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.