Sugar Summer Program/Massachusetts Field Trip

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We are planning a field trip to Massachusetts to visit some technology sites and learn and work with people there.

This page is a collaborative planning site for this trip.

Rough Schedule

1. Leave Rochester on 10 August for the Boston area to collect or meet up with Eric, Tyler, Dave and stay in a youth hostel, Hostelling International-Boston (pending).
2. Work and tour in Boston area
3. Gardner Academy
4. Sugar Camp sessions
   1. How to interact with Community
   2. Affordances we can provide for new developers and contributors
   3. School Server deployment and development issues (I've invited Dave Bauer to join us, if he can come, a School Server track would be very valuable for all.)
5. Return to Rochester 16/17 August
6. 17-18 August RIT visits

• Dave Farning could make (perhaps less expensive roundtrip) flights to & from Rochester or fly to Boston and return with us to Rochester to stay with me for a couple of days to visit RIT and meet the available faculty.
• Rochester area folks would take a 1 or 2 cars (depending on the number joining from Rochester) to either Stratham, NH or New Bedford, MA to pick up Eric or Tyler (depending on where they are), and proceed to hostel site.
• Adam Holt may drive back with us to Rochester.

Please add more specific suggestions.

Hoping others can offer some suggestions and support.

Participants

• Frederick Grose, Rochester, 10 - 18 August, room for 3 others at my house in Rochester, room for 3 others in my car.
• David Farning, Wisconsin, , room with Fred in Rochester
• Wesley Dillingham, Rochester,
• Tyler Bragdon,
• Karlie Robinson, Rochester, One room to share at her house near RIT (must not mind kids and dogs), car we can use for travel to Boston

Background

We were planning to take a field trip to Boston, MA this summer with our Sugar Summer Co-ops, to visit some of the technology destinations and preferably overlap with some Sugar Labs or OLPC project or event. Today, Walter mentioned that he would be more free after the first week of August. Right now I'm trying to narrow down on some dates. Perhaps we could arrange to provide ourselves as work resources for several days to one of Caroline's projects, overlap with the ¿Worcester meeting?, or something else yet to come to mind. We called this idea a 'work & tour' party or crew.

• The remote co-ops have not had the opportunity for an "around the summer campfire" experience, and this would be a big goal for the trip for all the rest of us too. We want to include you in that because no one in Rochester has any Sugar Labs or OLPC event experience (and I think you would have some good stories and thinking to share).

There are a couple of awkward issues though:

• Hotel rooms wouldn't be the right lodging for a summer campfire. We need to solicit in-home hosting 1 or 2 co-ops per home (although I'd be happy to bring a tent, and camp in the yard somewhere to keep us close together [Wesley is a camper]). Perhaps Adam can suggest some options.
• Project teams may be uncertain of the benefits of "hosting" a short-term 'work & tour' party or crew in a project that is still forming a stable base. It may not be a good idea and turn out to be a distraction because it's hard to define expectations. Not knowing what practical service or resource we could provide in a few days of service, makes it hard to generate interest. We would look at it like campground trail maintenance or kitchen patrol--an indirect learning and load-sharing opportunity. Again, maybe Adam or others familiar with the Massachusetts-area (or north east) projects could help match us to an opportunity.