Space Center News Update

By Mr. Williamson
Director
The Space Center will return to business as usual on Monday. I enjoyed my Spring Break. I slept in most days to 6:30 A.M. which is unusual. I’m developing some pretty strange habits when I haven’t got one thousand things to accomplish in a day. Having a Friday evening off was something to be worshipped. At 7:00 P.M. on Friday I looked at the clock. I knew exactly where I would normally be at the start of an overnight camp. I would be sitting at the Sign In Table asking 45 students if their names were spelled correctly.
“Yes,” would be the normal response.
“Are you staying here tonight or going home?” would be my next question. Some campers don’t understand that question. I get that ‘are you stupid’ look. They are thinking that if this is an overnight camp why would you be asking that question? I don’t want to take the time to explain that some children go home to sleep.
“Are you staying here tonight or going home?” I ask again.
“Staying here,” is the normal response once they’ve put away the ‘I don’t understand’ look.
I find their names and check them off the list. “Take this set of rules and read them. When you finish return the paper to the desk. Keep your rank paper, You’ll be asked for it later. You can have a seat over there,” I say pointing to the stage steps. The campers rush to the steps to unite with their friends.
At 9:00 P.M. on Friday I looked at the clock once more. Normally my security walk would be finished by that time. I enjoy my walk around the school. The evening air is fresh and its quiet. The school is, for the most part, locked up tight. Occasionally I’ll find one of the trailer doors unlocked.
Most of the simulators would be well into their missions by 9:00 P.M. I take a minute at 9:00 P.M. and check the Magellan and Voyager to see if they have started. I want all simulators in flight by 9:00 P.M. and the Magellan and Voyager always push that rule. Sometimes their missions briefings go too long. Sometimes the kids took too long to train. Last Friday I was in bed at 10:30 P.M. During a camp I’d be still at my desk working at 10:30 P.M. At 11:00 P.M. I meet with the kids again and give them their snack.
At 11:30 P.M. I’m assigning the boys a place to sleep either in the Voyager or on the cots in the gym. I’m explaining the overnight rules. I’m showing them the fire exits. I reminding them where I sleep (on a pad on the floor in front of my desk in the Briefing Room) in case they need to find me during the night. I explain again where their two chaperons can be found in case of trouble. I request their help - explaining that if they let us sleep we will do a better job running the simulators for them in the morning. I’m turning down the lights at 11:40 P.M. Most of the time the boys will be good and go to bed.
At midnight I tell the staff to go to bed. The female staff go to their sleeping zone (or go home). The male staff usually sleep in the Odyssey or in the Magellan (or go home). I monitor the hallways for 20 minutes or so as the staff ready for bed. By 12:30 A.M. the halls of the school are empty. I go to my desk and collapse on my pad. I sleep lightly so I can respond to trouble. Some boys will bypass the chaperons and come to me if they’re sick, or have thrown up, or are homesick. Some wake me wondering where the school’s bathrooms are.
I’m up at 6:00 A.M. to clean up. Sometimes I need to make a quick trip to WalMart to pick up the donuts for breakfast. I get the staff up at 6:40 A.M. We have our Saturday Morning Staff Meeting at 7;00 A.M. and at 7:15 A.M. we wake the kids up.
You see how much I enjoyed my Friday night off!? It was awesome going to bed at 10:30 A.M. and sleeping in on Saturday morning.

We’ve Gone Digital!

I want to thank Sheila Powell, a teacher at the Space Center, for taking the Magellan, Voyager, and Odyssey’s training tapes home over the vacation to digitize them and burn them to CD. I’m moving our simulators from cassette tape training to CD or Mp3.
The Phoenix is currently training by Mp3 player. On Monday we open with most of the Voyager’s stations on Mp3 training. The Mp3 players are tricking to turn on. They don’t rewind so if the student misses something he must stop the player, raise his hand, and have us help.
It was revolutionary when we went from hand training to tape training fifteen years ago.
This next step will be more time saving then revolutionary. No more rewinding the tapes.
No more having tape players eat the tapes. No more using your finger to wind a tape that the machine nicely unwound for you. No more dealing with the cheap tape players.
Campers, look forward to digital training for your next visit to the Space Center.

