A record crowd of 83,000 attended the fifth annual Rutgers Day

A record crowd of 83,000 came out to the fifth annual Rutgers Day to savor the finest the state university has to offer.

Spectators lined College Avenue for the first Rutgers Day Parade to watch members of the Rutgers Marching Band, the ROTC Color Guard, dance team and cheerleaders, as well as other student organizations, make their way from Brower Commons to Voorhees Mall.

Those who attended, like 1998 alumna Stephanie Cooper, said this year’s addition of the parade made Rutgers Day even more enjoyable.

“This was a fabulous day – a great day to showcase Rutgers pride,” said Linda Bassett, who directs Rutgers Day.

Amid sunny skies and warm temperatures, visitors took part in more than 500 programs and activities sponsored by schools, departments, institutes, centers and student organizations, on Rutgers campuses in New Brunswick and Piscataway.

At the New Jersey Folk Festival – one of the many events that make up Rutgers Day – the event was dedicated to celebrating the culture and traditions of the people of Garifuna, a Central American community that has survived wars, exile and deprivation and is still flourishing.

Camillo Gonsalves, permanent representative to the United Nations for St. Vincent and the Grenadines, shared the story of the Garifuna people.

Richard L. Edwards, Rutgers executive vice president for academic affairs, extended greetings from the university to Camillo Gonsalves, permanent representative to the United Nations for St. Vincent and the Grenadines. The ambassador attended the festival on behalf of the Garifuna and shared their story of survival.

“I believe this is due in great part to their absolute refusal to surrender against incredible odds,” Gonsalves said.

St. Vincent is the ancestral homeland of the Garifuna people, who today are found largely in Belize, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. A large Garifuna diaspora also exists in New York and New Jersey, the ambassador said.

This Rutgers Day was also dedicated to a story of survival closer to home – families still recovering from Hurricane Sandy.

The Rutgers Oral History Archives staff interviewed Sandy survivors.  A map of New Jersey at their table featured nearly 100 brightly colored pins – stretching from Millville to Midland Park – representing everyone who stopped by today.

Middle Schoolers from Sandy-affected towns took to the field in the final minutes of the Scarlet-White game.

Visitors to the booth were able to get online and read stories recorded by their hometown neighbors, said Shaun Illingworth, who directs the archives. “Rutgers Day is a great opportunity to connect with the people we serve,” he said.

The day ended with more than 21,000 fans at High Point Solutions Stadium for the Scarlet-White spring football game, which raised money for Sandy victims. Rutgers players’ jerseys featured the names of towns across New Jersey affected by the hurricane.

In the game’s final five minutes middle school students from Sandy-affected communities ran onto the field and played flag football in front of the cheering crowd.

The remote control flight simulator at Busch Campus today is like training wheels for the X8 Flying Wing, a large model plane that can fly autonomously.

J’Onai Dixon Jr. prepares for takeoff.

The X8 was created by student members of  the Rutgers Autonomous Aircraft Team , who designed and programmed it to fly by itself for as long as 25 minutes.

“We start new members out on the flight simulator so they learn how to fly a plane instead of starting right away on the real plane and smashing it up,” says Daniel Collison, treasurer of the team and a major in Mechanical Aerospace Engineering.

The flight simulator allows aspiring pilots to experience flight by  guiding an onscreen plane from runway to wild blue yonder.

“It feels like you’re really flying,” said J’Onai Dixon of Piscataway, who tried out the simulator, along with his son J’Onai Jr.

For Dixon, the simulator was a way to gauge whether to buy his son a toy remote control plane. After trying out the simulator, he was leaning toward it, but maybe not until J’Onai Jr. is a bit older.

The younger Dixon gave a thumbs up to the simulator.

“It was so much fun,” he raved.

Although the X8 was grounded for the day, members of RU Autonomous, as they call themselves, were happy to show it off.

Later this year, it will take off at the  AUVSI UAS student competition in Maryland, where Rutgers placed 11th last year.

The X8 Flying Wing

First year student Carolina Rostek has her facepainted at the Zimmerli

It is not your typical day at the museum.  But like the rest of the Rutgers University campus, the Zimmerli is overflowing with children, teens, college students and families being treated to everything from storytelling and scavenger hunts to dance performances and gallery tours.

This afternoon storyteller Ellen Musikant had a group of four and five year olds enthralled in her story about the three bears as they sat on the floor listening to every word. Meanwhile, across the hall, a group of first year Rutgers students were having flowery designs and Rutgers Rs painted on arms and faces.“This has been a lot of fun,” said Patricia Zale who attended Rutgers Day with two of her friends and had her face painted like a lion.  “We didn’t know what to expect but it’s been a good day.”

