Day 4

Our morning started too early with mobilizing the whole group to get up, hot tea and coffee, and preparing sammies for lunch. With every task before departure completed, we head south to Google and face traffic, which allowed us ample time to munch on cream cheese and bagels. Though we arrived a few minutes late, Liza, a University Programs Specialist (I think), warmly greeted us to a spacious conference room in an apartment complex-like building.

With everyone gathered in the room, including two Stanford alums who are software engineers, Liza started her presentation on Google’s efforts in outreach and diversity. We learned about several CS-promoting programs that supported students at various education levels and community-based organizations through grants. Next, we transitioned into a Q&A discussion with the three Google representatives that mainly revolved around the panelists’ individual and honest opinions about Google, CS, and technology.

Afterwards, we exited the building into the sunshine and walked around the elaborate Google campus while further discussing questions we still had. From hearing a story about a shark fin we saw to not-so-reliable sources about how a T-Rex fossil got on campus to hearing confirmations that Google indeed had slides, we experienced the uniqueness and idiosyncrasies promised by media and popular culture.

With a picture in front of the Android Nougat statue and more organic discussion, we ended the short Google tour with a a 10-minute lunch break on the grass. We then had to rush back to San Francisco to go to the Exploratorium, where we had over two hours of independent discovery of the various exhibits. We made several observations about the staff, attendees, exhibits, etc. and met with four representatives of the museum.

The four people talked about the Exploratorium’s exhibit-designing process, teacher-training programs, community-engagement efforts, and initiatives in inclusivity and diversity. We moved from a short Q&A to returning to the floor and experiencing more exhibits in a guided fashion. After, we bid our farewell to the museum on the pier with a few last conversations with one of the representatives and headed for the cars.

Finally, our two main activities ended, and we started to prepare for dinner at Ocean Beach. The group split up into two: one to order and pick-up the subs and another to reserve a bonfire at the beach. Upon reunion of the two groups, we huddled close to eat dinner, reflect about the two organizations we visited, roast marshmallows, and enjoy each others’ company around the resiliently burning fire.

Then, we left the beach and returned to Phil’s home for warm showers, sweet spotlights, and much-needed sleep.