Upper 6th student Kathy recently returned from a last-minute trip to the USA, where she assisted her family at a global science and innovation exhibition in San Diego. The Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) in San Diego, California provided Kathy with the opportunity to work on the exhibition stand and enjoy an unforgettable US experience...

The SLAS show is one of the biggest in it’s field attracting 7,000 visitors and 390 exhibiting companies from over 40 countries. The focus is on innovation and provides a showcase for cutting edge biotechnology and robotics.

Kathy quickly became part of the team: learning the features and specifications of the new products, and helping to set up and man the stand for three long, busy days. She learned to field questions and provide demonstrations to numerous visitors from all over the world. Somehow she managed to carry on smiling despite increasingly tired and aching feet!

The show was a great success and plans are already made to exhibit again next year when it moves to Boston on the east coast.

San Diego proved to be a great destination and despite the weather being chilly, by Californian standards, spare time was used to visit the sights...  including a visit to the “Top Gun” bar where Kathy just had to try the famous piano, now so battered by decades of tourists, it can sadly produce no more than a few notes!