Over the weekend, Liza and I visited Annapolis, to the US Naval Academy (USNA). The entrance is free for everyone, you only need to have an ID.
The most interesting part was visiting the academy buildings. Some places had signs saying “No visitors authorized beyond this point”. Of course, we followed the instructions and did not enter those areas. Generally, there was nothing of notable interest, such as the world’s largest dormitory 🙂 However, the main bulk of buildings were openly accessible, without any signs, doors open from all sides, and inside there was either nobody at all or just one person per floor. And it was interesting there.
In the Department of Weapons and Systems Engineering building, robots, torpedoes, and turbines were on display in the hallways, and the walls featured information about the department’s achievements or those of individual scientists, as well as announcements for students. All classrooms and some laboratories were also open. I tried not to enter the laboratories, but I would have loved to visit during class time!
The little yellow robot in the photo is Robogoat, here it is online: http://www.igvc.org/design/2015/8.pdf
And the black refrigerator is the Beer Launching Fridge. Here’s a video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rygr0OUYRt8
The neighboring huge building was an indoor arena, surrounded by countless fields for various sports. They were particularly proud of their football team.
The campus area is one and a half square kilometers, slightly smaller than the Moscow State University area.
After such visits, you understand better how a university is structured. And despite the constant feeling of some post-apocalypse due to the complete absence of people in huge buildings, it creates quite a pleasant feeling and a decent idea of what it is like here on working days. If I had been a high school student, after such a “tour” I would have really wanted to study there.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 