximately 100 people from BC that gathered together for the team image. Right after, all Finalists were off to be at their projects for a public viewing. Alex's grandparents surprised him when they showed up in the Exhibit Hall. The Finalists remained at their projects for a short time before they all started to socialize with each other. That's really and important experience at the Canada Wide Science Fair - making new friends with similar interests. They were let out at noon for lunch and afterwards, we came back to our residences to change into more formal attire for the awards ceremony. 

We departed Carleton at 2:15 and arrived at the EY Convention Centre at 2:45. We waited in line for 45 minutes before being let into the auditorium. Once everyone was seated, the ceremony began. South Fraser did well this year:

Stuti & Cheryl - Junior Bronze
Sana - Intermediate Bronze
Fawzan - Intermediate Bronze
Natasha - Senior Bronze

The Awards ceremony ended as quickly as it had begun. After waiting in line for another 30 minutes, the entire group moved into the next hall for dinner. I thought it would be great to sit a the table closest to the buffet even if it were Table 75 of about 85. I figured they be drawing numbers. Instead they started of with the single digits and bounce around the mid 20s and mid 30s. Eventually, they just said that all groups who have not been called to go now. Well, being the table closest to the buffet line-up did have its advantages. 

Dinner was tasty with an assortments of salads, vegetables and cheeses. The main entrès were either lasagna, roast chicken, or roast beef. We had a choice of rice or mashed potatoes and of course there were roasted vegetables to go on the side. Dinner was tasty. 

As dinner concluded, most of our group went out to the lounge to chat while others remained in the dining hall to dance. We relaxed for about 45 minutes and we boarded the first bus back to the residences. Instructions are to pack tonight being ready to go right after lunch.

Video: Highlights of Team South Fraser at CWSF 2018

Pubic Viewing

Not much to report today. Finalists went down to the Exhibit Hall and tended their projects for public viewing. They did this for a full day with a two hour lunch break. While the Finalists were presenting, Susan and I were in a meeting all morning with all the BC Delegates. Once public viewing had concluded at 530 PM, we met for dinner and were able to have some down time. 

Stuti was joined by her cousin. Natasha had her uncle, aunt, and two cousins come by to take her out for gelato and see the Ottawa Tulip Festival. The kids have had a long day. There was a surprise presentation at 8PM tonight with a Magician. That lasted about an hour and we are all back in our residences for bed.

On a more comical side, Susan and I have noticed that Alex paces when he's on the phone. He goes around and around in circles while deep in conversation. 

Tour Day

Today was tour day. We departed from Carleton University at 9AM this morning and was dropped off at the Canadian Museum of History. We never did make it in. We did however, go up to the viewpoints so we can get some great pictures of Parliament Hill. Too bad it a slightly cloudy this morning. After spending some time up there, we made our way across the Alexandra Bridge (we were actually in Gatineau,  Quebec) back to Ottawa to meet our guide at the Peace Tower in the Centre Block. We walked past the Fairmont Chateau Laurier and the Ottawa Lock Station. These two structures are rich in history and significance in Canadian culture. 

As mentioned yesterday, we had arranged a private tour of Parliament's Centre Block with South Surrey/Semiahmoo MP, Gordie Hogg. He asked his assistant Dave and his intern Anika to meet us outside the Peace Tower. We arrived on the Hill early and took some pictures of the Centennial Flame and the ornate design around the edge of this fountain. This location also affords a complete front and centre view of the Centre Block. 

                                          

Passing through the security check is even worse than at the airport. They were very scrutinizing since the Parliamentary attack in 2014. In fact, all security officers have side arms and body armour now. Once we completed our check, we went to the foyer outside the House of Commons. Although Parliament was not in session, we still managed to get some great images of the lower chamber. 

We meandered our way through the corridors and ended up in the Library of Parliament. This is the only structure from the original building which did not succumb to fire in the early 1900s. This was by far one of the prettiest rooms at Parliament.

After walking through the Parliamentary Library, we made our way up to the Senate chamber. This upper chamber too was beautiful.

