Event Debrief: 29 June 2017

In 2017, I was very glad to be invited back to the Frazier International History Museum for a second set of summer camp presentations.

Like last year, I would give a short talk on survival needs in the Galaxy, teach cordage with raffia, and then have Q&A time. This time around, however, I would present on different days to smaller groups. For this first session, my audience were 8-10 younglings in 4^th-6^th grade.
A year’s worth of research and refinements meant that I had a more detailed persona (Silo the on-the-run Jedi washout), and the event was highly successful thanks largely to my commitment to the First Person approach.
What didn’t work:
Normally I wear brown linen trousers for my AgriCorps kit, but somehow this day I FORGOT MY PANTS! I had to make do wearing my jeans; although I doubt anyone noticed since they were a neutral gray (thank the Force I didn’t wear blue jeans!).
I also skipped over several topics, such as rainwater collection and LNT (Leave No Trace) Shitting In The Woods.

What did work:
Amazingly, I received no questions about Disney characters (“Do you know Kylo Ren?” etc)!
Afterwards, (with kids out of the room) one of the counselors remarked that my having good in-character/in-universe comebacks (improv!) and depth of knowledge really helped sell the persona (research pays off!)!
Plus, some of the questions the kids asked made for some great exchanges:

Kid: ‘Do you have a blaster?’
Silo: ‘Now what would I be doing with something so clumsy and uncivilized?’

Incredulous Kid: ‘Can I see your ID card or something?’
Silo: ‘I don’t think that would be a very wise thing for me to do, seeing as how I’m pretty much living on the run. Are you associated with COMPNOR or the ISB?’
(note to self: I really should make a counterfeit Imperial citizen’s ID card?)

Kid: ‘When were you born?’
Silo: ‘Year 1 before the Great ReSynchronization, which reset calendrical dating since the Battle of Ruusan, which was about a thousand years earlier. So… <mental figuring, counting on fingers> four years before the Battle of Naboo?’

Kid: ‘Where were you born?’
Silo: ‘Well, younglings are typically brought to the Temple when they’re very, very young, so I’m not sure, though I have a good feeling about Dantooine.’

Kid: ‘Do you know Luke?’
Silo: ‘Luke who?’
K: ‘Luke Skywalker.’
S: ‘Never heard of him, is he related to Anakin Skywalker?’
K: ‘Yeah, it’s his son!’
S: ‘You’re sure you mean Anakin Skywalker, hero of the Clone War? ‘The Hero With No Fear’?’
K: ‘Yeah, it’s his son!’
S: ‘I’m sorry, you must be mistaken…Anakin Skywalker died at the Jedi Temple at the close of the Clone War.’*
K: ‘No, he’s Darth Vader! Do you know who he is?’
S: ‘Ohhho yes! Emperor’s right hand enforcer? Tall, armored, with a black helmet? You’re saying that Anakin Skywalker is alive and is really him?!’
K: <child’s explanation of Anakin’s fall and lava injuries>
S: ‘Ohhh this changes everything! I must pass this information along!’
*this would have been an excellent (missed) opportunity to drop ‘That’s not true, that’s impossible!’ Alas for my faulty staircase wit!

Take-aways/what needs further tweaking:
-I still haven’t found a succinct way to explain the duties of the AgriCorps…it’s basically  WWOOF‘ing, so it shouldn’t be that difficult!
-I might need a brief explanation at the beginning of my talk to help situate the audience in a specific time period (in this case, a handful of years before the Battle of Yavin).