Stacy Smith, manager for communications at the Zimmerli, said the nice weather and the festivities throughout the campus have attracted many new families with children who she doesn’t think have ever visited the Zimmerli.  Besides coming for the special attractions offered on Rutgers Day, Smith said that many families are taking the museum tours and reading books on individual exhibitions.

“It’s really nice to see so many new visitors,” she said. “What we are hoping is that they have such a great time that they decide to come back.”

Ambassador Camillo Gonsalves brings greetings from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The New Jersey Folk Festival is paying tribute today to the remarkable resilience of the Garifuna people, a community that has survived wars, exile and deprivation – and which today is flourishing.

“I believe this is due in great part to their absolute refusal to surrender against incredible odds,” says Camillo Gonsalves, permanent representative to the United Nations for St.  Vincent and the Grenadines, who spoke earlier this afternoon at the 39th annual gathering of the festival.

St. Vincent is the ancestral homeland of the Garifuna people, who today are found largely in Belize, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. A large Garifuna diaspora also exists in New York and New Jersey, the ambassador says.

Among the performers on the Skylands Stage was GAMAE Garifuna, a Brooklyn-based group that bussed some 25 members to New Brunswick to share their lively, percussion-based art.

“Audience! We want you up here dancing!” The words come from Eleanor Castillo, a founder of the troupe who exhorted Rutgers Day visitors to leave their lawn chairs and blankets to move to the lively and persistent beat.

By noon, more than 25,000 people had gathered to share the music experience, according to festival coordinator Angus Gillespie, who anticipates that critical mass would rise as the afternoon winds on.

There’s still plenty of time to take in the sounds of the music and the smells of food grilling. Among the offerings this afternoon are an exploration of the folk roots of New Jersey favorite son Bruce Springsteen, and a celebration of Irish sea songs and pirate ballads.

No obstacle is too big or small for Navi, a student-designed robot that can find its way around without anyone telling it what to do.

Rutgers student Dave Patrzeba shows of Navi, a robot.

“It knows where it is and it knows what to do without any human interaction,” said Dave Patrzeba, an undergraduate student in the School of Engineering, who helped build Navi.

The robot is  one of many science-related doings at the Busch Campus today, home of the Rutger’s Day Engineering Open House.

Whenever Navi, a robotic intelligent ground vehicle,  is dispatched somewhere, it’s programmed via computer and retains the information.

“It’s continually building a map,” said Patrzeba.

The robot is equipped with a GPS, which keeps it from getting lost. But it also has laser range finders that reflect off objects in its path and help it steer clear, said Patrzeba.

Navi  – its full name is Rutgers Navigator  – took eight undergraduates about 4,000 man hours to build over a span of  three years, said Patrzeba. That included a previous version with glitches that enabled students to avoid past mistakes and build a better robot.

“It’s a perpetual project,” said Patrzeba, adding that a third version will be built in the fall.

Navi’s construction involved students from three disciplines: Mechanical Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science.

Andrew Adams, 17, who is visiting from Marlton, was impressed. “That is so cool,” he marveled. “And I think it’s cool that undergrads built it.”

In eighth grade, Adams helped build a robot, so he knows how much work and problem solving is involved.

“I can appreciate the effort,” he said.

Rutgers pride is shown by almost 3,000 homemade cupcakes.

Those walking through the Voorhees Mall today are surrounded by a sea of Rs – adorned with flowers and glitter, ribbons and bows – letting those visiting the university know that Rutgers has a proud strong history.

“Everyone really seems to enjoy this area,” says Diana Uveges, business manager in the Recreation Department whose area built the Rocking in the Boat R that plays music and allows children to catch fish for prizes.

The garden area is filled with Rs of all different sizes and decorations created by various units and departments at Rutgers.  Sports, student life, graduation, libraries, and graduate studies are just some of the areas that are taking part in the R-Garden and offering Rutgers Day goers the opportunity to share in Rutgers pride.

And if you’re hungry, the Rutgers Bake Shop has baked 8,000 delicious red and white cupcakes to share with those who come to Rutgers Day. Rutgers bakers have been busy all week, says Jackie Williams who works in the bakeshop and spent about an hour early this morning arranging about 2,800 of the cupcakes in the R-Garden to help welcome those who stop by.  The other 5,000 yummy cupcakes are being offered to those who visit the Busch campus and other Rutgers Day attractions.

The Rutgers dance team entertained the crowd.

What better way to usher in the fifth annual Rutgers Day than with a parade down College Avenue.

Members of the Rutgers Marching Band, led by the Scarlet Knight Mascot and followed by the ROTC Color Guard and the Rutgers dance team and cheerleaders, were joined by a variety of student organizations.  The Harry Potter-inspired Quidditch team, the Go Outdoors Program, and Habitat for Humanity were all in step as they made their way from Brower Commons down to the Voorhees Mall. 

