Grid Opendag preparation

HOWTO organize an "Opendag"

The Opendag (Open House) is a very lively event at Nikhef. Lots of interested people will come and have a look at the lab and want to see everything. The public's age ranges from 'can barely walk' to senior citizen. The level of understanding ranges from 'I have difficulties with computers in general' to IT-specialists who actually know what a cluster is.

This is a perfect moment to explain and (try to) show us our passion for computers and what the heck we're doing with these expensive pieces of metal boxes and silicon chips. And of course the Big 'G' (= Grid).

Materials

I've collected digital material on the Nikhef file storage at: /project/datagrid/PR_en_Opendag_materiaal/.

I hope this will turn out to be a nice central collection space for all kinds of (digital) material for PR and Opendag preparations.

Preparation meetings with the PR department

A few months in advance Dennis and Oscar will receive the first email from the PR-department that the Opendag preparation meetings will be held. - Reminder: this should change to the pdp-list (or the HoD).

This does not mean that Dennis and Oscar are always the designated HoOPs (Head of Opendag Preparation)! Although it's rewarding in 2010 I've got a whole new very convincing reason not to go to the Opendag.

There are at least two meetings in preparation to the Opendag. These meetings are logically split in two parts: 1. an open discussion about the general fulfillment of the Opendag this year. 2. a preliminary inventory list of items required for the Opendag.

Be sure to have rough idea about what we require. Have a look at the inventory list of previous years.

The inventory consist of items like:

• Tables - Warning! Not all tables are a like. It's better to have a table extra then one short.
• Stand-alone poster boards. - Warning! Not all poster boards are a like. Try to tell them the sizes when you know it.
• Beamers and screens - Warning! Asking for a beamer is not the same as asking for a beamer, projection screen and (if needed) a stand for the projection screen and a table to put the projector on it
• TFT / Plasma screens - Warning! These items are limited. Claim them A.S.A.P. while still available. Hint: You could get creative when out of stock, talk to Tristan or Oscar the opportunities.
• Where do we setup our stuff? - Warning! Take the locations of others into account. If people need to move past our stand, then that's a good thing.

Demos, Posters and other preparations

Posters

Have a sharp look at the posters that we display in the hall. Tick of those which are out of date and not really fit for use at the Opendag and be critical about those which are left over (if any). Have a chat with the team over coffee breaks about what to do. Perhaps somebody is willing to make a fresh poster. If you're the HoOP then you should convince people to update a poster or create a new one.

Important information

Some nearly random hints:

• Create your poster in a vector graphics program or be prepared to work with it in very high resolution.
• The mechanical workshop department has an A0 plotter (actually it can print out something bigger then A0).
• The contact person for the plotter is Marco Kraen. You can email him the poster or walk by with an USB stick.
• Printing of an A0+ sized poster takes about 10 minutes in high photo quality
• Ask for glossy paper
• Due to heavy demand it's a bad idea to print the poster on the final day.
• You can request for odd sized printer output. Ask Marco about the possibilities.

Demo

As HoOP:

• Ask all team members individually for ideas.
• Try to think of some yourself and delegate it to somebody who would like help preparing it.

For the team:

• For the team: Search for demos in everyday life and write them at the bottom of this wiki as potential demos. Even the weird ideas are ok to write down as they might trigger another idea.

Prepare your demos! Try to have your demos tested and finished two days prior to the Opendag.

Final day(s) before the Opendag

Make a list (physical or mental) of the gear that you need to setup. Collect all the posters and materials for the Openday in one spot. Make a field trip to the location of where we will stand with the demo-suppliers to figure out how to setup the gear at that location. Also make notes about the specific network patches (if required) to give clear and easy directives to the CT-Beheer for Opendag patches.

Be assured that all the demos work properly two days in advance of the Opendag. This lowers the stress on the HoOP and the team.

Let all team members have a look at the posters so that everybody is able to explain what the public is going to see. This gives the opportunity to swap places on the Opendag itself.

Demos ideas & stuff we did

• Tux games: lots of different Tux games
• Barcode keyboard, with a game
• Wireless sniffing demo with Wireshark. Sniffing web access, but also demonstrate secured connections.
• Make Can-tenna's: Using Pringles cans to amplify the wireless radio. Hide some old Access Points out of range, and try to spot them with the help of a Cantenna.
• Show old and open hardware: Old harddisks, Old servers of different generations, storage chassis, network hardware. Note: label the hardware with its specs.
• Real-Time Monitor: http://gridportal.hep.ph.ic.ac.uk/rtm/
• Scale of the universe: http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/525347