[Mike Wittman]

I really did not know how large the American Folklife Festival was until I arrived. Just like everything else I have experienced because of FIRST, this was a fantastic event. I had the priveledge of meeting many diverse people there.

Thank you Cheryl from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center for inviting us, and Thank you NASA for your support of FIRST.

There were many highlights, and of course getting to meet Dave Lavery was one of them. (see attached photo). When I asked what the equation on his shirt was, I thought he said something about a FIRST water game. I am sure I didn't hear him right though lol. All of the NASA exhibits were cool. It was also interesting to learn about Bhutan. A Smithsonian representative told me that Bhutan had recently changed their form of government from a monarchy to a democracy. Two delegates from Bhutan came over to the robotics tent and we taught them how to drive robots. (see attached Photo) Maybe we inspired them to consider a FIRST event in Bhutan in the near future?.

The robotics tent was crowded most of the time. The weather was 95 deg the 3 days we were there. There were some rain storms that went through but they passed fairly quickly. For safety sake, the Smithsonian cleared the entire festival park area whenever there was intense weather coming through. I have no idea how many people attended the event, but it was pretty amazing how quickly the park was cleared and then opened again when the weather passed.