One sunny, crisp autumn morning, the Virtual Family packed up its mini-van and headed up Burnaby Mountain.  They were going to visit a really nice man by the name of James Lau.  He lived at the IBM Pacific Development Centre located near SFU.  Two extraordinary women, Janice and Peggy, had something very special planned at IBM.  They were celebrating Science & Technology Week by inviting 60 Grade 9 girls from all over Burnaby and Coquitlam to spend the day at the PDC.  On that day -- October 23, 1998 -- the girls became Technology Time Travellers...

It was a special day for the Virtual Family too!  It was the first time that they ever appeared in public.  The Virtual Family Nanny, Vania, was extremely nervous!  Was the family neat and presentable??  Would the family behave themselves that day???  To the relief of everybody, the Virtual Family was well loved by the Technology Time Travellers.  They thought it was adorable whenever Sis and Junior threw a nasty tantrum! 

The Nanny had some special help from a fellow SWIFTer, Sonja.  Throughout the day, Vania and Sonja helped coax the Virtual Family to perform actions and hold conversations tailor-made by the Technology Time Travellers.  For many of the girls, it was the first time they ever programmed before, but within minutes, several of them mastered writing the methods in Java!

A lot of excitement was brewing all over the PDC!  In the room next door, Grace let the Technology Time Travellers explore Phoenix Quest -- a game designed by E-GEMS (Electronic-Grames for Education in Math and Science). The intent of Phoenix Quest is to make mathematics appealing to girls from ages 9 to 14 by incorporating game and activity elements that girls find interesting, important and challenging. Phoenix Quest has an exotic storyline set in mythical islands near Hong Kong; contains intriguing teenage and fantasy characters willing and able to communicate; and encourages cooperative play and group problem solving....

"I'm the King of the World!!!" screamed Jack.

But wait...!  Jack wasn't a Technology Time Traveller??!  But he was still in the building!  In a little room with lots of equipment, the Technology Time Travellers digitized a clip from Titanic.

Packed into a day of excitement, the Technology Time Travellers had a chance to sit down with James Lau's Partner-In-Crime, Maria Klawe.  In a cozy boardroom, Maria answered any questions and concerns the girls had about pursuing a career in Information Technology. Maria was determined to dispell the evil idea that girls cannot be successful in high tech fields AND live happily ever after!