Stars of TV Show 'Mythbusters' To Speak To Students

Stars of the television show "MythBusters" are returning to Dublin on Wednesday to speak to students about science and engineering less than
three months after the show's team accidentally sent a cannonball into a
local neighborhood.

Adam Savage and Kari Byron, two stars of the Discovery Channel show that examines the validity of popular myths and urban legends, will be speaking Wednesday at Dublin High School as part of National Engineers Week, answering questions from students in a moderated panel session.

The show became infamous in Dublin on Dec. 6 when one of its experiments went awry at the Alameda County bomb range, sending a cannonball into a nearby neighborhood.

The 30-pound projectile missed its mark at the range, instead careening off into the neighborhood where it damaged two homes and a parked car. No one was injured in the incident.

Officials from the San Francisco-based show apologized to the affected residents in the days after the incident, and held a community meeting on Dec. 17 to address concerns about safety.

After the accident, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office closed the range and MythBusters, which had conducted experiments there for years under the supervision of the sheriff's office, also suspending any filming at the
site.

Shelley Fischer, administrative assistant in the superintendent's office for Dublin Unified School District, said she expects questions about the December mishap to come up during Wednesday's event.

"But that wasn't the intent," Fischer said. "We hope the focus is on the science and engineering part."

Wednesday's event has generated a lot of interest in the area.

Fischer said there were seats for 1,000 people, with district students and
their families getting priority admission, and all the tickets were snatched
up within 24 hours.

Following the panel discussion, there will be demonstrations from local school robotics clubs and other science students. University of California at Berkeley and other local colleges are also participating in the event, Fischer said.

- Bay City News