Brain Pickings Etc.

I just spent a few days in Los Alamos for the Supercomputing Challenge/GUTS Expo. It was exhausting. Granted I didn't sleep much on Sunday night, I shouldn't be this tired for the amount of sleep I got, especially considering the naps I took. That is, if you don't look at what I was doing.
I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Back and forth between buildings, up and down stairs... it was also mentally exhausting, if only for the reason that there was no stop. I did one thing, and then I did another, and then another another another, usually multiple things at once.

The Expo is essentially to showcase all of the Challenge projects. The projects are presented to judges and some of them are picked for awards. In the past, the Challenge was both high school and middle school. This year, we tried to have GUTS as the middle school half of the Challenge, without the competition, and without the judges being quite as harsh as they are on the Challenge students.
There were still some teams of middle school students competing in the Challenge, which was fine. In fact, there were a couple middle school teams who did very well and won multiple awards. One of them got second in the whole competition. Our view is if they want to compete at the same level as the high schoolers, have at it. They can be in the Challenge. And if not but they still want to be involved, they can be in GUTS.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to see any of the presentations. I remember I was insanely busy last year too, stuck with unofficial chaperon duty of the three middle schoolers who were on my team. Their teacher... well... yeah. Let's not go there. Unbelievable as I find it, I was twice as busy this year.
I like watching presentations of people's work. If they don't care about what they're presenting, than the presentation is crap. These students have been working on projects that they (usually) chose themselves and have a deeper understanding of and interest in. Last year I got to see a couple presentations, if only pieces of them. This year I only heard about them while taking notes in the Judge's Caucus. I missed that.

What I did get to do, however, was the exit interviews. I enjoyed that, and not (just) because I got to sit down. I regularly pick people's brains on any number of subjects. Whether they know anything is beside the point, since I'm usually just looking for second (or third or fourth or fifth) opinions, fresh ideas, or a general overview of how a subject is thought about.
The exit interviews were the same thing, if slightly more structured. I sat GUTS kids down and asked them questions about their experience in the program. The main questions were predetermined, but if I wanted to know more, or the answer wasn't clear, or anything of the sort, I was Encouraged to explore the topic. It was Awesome. I actually am interested in what the kids have to say, and in the research, and in their opinions, and anything to do with any of it. As long as they're genuine, I love to know. I'm hoping I'll get to do more of the same.

More later. Maybe. If I remember.


5/5, The More:
As Nick mentioned, I fell asleep through part of the awards ceremony. Through an award I was supposed to go up for... oops. ^^;
(Also some minor copy and clarity edits.)