This morning, 50 Kansas City middle and high school students met the First Lady of the United States — via a Google Fiber connection at the Fiber Space. All week, Mrs. Obama has been traveling on a White House Tour through Africa, talking to and hearing from young people about the importance of education. Today, she heard from students right here in KC.
At 8:30 a.m. Central Time, the First Lady hosted a Google+ Hangout On Air from Johannesburg, South Africa connecting to students in L.A., Houston, New York, and Kansas City. The students and Mrs. Obama got the chance to talk with one another directly, sharing ideas about education in their countries face-to-face-to-face; a bit like a 21st-Century pen pal program.
The group of KC students that "met" the First Lady are spending their summer breaks building motors, programming robots and developing web and mobile apps; they’re students who are attending several KC STEM Alliance camps to learn about science, technology, engineering and math.
You can see the whole video from the event here. Many thanks to the KC STEM Alliance, the Office of the First Lady and all of our STEM campers for letting us be a part of this transatlantic discussion.
Posted by Rachel Hack, Google Fiber Community Manager
We’re not sure when we’ll be able to bring Fiber to Mission (we have a lot of work to do before that can happen), but we’ll be sure to post any updates right here.
As soon as we have more information about when Fiber will come to Lee's Summit residents, we’ll share it on this blog.
If you live in any of these fiberhoods, be sure to choose your Fiber plan soon so we don’t miss you during construction. If you’re not sure which plan is right for you and want to talk to a person, drop by the Fiber Space or give us a call—we’re always happy to help!
Kansas deadlines Miland Pump Station - Thursday, July 25 Silver City - Thursday, July 25 Stony Point North - Thursday, July 25 Junction School - Thursday, July 25 Schlagle High School - Thursday, July 25
Missouri deadlines Ilus W. Davis Park - Thursday, July 25 Valentine - Thursday, July 25 Stratford Gardens - Thursday, July 25 Holmes Park - Thursday, July 25 River Market - Thursday, July 25 Oak Meyer Gardens - Thursday, July 25
Posted by Rachel Hack, Community Manager, Google Fiber
Thirteen-year-old Kansas City-area resident Nick LeGrande has been a baseball fan since he can remember. He loves to watch baseball, talk about baseball, and of course, play baseball. But last year, Nick was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, a rare blood disease that has kept him off the field indefinitely.
When the Oakland A’s, a Major League Baseball team, heard about Nick’s situation earlier this year, they asked him to throw out the first pitch at tonight’s game. Because of his illness, Nick can’t hop on a plane for the 1,800 mile journey from Missouri to the A’s stadium in California. But luckily, there’s another way for Nick to throw out tonight’s ceremonial pitch — using the Internet.
When we think of the power of the Internet and the importance of broadband connectivity to our communities, it’s easy to just think of sending email or watching videos. But high-bandwidth applications on the web have made a host of other amazing things possible — for example, the field of telerobotics, or the ability to control robots over long distances using the web. That’s how tonight, using a specially-designed, web-connected pitching robot, Nick LeGrande will throw the first-ever telerobotic pitch in MLB history.
At 8:53 PM Central time, Nick will join us at the Google Fiber Space in Kansas City, which we’ve transformed into a mini baseball stadium (real grass, dirt and bleachers) for the occasion. Using an Android app, Nick will be able to control the movements of a robot that will sit on the pitcher’s mound in Oakland. That robot will be equipped with a camera, which will livestream a first-hand view of what the stadium looks like to Nick. Then, joined by his family, friends, teammates and doctors from Children’s Mercy Hospital, Nick will toss out the game’s first pitch — in Kansas City, and in Oakland.
We're honored to share this moment with Nick, and you can too — visit our website to get a play-by-play of tonight's pitch and send him well-wishes via social media. He'll see your messages on the big screen at the Fiber Space as he throws out the first pitch. You can also visit Children's Mercy Hospital's website to learn more about Nick and severe aplastic anemia.
This story is part of a series called “Why Speed Matters,” which showcases examples of what’s possible with fast Internet -- and why it matters.
First up is the premiere screening of HBO’s True Blood on Thursday, June 13 at 7:00PM. The episode won’t air on HBO until Sunday, June 16, so you’ll have a sneak peek of season six before all your friends. We expect this episode to be a nail-biter, so we’ve prepared some drink concoctions and munchies that you can sink your teeth into. Blood orange spritzer, anyone? RSVP now (seats are limited), and get there early to snag a swag bag.
Our second premiere event next week focuses less on the supernatural and more on the natural. On Saturday, June 15 at 4:30PM, we’re screening the finale of Discovery’s North America series. In the finale, you’ll get an early look at North America: Top 10 — the show will feature the top 10 natural landmarks of the continent, as chosen by 35,000 online votes. RSVP now to save your seat. We'll have s’mores and some other snacks that remind you of being in nature, plus some photo opportunities with some of our favorite characters from the series.
True Blood Season Six Premiere Thursday, June 13 at 7:00PM Google Fiber Space, 1814 Westport Road, Kansas City, MO RSVP Now, Space is Limited
North America Series Finale Premiere Saturday, June 15 at 4:30PM Google Fiber Space, 1814 Westport Road, Kansas City, MO RSVP Now, Space is Limited
Posted by Annie Thompson, Kansas City Fiber Space Events Manager
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