Once our tour concluded we inquired about lunch in the Parliamentary Café. Anika, who by the way is a lovely former student from Sullivan Heights Secondary who just completed her second year at SFU, inquired if she were able to bring guests of Gordie Hogg in for lunch. We had a delicious meal for lunch that was fairly inexpensive. This was the VIP treatment that many Finalists at the CWSF were not afforded. 

Once lunch concluded, Anika walked us to her office at the Justice Building just west of Parliament Hill. This is where we said our good-byes to a wonderful young lady who was engaging and quite knowledgeable of all things Parliament. We carried forward to the Supreme Court of Canada across the street. Again, we had to go through security before entering in to the building. We arranged to join the French Language Tour at 2:30, but everybody, save one, were English speakers. The Francophone said that he would be happy to have the tour conducted in English. 

We visited the Federal Courtroom first. The architecture is heavily influenced by Art Deco and Greco-Roman buildings. The Supreme Courtroom was up above and is even more beautiful. 

Once we finished our tour, we went for a long stroll around Ottawa. We were to meet the rest of the CWSF crew at City Hall to make our way to the University of Ottawa. There we had a BBQ dinner and a couple of workshops. All of our Finalists didn't receive their preferred workshops so Susan and I decided to spend more time downtown and make our way the the ByWard Market. We spent a few hours down hear enjoying the sight and smells of Ottawa. This area was lively and upbeat. We had completed about 24,000 steps today with all our walking. Everyone was exhausted and made our way back to the University of Ottawa to catch our bus back to Carleton University. 

  

Judging Day

The Finalists were up early this morning in anticipation of their day of judging. While sleepy-eyed, Team South Fraser got into breakfast for 7:30 and once we were done, we made our way down to the Exhibit Hall. 

Judging started at 8:30 and continued until noon. Delegates were not allowed to enter once judging began.  They were evaluating for Divisional Awards during this time. Most of our team's judging experiences were positive this morning. Sana had an interesting one where the judge kept asking to her about properties of light when she presented a project on radioactive particles and clothing. 

When morning judging ended, the team came back up to the cafeteria for lunch. We were able to debrief with everyone about their judging experiences. Susan and I are so pleased that they were very positive experiences. Judging is exhausting ordeal so once we were done with lunch, the team went back to their residences to rest-up a bit before afternoon judging. 

They made their way back down to the Exhibit Hall for a 2:00 start. Now the judging focused on the Special Awards. Again very positive experiences. Natasha did have a judge who came five minutes late. This judge only had ten minutes to evaluate Natasha, however, with her tardiness, the next judge couldn't get in. After two more minutes, the next judge insisted he come in. In the end, Natasha felt that neither judge received their full allotment of time to give a proper evaluation. 

Afternoon judging continued until 5:30. As the all Finalists exited the Exhibit Hall, they were greeted with cheers from all of the delegates. It was noisy and full of excitement. 

After passing the gauntlet of Delegates, we made our way back up to the residences to freshen up and make our way to the Canadian Museum of Nature. We arrived and lined up for another buffet style dinner. We enjoyed our dinners out in the courtyard of the museum. The sun was going down and it was getting cold. When everyone was done with their meals, we ventured inside to the museum.

There were six main galleries inside: The Arctic Gallery, Water Gallery, Earth Gallery, Mammal Gallery, Bird Gallery and Fossil Gallery. Unfortunately, the Fossil Gallery was closed due to a private function. The team was able to let loose and relax here after a long day of judging. As we ventured through the various galleries, there was a lot of laughter and fun among our team. Before we left, we entered the Water Gallery where there was a balloon animal artist. Team South Fraser was like a kindergarten class seeing balloons for the first time. They loved their balloon animals.  

Tomorrow is a day of touring Ottawa. Susan contacted South Surrey's MP, Gordon Hogg to tell him about Natasha and the rest of the team from Surrey (and Delta).  We were curious if we could be invited to sit in on Parliament. Gordon said Parliament was not in session, but was kind enough to ask his assistant to arrange a tour of Parliament for South Fraser tomorrow. The team was really excited to receive this opportunity. Only four groups from the CWSF had been selected to get a tour. Ours was not one of them, but that community contact paid off well. The kids felt special...which they are.