Hi everyone,

Thank you again for your kind emails to Amy – I’ve been checking her inbox (which hit it’s limit this week), and thank you thank you for your kind words and healing advice.

Amy is not attending GHEA with me this trip, but if she’s better, she’ll meet me at CHAP in Pennsylvania. We’ll just take it as it comes. I was all set to handle it myself (I’ve faced crowds of thousands before alone), but at the last minute, my boss (yes, I have one, believe it or not!), the Supercharged Science company director, is coming with me! Yea!!!

One thing we learned from MACHE was to be sure to get a large enough room. So I called about that for our future shows, and everyone said their rooms were big enough for someone new like us, and one of them even laughed at me on the phone! Hmmm…. we’ll see what happens at THAT show! *grin*

My Wimshurst machine was smashed on the last trip, so that stays at the home lab this time for repairs. At MACHE, it took us nearly 6 hours to set up our 20-foot booth and about 3 hours to pack up. The lady next to us was up in 30 MINUTES… I’m determined to figure this out. I’ve got everything in boxes, not suitcases this time, packed with foam and shipped FedEx. No more airline baggage for me! (That and I hear they’re going to charge for a second bag and lower the weight limits!)

This week’s workshop went very well, despite Amy’s absence. We fired up (pun intended) about 190 Boy Scouts and camp leaders back in California. We started talking about burning paper and wound up firing sugar rockets in the back. The kids were having such a riot of a time, hooting and hollering and whooping around like boys do (did I mention this class was inside a church?) The best part was the smiling faces and the light in their eyes, sparkling “I CAN do this science stuff!” I love my ‘job’!

~Aurora

Thank you for your emails about Amy – many readers expressed their thoughts and prayers for her, and we thank you so much for that. You are all part of our family, and we are so lucky to have such a great circle.

Unfortunately, if they operate on her now, they will need to remove part of her colon as well as the appendix, so they are giving her medicine to reduce it’s size so hopefully they can only take out what they absolutely need to. It’s my job to make sure she takes her meds – she hates to!

I’ll try to keep up with the posting as we go along – please be patient while we sort all this out. We’re hiring four temp staff to help out with her workload, so she can rest and relax like she’s supposed to.

More soon,

~Aurora

Oh, no! As soon as we arrived back in California, Amy was rushed to the ER and found to have a hugely swollen appendix! Keep her in your thoughts this week, and we’ll keep you posted.

~Aurora

WOW – we absolutely LOVE Minnesota! Being from a place where it’s 70 degrees year-round, and our idea of a mall are two stores side-by-side, the Mall of America with its indoor amusement park and aquarium and multi-stories of shopping (including a chocolate factory) was absolutely stunning! We didn’t understand about the walkways ten stories in the air until we realized it actually SNOWED here.

The MACHE conference was amazing – the people were beautiful and full of fun, and had absolutely no problem with me doing the rocketry fire shows (a good quality in an audience, of course). My assistant, Amy, found me a milk crate and there I stood up on it (much better than the bucket I usually have to use) and started sharing my passion – how to do real science!

Here’s a funny problem we had – and our quick solution – We had our Science Kits out for the first time ever for people to buy (I think we had nine total – Physics, Chemistry, Lasers, Aeronautics, Electricity, etc…), and there were so many people that came up and wanted to buy ALL of them (all nine kits in one package) that we had to make up a new product on the spot – we now call it the WHOLE SHEBANG! (Amy thought that was appropriate, seeing as it was me that was supposed to be in the box.)

We did have an unexpected problem, though, that worked out in the end. At the convention, we were given a room for a one-hour workshop, and when I arrived, someone else was already in there and the room was more than half full. Remember, now, that no one has really ever heard of Supercharged Science, or even seen me (Aurora) before. Then I was informed by the person already inside that those people seated inside along with the 100 behind me waiting to get in were there to see ME! I had a feeling of honor and …uh-oh…. because they all didn’t fit in the room. Well, we had a standing-room only fire show and I loved every minute of it! If I could do that all day, I’d be the happiest person on the planet. But eventually we had to get back to the booth and pack up…

We were driving back from Duluth at 10pm at night and we were starving! So we found a 24 hour diner in the middle of nowhere (thanks to GPS!) and we cautiously crept in and peeked around. A friendly (but tired) waitress met us and took our order. The food was perfect for what we needed – hot, warm, and tasted good. (I can’t recall what it was, though!) I do remember there was a garnish on the plate that I’d never seen before – it was fire engine red in the shape of a donut and looked like plasticized jell-o (how’s THAT for a visual?) We each nibbled a bit, then asked our waitress what is was… can you guess? She smiled, told us to take a bite, and walked away. When she came back, we asked if people liked these things, and she said, “No – most people don’t even touch them”.

