MythBusters hosts visit Dublin High

DUBLIN, Calif. (KGO) -- Two hosts from the TV show MythBusters made a visit to Dublin Wednesday night. They went there less than three months after the show sent a rogue cannonball smashing through a home, but this night wasn't about apologies. It was about science.

MythBusters Adam Savage and Kari Byron spent their evening at Dublin High School for its Engineering Academy open house. It was a chance for bright, young minds to hear the hosts talk about their passion for science.

"We were so excited and I was able to meet them and shake their hands, so I was really excited for that," said student Elizabeth Child.

Child is a junior at Dublin High and remembers the MythBusters' last run in with the city of Dublin.

"It was really shocking to me I guess because I didn't think it would happen," said Child.

What happened was their experiment at the Alameda County bomb range on Dec. 6th didn't go as planned. A 30 pound cannonball missed its target and shot into a neighborhood damaging two homes and a parked car. Fortunately, no one was hurt. And these Dublin residents seem forgiving.

"I think that they were sincerely sorry about it, but I have to assume that maybe the reason they're here is partly due to that incident," said parent Greg Nelson.

Dublin Mayor Tim Sbranti says he's happy the MythBusters could be a part of this event.

"I think they're a real inspiration to the students here at Dublin High School and the Dublin Unified School District because what their show does really helps promote science and engineering and mathematics," said Sbranti.

And these students are really into science. Child and her team created what she calls a simple base bot.

"We have an ultrasonic sensor put onto it, connected to a micro controller, so that if it senses something within X amount of inches from it, it will turn around and stop and move away from the foot," said Child.

And despite the cannonball incident, the students were excited the MythBusters got to see their robot.

"It was a while ago and there were precautions and stuff taken to help those families and those people, so I think most people have moved on, but I don't think they're going to forget about it anytime soon," said Child.

The families affected by the flying cannonball probably won't be forgetting for a long time. The cannonball went down a hill, through a door, out the back, across the street, hit another house, then landed in a van.

The Dublin mayor told ABC7 that he is impressed by the MythBusters and how they have responded since the incident and says he's still working with them on safety protocol.

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