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tips for saving $ at the AAPT Summer meeting



Thinking of going to the AAPT Summer meeting? The meeting is from July 29
through Aug. 2 at the University of Guelph, 30 miles west of Toronto. You
can register online at www.aapt.org, or download a registration form there
and fax it in.

Some of you may be "newbies" to AAPT Summer meetings, so here are some
useful tips on saving money and still having a good time. (This is meant to
be a help - not an advertisement for anything.)
cheers,
Jane


1. AIRFARE
You can get a BIG discount on airfare because you're a teacher. K-12 and
college teachers are eligible to buy an "international teacher card" for
$20 from STA TRAVEL agencies. This is a nationwide chain of travel agencies
that are in most major cities, usually on major university campuses. (For
example: the economy fare from Washington D.C. to Toronto is $272 + about
$35 tax; but if you buy an intl teacher card your fare is only $191 + tax!
You save about $60.)

If there's no STA Travel Agency in your city, you can easily buy your card
and get your reservations through ASU's STA Travel Agency; call
480-965-8410 and speak with any agent. They'll ask you to fax some proof
that you are a teacher; their fax number is 480-965-8417. With an intl.
teacher card, you must fly on Continental Airlines; that's the only
possible inconvenience. (I just found out all this; I wish I'd known about
it sooner! If you've already bought your ticket, this info may help you
with your next trip. It applies to international travel as well, and other
airlines are involved for that.)

The ASU STA Travel Agency is open from 8:30 to 5:30 MTWRF, MST (that's 3
hours behind Eastern Daylight Savings time, so you can get the cheap
evening rate by calling late if you're in Eastern USA.) The Intl. Teacher
card is good until Dec. 31.


Also, AAPT has obtained a 5% discount on US Airways; look in the spring
Announcer on page 57 for details.

Sometimes you can get a discount by buying on the web. You must have a
newer browser, though, to do this.


It pays to reserve EARLY! If you don't, you risk paying double or triple.
(For example, the economy airfare from Madison, Wisconsin to Phoenix is
about $250; but the lowest fare AVAILABLE for flights 2 weeks from now is
about $750!)


2. LODGING & MEALS
Rather than stay in a hotel ($100 a day + $30 for meals), reserve a dorm
room for $50/day including 3 meals. It seems like most attendees do this;
the cafeteria is filled with physics teachers at all 3 meals.

Post a request for a roommate on a physics teacher listserv, like Phys-L,
physhare, the PTRA listserv, the C3P listserv, or the modeling listserv.
You'll save $4 a day.


3. GROUND TRANSPORTATION
Instead of a rental car ($100 or more), take the Red Car Airport Service;
reserve through the AAPT for $23 each way. Call 301-209-3340 to receive the
reservation form.


Anyone got other suggestions for saving money at this meeting?

Jane Jackson, Dir., Modeling Workshop Project
Box 871504, Dept.of Physics, ASU, Tempe, AZ 85287
480-965-8438/fax:965-7331. http://modeling.la.asu.edu

"the gift of fantasy [creative imagination] has meant more
to me than my talent for absorbing positive knowledge."
-Albert Einstein