Venue
Welcome to the Quad
We're expecting the biggest turnout yet for the upcoming hackathon, so we're upgrade the venue. This time we're hosting the event in The Quad.
The Quadrangle consists of three College Houses: Fisher Hassenfeld, Riepe, and Ware, each of which are made up of several smaller dormitories. Built in the 1890s, the Quad was inspired by the English medieval structures and intimate courtyards of Oxford and Cambridge. It boasts two impressive entrance ways known as Lower Quad Gate and Upper Quad Gate. Today the Quad primarily houses freshman.
But first, the Hall of Flags
Hacking itself will take place in the quad, but to ensure enough space for the kickoff (Friday evening) and demo sessions (Sunday afternoon), those will be held in Houston Hall's largest room, the Hall of Flags.
Houston Hall is a short 4 minute walk from the Quad. The Hall of Flags, with its main room and balcony, can support up to 300 people and supports at least 2 bars of cellular reception, setting a PennApps record for cell phone signal quality.
Getting here
Heads up! We don't want the cost of getting here to be a barrier to your attendance so if you decide to come by bus, the trip is on us. If you go to school in the middle of nowhere, we'll cover a portion of your train or plane fare or your whole gas bill (provided you carpool!) if a typical bus trip would be too inconvenient. If there isn't a convenient bus route, we'll reimburse up to $150 in Amtrak travel expenses, and if there also is no convenient Amtrak route, we'll reimburse up to $200 in airfare. When you get here, just show your receipt to one of the organizers when you arrive and we'll be happy to get you reimbursed. If none of these places look familiar to you, feel free to email us and we'll work out the details of your transportation!
- The first, and most common, option is to travel by bus. Both Bolt Bus and Megabus have regular buses between NYC and Philly. The trip is about two hours and many buses offer free wi-fi.
- You may also choose to use Amtrak, which will cost anywhere from $30 to $200 dollars one way. The Acela Express, while on the high end of that price range, does provide free wi-fi for the duration of your trip. Prices can increase by up to $100 as the date nears, so we suggest you buy tickets in advance. The trip takes an hour to an hour and a half.
- Another option is to take NJ Transit to Trenton, and then transfer to SEPTA to Philadelphia on the Trenton Line. This takes about three hours and costs about $30 each way, depending whether you're traveling peak/off-peak. You don't have to purchase tickets in advance for this method of transportation.
- Microsoft has bought megabus tickets for CMU participants - the bus will be leaving Pittsburgh at 11 AM on Friday, and will return Sunday evening. We will email all registrants coming from Pittsburgh with instructions on how to get on the bus; some registrants may have to purchase their own tickets (but will be reimbursed).
- By bus, the trip is six to seven hours. Many buses in the Megabus fleet have free wi-fi. Additionally, Greyhound offers trips to Philadelphia. As noted above, we will reimburse bus transportation, so this will be free for you.
- If the idea of spending that much time in a bus doesn't suit you, you can spring for Amtrak, which ranges from $50 to over $150 each way. The Acela Express offers free wi-fi for the duration of the trip, and can cost as little as the standard Northeast Regional train if you buy in advance. Either way, ticket prices can increase by $100 as the date nears, so if you choose Amtrak, buy early. The trip takes about five to six hours.
- Another option is to buy a plane ticket - again, buy early, and you'll cut costs. Tickets can be had for about $100 round trip, and the flight only takes an hour. We suggest using Hipmunk or a similar service to compare flights.
- By car, the trip takes 6 hours. We'll reimburse your whole gas bill if you bring your friends along!
- A bus trip from Providence to NYC takes 4 hours. We've now reduced the problem to one that we know the solution for. We will fully reimburse bus fare.
- A train trip from Providence to Philly on the Northeast Corridor. You can take either the Acela Express or the Northeast Regional. It's 4.5 hours by Acela and 5 hours by Northeast Regional. We will reimburse up to $150 of Amtrak fare. (Acela fare is sub $150 if you book early enough!)
- A plane trip trom PVD to PHL will take you about 1 hour on a nonstop flight. We'll reimburse up to $150 of your expenses
- By car, the trip takes 5 hours without traffic. We'll reimburse your whole gas bill if you bring your friends along!
- A bus trip From New Haven to NYC takes 2 hours. We've now reduced the problem to one that we know a solution for. We will fully reimburse bus fare.
- A train trip from New Haven to Philly on the Northeast Corridor. You can take either the Acela Express or the Northeast Regional. It's 2 hours by Acela and 4 hours by Northeast Regional.
- By car, the trip takes 3.5 hours without traffic. We'll reimburse your whole gas bill if you bring your friends along!
- A bus trip from Ithaca to NYC takes 6 hours. We'll fully reimburse bus fare.
- A plane trip from ITH to PHL takes 1 hour. We'll reimburse up to $200 of plane fare.
- By car, the trip takes 4 hours. We'll reimburse your whole gas bill if you bring your friends along!
- A bus trip from Washington DC to Philly takes 3.5 hours. We'll fully reimburse bus fare.
- A train trip from DC takes 2 hours on the Northeast Regional and 1.5 on the Acela Express.
- By car, the trip takes 3 hours. We'll reimburse your whole gas bill if you bring your friends along!
- A bus trip from Baltimore to Philly takes 2 hours. We'll fully reimburse bus fare
- A train trip from Baltimore to Philly takes 1 hour
- By car, the trip takes 2 hours. We'll reimburse your whole gas bill if you bring your friends along!
- Take the NJ transit Northeast Corridor to Trenton and transfer to SEPTA at Trenton to Philly. This trip takes about 2 hours. We'll reimburse this.
- Take the Amtrak on the Northeast Corridor. It takes less than an hour. We'll reimburse up to 30 dollars of train fare.
- By car, the trip takes an hour. We'll reimburse your gas bill if you bring your friends along!
- The bus takes 4 hours to get to Philly. We'll reimburse the bus fare fully.
- By car, the trip takes 4 hours. We'll reimburse your gas bill if you bring your friends along!
Philadelphia
The Quadrangle
3650 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104