We want to acknowledge the sacrifices of our United States military this Memorial Day. We thank you for your service.
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| The group at Magic Kingdom |
Another day, another rope drop! Our group started our day by traveling to Magic Kingdom to beat the crowds. However, we had a different goal today. We began collecting data for our third and final project! We split into groups and went to five different attractions: Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Seven Dwarves Mine Train, Jungle Cruise, and Pirates of the Caribbean. We collected data on the number of people in each party, to varying success. Two groups ended up with Lightning Lanes due to ride issues! Once we were done with data collection, we all rode Tron as a group and got yummy snacks!
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| Quick meeting on the ferry to Magic Kingdom! Class is wherever we're together. |
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| Data collection in action: Tram, Dylan, Annmarie, and Cassie (L to R) |
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| What else to do when data collection is complete? Julia, Mara, and Della rode on the teacups! |
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| Luke and Dr. Harris on Tron: Lightcycle/Spin |
Once we got back from the parks, we soon reconvened for class. As a continuation of yesterday’s lesson on probability distributions, Dr. Bouzarth walked us through expected value using a fun example about roulette, and Dr. Hutson finished the lesson by walking us through formulas for the calculations. We found that, given enough iterations, a bet on something with a high probability and low payoff will end up with the same expected value as something with a low probability but a high payoff. So, if you’re playing roulette, go big or go home! It all ends up the same in the long run.
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| Class time! |
A standout highlight of the day (because every part of our day is a highlight!) was welcoming Olivia McGuirt ‘21, to share her experience working with Disney World thus far to our class. An Elementary Education major with a Masters in Special Education from Furman, Olivia offered a unique perspective on the Disney experience, having not been part of a Math and the Mouse cohort during her time at Furman. Her work allowed us to understand more about what goes into different Disney operations beyond the bounds of this class and the countless academic backgrounds that can lead to a career at Disney.
She began working in Animal Kingdom two years ago as a guide in the Wilderness Explorer Program. However, she was quickly promoted to a coordinator within the program. Today, she oversees instructing future Wilderness explorers, acting as the perfect channel between the scientific backgrounds of many of her colleagues and the children who participate in the program. Olivia’s elementary education background also helps guide Wilderness Explorers in conveying their vast scientific knowledge to younger audiences. Her degree in special education allows her to expand the accessibility of the Wilderness Explorers Program to neurodiverse audiences. She has had a great deal of experience working throughout high school, college, and her professional life as both a volunteer and educator with ADHD students, so she is a big proponent of the kinesthetic learning that this program offers. Through regaling the class with entertaining stories in the magnificent Animal Kingdom but also seriously reflecting on the non-linear path that led her to Disney, Olivia’s sparkling personality and passion for spreading positive environmental messages to audiences of all ages shined through her presentation, uplifting and invigorating us all for the busy week of presentations we have ahead.
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| The group with Olivia! |
After Olivia left, everyone went to work on our presentations for tomorrow, and began brainstorming for the presentations that we’ll give to Disney professionals later this week! Though we’re almost two-thirds of the way through our MayX, we’ve still got lots more exciting times to come! If you enjoyed today’s blog, it was written by Della Avent and Luke Brownlee. Otherwise, it was written by Mara Johnson and Annmarie Henderson! 😉
Signing off,
Della and Luke
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