Well, I’m setting the alarm for an early departure to California. We’ve got to get back for one week before leaving for Georgia (we have another workshop to do in-between shows). Then we’re off to the East Coast!!

Cheers!
~Aurora

Today marks the first day of the Supercharged Science 2008 Science Tour across the country! How I ever fit an 8′ rocket into a 2′ cube box is still a mystery to my staff, but we brought as much as the airlines would let us carry. I packed nearly 500 pounds of science equipment, supplies, materials, and special effects into four suitcases, two boxes, and three carry-ons. I can’t wait to see the faces on TSA security when they scan the bags…

Why are we traveling? I had more than a few emails about this, so I’ll try to answer it here – we’ve been teaching kids for a looonng time, and in that time, we’ve learned more than we ever could in school! But even though we’ve been doing state-wide shows, camps, and workshops for over a decade, we’ve decided to spread our reach and see where it takes us. A lot of our workshop and camp participants have been homeschoolers lately, so we decided to focus on helping the families in the homeschool environments, and we’re attending several homeschool conferences and conventions this year for the first time.

Are you selling any products? Here’s a question we get all the time, and for a change, we have a different answer than usual! In the past, the answer has been NO, we only offer services in our local state of California (did we mention that people travel to us from as far as Texas to attend our camps?)… but now we can say YES!!! My staff has worked over two years now to try to put ME into a box (yes, I know most kids are taller than me, but it’s what inside my brain that took them so long to extract). And that’s what we’re about to sell for the first time – our science shows we’ve been doing for years is now going to be in a box you can take home and do yourself.

However, we did attend two last year (2007) where we just showed up without anything to sell, just to see where homeschool science was at and where homeschoolers needed help the most. By the end of the second show, we had a pretty good idea how we could help! And that’s when our work load really got crazy…

Anyway, I’d better get the finishing touches packed – I still have to cram the lightning machine into the last suitcase. I saved it until last because I have to cushion the acrylic tube with my sweaters so it doesn’t crack with the airline’s handling. I’ll write more as we travel, so stay tuned! Here’s a quick peek at where we’re headed:

2008 Science Show Tour Schedule
April 18-19: MACHE Conference in Duluth, Minnesota
May 2-3: GHEA Conference in Atlanta, Georgia
May 9-10: CHAP Conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
May 22-24: FPEA Conference in Orlando, Florida
June 5-7: HEAV Conference in Richmond, Virginia
June 13-14: WHO Convention in Seattle, Washington
July 10-12: CHEA Conference in Long Beach, California

See you soon!
~Aurora

Today marks the first day of the Supercharged Science 2008 Science Tour across the country! How I ever fit an 8′ rocket into a 2′ cube box is still a mystery to my staff, but we brought as much as the airlines would let us carry. I packed nearly 500 pounds of science equipment, supplies, materials, and special effects into four suitcases, two boxes, and three carry-ons. I can’t wait to see the faces on TSA security when they scan the bags…

Why are we traveling? I had more than a few emails about this, so I’ll try to answer it here – we’ve been teaching kids for a looonng time, and in that time, we’ve learned more than we ever could in school! But even though we’ve been doing state-wide shows, camps, and workshops for over a decade, we’ve decided to spread our reach and see where it takes us. A lot of our workshop and camp participants have been homeschoolers lately, so we decided to focus on helping the families in the homeschool environments, and we’re attending several homeschool conferences and conventions this year for the first time.

Are you selling any products? Here’s a question we get all the time, and for a change, we have a different answer than usual! In the past, the answer has been NO, we only offer services in our local state of California (did we mention that people travel to us from as far as Texas to attend our camps?)… but now we can say YES!!! My staff has worked over two years now to try to put ME into a box (yes, I know most kids are taller than me, but it’s what inside my brain that took them so long to extract). And that’s what we’re about to sell for the first time – our science shows we’ve been doing for years is now going to be in a box you can take home and do yourself.

However, we did attend two last year (2007) where we just showed up without anything to sell, just to see where homeschool science was at and where homeschoolers needed help the most. By the end of the second show, we had a pretty good idea how we could help! And that’s when our work load really got crazy…

Anyway, I’d better get the finishing touches packed – I still have to cram the lightning machine into the last suitcase. I saved it until last because I have to cushion the acrylic tube with my sweaters so it doesn’t crack with the airline’s handling. I’ll write more as we travel, so stay tuned! Here’s a quick peek at where we’re headed:

2008 Science Show Tour Schedule
April 18-19: MACHE Conference in Duluth, Minnesota
May 2-3: GHEA Conference in Atlanta, Georgia
May 9-10: CHAP Conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
May 22-24: FPEA Conference in Orlando, Florida
June 5-7: HEAV Conference in Richmond, Virginia
June 13-14: WHO Convention in Seattle, Washington
July 10-12: CHEA Conference in Long Beach, California