 First year student and dance team member Shannon Dolan said she was excited to be marching in the parade on such a beautiful day. “This is great, very cool,” she said as the parade got started. 

Those festival goers who lined College Avenue to watch, like 1998 alumni Stephanie Cooper, said this year’s addition of the parade made the Rutgers Day event even more enjoyable. “Show your R’s,” the Stewartsville mother of two young daughters said as they watched the parade pass by.

The crowd who listened to the Rutgers Fight Song, Colonel Rutgers, Small Things, Separate Ways and Final Countdown, seemed to agree.

“This is terrific,” said Cooper who says she wouldn’t miss the yearly Rutgers Day.

Watching the band members – decked out in red Rutgers shirts emblazoned with the “Pride of New Jersey” on the back, Tim Smith, director of Athletic Bands, said the parade was a great way to start the Rutgers Day festivities.

“They did great,” he said.

You won’t find smoking ice cream at Dairy Queen.

Rutgers student Reem Asraf, left, and instructor Donald Siegel mix ingredients.

But you can find it at the Busch Campus, where chemistry instructor Donald Siegel is giving a demonstration on the effects of  liquid nitrogen at the Engineering Open House .

Some of the ingredients are familiar: sugar, cream, half and half and flavoring. But when Siegel adds the nitrogen,  a cloud of vapor rises from the bowl, freezing the mix in less than a minute. Then, it’s ready to serve.

As a few drops of nitrogen spilled outside the bowl earlier today, Siegel reassured the crowd.

“It’s not going to hurt you,” he said.

“What if I touch it?” asked Elizabeth DeFazio, 13, a student at Smalley Middle School in Bound Brook.

“It will feel VERY cold,” answered Siegel.

Elizabeth touched it anyway. She also tried the ice cream.

Did it taste funny?

No.

“It’s good,” she declared. “And vanilla is my favorite flavor.”

Bound Brook Students enjoy nitrogen  ice cream.

The children of Jessica DeMarco get acquainted with a new friend at Rutgers Day.

Mary might have had a little lamb, but the story-book heroine has nothing on the children of Jessica DeMarco.

The three youngsters – Tyler, 8, and little sisters Gianna, 5, and Sophia, 2, are filled with grins as they gently pat a month-old female baby lamb at the College Farm Roundhouse on the Cook Campus.

It’s hard to tell who’s happier, the lamb or the children!

Their mom, a 1993 Rutgers grad from Old Tappan, has been coming to Rutgers Day for years. She says the kids’ favorite is the petting zoo, with its baby goats, sheep and pigs. “They love animals – all kinds of animals, especially the ones they can touch,” Jessica DeMarco says.

And there’s no shortage of animal life at home, she adds, including a dog, fish, a parakeet and a 15-year-old tortoise named Poncho.

It’s still relatively quiet at the petting area, says volunteer Meghan Ramos, a Rutgers junior from Long Beach Island who’s the treasurer of the Veterinary Science Club. As word spreads about the attraction during the day, foot traffic picks up and the hay-strewn building crowds up a bit.
She and her fellow volunteers are there to field questions. Among the most common, Ramos says: How do I become a veterinarian?

For those so inclined, and for anyone who just can’t resist a baby critter, this zoo’s for you!

Volunteer and Cook alum Richard Porter carries plants available for sale.

Good morning, Rutgers Day visitors and fans!

The sun officially rose this morning at 6:06, but insiders know that the real start of Rutgers Day is when the first flats of tomatoes, basil and peppers appear at the Master Gardener Plant sale on the Cook Campus.

It’s the worst-kept secret in the state: Both the novice and the expert can stop here to get their questions answered by members of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Middlesex County, who run the annual sale.

Volunteer Richard Porter, a 1984 Cook College alum, is busy setting out the fig tree cuttings, coleus and succulents that have proven to be best-sellers at Rutgers Days past.  He’s worked the plant sale since its inception, noting that the monies raised help support the Rutgers Floriculture and Teaching Greenhouse just behind where the plant sale is held.

Later today, that greenhouse will be filled with avid gardeners on specialized tours – where they’ll have a chance to learn about horticultural therapy, living walls and edible versus poisonous plants, says Nicki Graf, greenhouse manager.

“The lectures about carnivorous plants and orchids are particularly popular,” she notes.

Who doesn’t love a Venus flytrap?

Graf and her staff start preparing for Rutgers Day way back at Thanksgiving, taking the first of the fig tree cuttings that will ultimately wind up in the gardens and back yards of today’s sale goers.

There are hundreds of plants waiting to be taken home. Porter and Graf are saving one for you. Hurry over.