This was our first non-meeting outing for C.E.L.E.B.R.E. I was surprised to hear that for about half the students it would be their first time bowling. It was nice to be able to spend a Friday evening having fun together.

I believe non-academic outings are fantastic to build the community within the students and their community around them. All their lives and not once had they gone bowling! wow!

Although not academic, I did try to sneak in a bit of physics for the newbies in order to help them better understand the angles and point of release and rotation for the bowling ball as to where it will eventually begin and end. Oops, guess I couldn’t help myself throw in some academia.

Some were getting frustrated they were not able to get any points since they kept getting gutter balls. I mean, without bumpers, even some really good bowlers get gutter balls. We eventually put the bumpers up and I explained that expecting to be amazing at something the first time you try it isn’t always setting you up for a good time. We all start at a basic level, and we learn through observation, research and LOTS of practice! Although…we did have one student get strikes their first two turns!!! Beginners luck? Hidden bowling prodigy? The world may never know….

We also had the opportunity to play $1 pool. ONE. DOLLAR!!! I was very excited as were many of the others.

Here are some of our students during our outing!

Enjoy!