See you soon!
~Aurora

Today marks the first day of the Supercharged Science 2008 Science Tour across the country! How I ever fit an 8′ rocket into a 2′ cube box is still a mystery to my staff, but we brought as much as the airlines would let us carry. I packed nearly 500 pounds of science equipment, supplies, materials, and special effects into four suitcases, two boxes, and three carry-ons. I can’t wait to see the faces on TSA security when they scan the bags…

Why are we traveling? I had more than a few emails about this, so I’ll try to answer it here – we’ve been teaching kids for a looonng time, and in that time, we’ve learned more than we ever could in school! But even though we’ve been doing state-wide shows, camps, and workshops for over a decade, we’ve decided to spread our reach and see where it takes us. A lot of our workshop and camp participants have been homeschoolers lately, so we decided to focus on helping the families in the homeschool environments, and we’re attending several homeschool conferences and conventions this year for the first time.

Are you selling any products? Here’s a question we get all the time, and for a change, we have a different answer than usual! In the past, the answer has been NO, we only offer services in our local state of California (did we mention that people travel to us from as far as Texas to attend our camps?)… but now we can say YES!!! My staff has worked over two years now to try to put ME into a box (yes, I know most kids are taller than me, but it’s what inside my brain that took them so long to extract). And that’s what we’re about to sell for the first time – our science shows we’ve been doing for years is now going to be in a box you can take home and do yourself.

However, we did attend two last year (2007) where we just showed up without anything to sell, just to see where homeschool science was at and where homeschoolers needed help the most. By the end of the second show, we had a pretty good idea how we could help! And that’s when our work load really got crazy…

Anyway, I’d better get the finishing touches packed – I still have to cram the lightning machine into the last suitcase. I saved it until last because I have to cushion the acrylic tube with my sweaters so it doesn’t crack with the airline’s handling. I’ll write more as we travel, so stay tuned! Here’s a quick peek at where we’re headed:

2008 Science Show Tour Schedule
April 18-19: MACHE Conference in Duluth, Minnesota
May 2-3: GHEA Conference in Atlanta, Georgia
May 9-10: CHAP Conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
May 22-24: FPEA Conference in Orlando, Florida
June 5-7: HEAV Conference in Richmond, Virginia
June 13-14: WHO Convention in Seattle, Washington
July 10-12: CHEA Conference in Long Beach, California

See you soon!
~Aurora

Today marks the first day of the Supercharged Science 2008 Science Tour across the country! How I ever fit an 8′ rocket into a 2′ cube box is still a mystery to my staff, but we brought as much as the airlines would let us carry. I packed nearly 500 pounds of science equipment, supplies, materials, and special effects into four suitcases, two boxes, and three carry-ons. I can’t wait to see the faces on TSA security when they scan the bags…

Why are we traveling? I had more than a few emails about this, so I’ll try to answer it here – we’ve been teaching kids for a looonng time, and in that time, we’ve learned more than we ever could in school! But even though we’ve been doing state-wide shows, camps, and workshops for over a decade, we’ve decided to spread our reach and see where it takes us. A lot of our workshop and camp participants have been homeschoolers lately, so we decided to focus on helping the families in the homeschool environments, and we’re attending several homeschool conferences and conventions this year for the first time.

Are you selling any products? Here’s a question we get all the time, and for a change, we have a different answer than usual! In the past, the answer has been NO, we only offer services in our local state of California (did we mention that people travel to us from as far as Texas to attend our camps?)… but now we can say YES!!! My staff has worked over two years now to try to put ME into a box (yes, I know most kids are taller than me, but it’s what inside my brain that took them so long to extract). And that’s what we’re about to sell for the first time – our science shows we’ve been doing for years is now going to be in a box you can take home and do yourself.

However, we did attend two last year (2007) where we just showed up without anything to sell, just to see where homeschool science was at and where homeschoolers needed help the most. By the end of the second show, we had a pretty good idea how we could help! And that’s when our work load really got crazy…

Anyway, I’d better get the finishing touches packed – I still have to cram the lightning machine into the last suitcase. I saved it until last because I have to cushion the acrylic tube with my sweaters so it doesn’t crack with the airline’s handling. I’ll write more as we travel, so stay tuned! Here’s a quick peek at where we’re headed:

2008 Science Show Tour Schedule
April 18-19: MACHE Conference in Duluth, Minnesota
May 2-3: GHEA Conference in Atlanta, Georgia
May 9-10: CHAP Conference in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
May 22-24: FPEA Conference in Orlando, Florida
June 5-7: HEAV Conference in Richmond, Virginia
June 13-14: WHO Convention in Seattle, Washington
July 10-12: CHEA Conference in Long Beach, California

See you soon!
~Aurora