Numbers:
82 parents
40 speakers
20 staff
242 young women (some name tags were left). High satisfaction rate.
Reviews
Two negative reviews: class/instructor went too fast. No one helped when they needed assistance. The problem might have been proctor training.
Problems/Kids
Too much waiting in line for the keynote.
Girls did not like food, parents did. Potato chips were expired. Fruit was missing.
Kodu had computer issues.
Some girls went into workshops that had filled up. Giveaways ran out (mostly at Pixar).
Lunch – girls wanted to explore campus, get out of the lunchroom.
A lot said workshops too short. Want more workshops.
Many want to come back next year.
First keynote too long. Interviewer questions were a bit disconnected. Parents didn’t like keynote. High-schools girls more positive.
Raffle too long and some felt it was unfair. Parents names were in there too.
Last keynote too complicated. Sound quality not good. Too NASA/science heavy.
Most want to go next year.
Volunteer Feedback
Volunteers needed badges to be identifiable.
Parking signs weren’t up early enough.
Attendee lists were not sorted correctly.
Shirts: get extra shirts next time. Especially for volunteers. Nina mostly had issues with speaker shirts. There were not enough.
Plastic print on back caused sweat-stain.
Orientation with balloons: make a main street and mark it with one color. Put other colors on hot spots to the side and mark everything on the map.
Getting kids to their groups after keynote was a problem. It was hard for parents to find their groups.
The parents classes were very cookie cutter, the same old.
Tammy: need better way to map class name to room number. It was hard to match them.
Software loading: 45% failure rate. Didn’t install. Incorrectly installed. In the end presenters didn’t use what they requested. It is important for the presenters to test it.
The cameras weren’t compatible with the computers, plug-wise. Victor saved the day by hooking it up to the TV.
It was very hard to get requirements from the speakers.
Parents Feedback
Want counselors from high school. Want for girls and boys.
Financial workshop targeted for high school. Overview was missing.
Couldn’t find restrooms. They were removed from map.
Better advertising to schools needed. Was not advertised properly. –> we need a network and more pre-work.
There was a good spread of schools. Space was scarce in the end.
How to keep girls in the loop for follow-up and next year?
Comments on the web site and fan page.
Post Facts and numbers.
Mercury news was on the way but got called to an earthquake. Radio interview with Anne & Ruth. Bloggers at the conference.
Re-list sponsors and give them feedback and thanks.
Interest from women in Toronto, CAN. Elizabeth Vanderbelt.
Have to send out a short email to maintain the connection. Come back to work as proctor.
Following up with parents would be a good idea. Maybe better to use the Facebook fan page. Allow them to post code, robot pictures, etc.
FB web page is mostly adults. Next time need to prepare post-conference social group ahead of time.
Future events: Invent your future – conference. Has student track. Kenny can organize event with a weeks notice.
Next time
There is definitively a demand.
Where? SF, SAC, Southern CA, Israel.
Not-for-profit? Different legal structure. Ruth thinking about it. Gather information.