Maintenance Update

Megan Warner gave up a large part of her Spring Break to work on the Phoenix. She came in and took apart the Phoenix’s bridge to deep clean and paint. Megan sets the example for all Set Directors on the proper way to care for a simulator.
Spenser R. has been hired as the Space Center’s Asst. Director of Maintenance. He will work with Kyle Herring’s direction. Spenser spent several hours tearing out the bunks in the Captain’s Quarters. The Voyager’s ceiling sprung a leak during the winter. Each time the snow melted the water would leak into the Captain’s Quarters. The ceiling and one wall was damaged. The roof was repaired a month ago.
Spenser found mold on the sheet rock when he checked the way last week - a result from getting soaked by the leaking roof. I ordered the wall and a part of the ceiling torn out and rebuilt. I don’t want a camper to have an asthma attack because of mold growing on the opposite side of a sleeping wall. Giving our campers and students a safe and clean environment is one of the Space Education Center’s primary goals.

Programming Update

Alex A, the Space Education Center's boy genius, was in during the Spring Break to work on the new Phoenix ship controls. He is getting close to the finish line. He promises the controls will be ready for beta testing in May and full deployment for the first summer camps. Thanks Alex for going the extra mile.


Let’s Get to Work


OK troops, the vacation is over. We have thousands of students and campers ready and waiting to come to the Center for their field trips, birthday parties, and camps. Let’s get back to work rested and excited to give them the best experience possible.
We are the only place in the world that does what we do. That can, at times, be a hindrance. Without competition there is no external source to motivate us to do a better job. To improve we must motivate ourselves. We must maintain and strengthen what we do right and change and adapt to fix what doesn’t work.
Self motivation requires more mental fuel than motivation from an outside source. Staff, remember coming to the Center when you were younger. Do you remember the excitement? Now, recreate that for the students coming to you.

Thanks to all,
Mr. Williamson

Space Education Center Volunteer Receives Lifesaving Honor Medal

One of our Space Education Center volunteers was awarded a rare honor for his brave actions last summer when he fought and wrestled off a large pit bull that was attacking his mother on their front porch.
"Only a handful of these awards are handed out each year (nationwide)," said Delyle Johnson, a local representative from Boy Scouts of America who presented Collin Jensen with the award during a court of honor. Jensen received the Lifesaving Honor Medal for "unusual heroism and skill in saving or attempting to save life at considerable risk to self," according to the National Court of Honor. He was mowing a neighbor's lawn next door on the evening of July 21 when the young Scout saw the pit bull run into his yard and attack a small dog that a neighbor had entrusted his family to watch while she went on vacation.
"He screamed for help and I came running out the front door," his mother Andrea Jensen said. "The dog had already ripped open the underside of the little schnauzer and there was blood all over the porch." When Andrea Jensen bent over to help her son save the dog from the pit bull's bite it leapt at her, knocking her on her back, she said.
"The bites were on both of her hands and had broken the skin," Orem police stated in their report. Collin "punched, pulled and pushed the dog away" so his mother could get to her feet and retreat inside the house, she said. The dog, however, wasn't done and followed her.
Andrea Jensen said she slammed the dog in the door a few times while it attempted to burst in after her, she said. But her son "kept fighting; he just kept punching it the whole time so we could shut it out and escape."
Witnessing the bloody battle affected Collin Jensen's 7-year-old sister enough she had to receive counseling.
The award was a surprise for the Orem High junior.
Congratulations to Collin! This speaks highly of the type of individuals we have volunteering at the Space Center.

The Space Education Center Takes a Vacation!

Hello Troops,
We’ve made it to Spring Break! There was joy throughout the land. I can’t describe how needed this vacation is for all of us at the Space Center. We’ve been working morning, noon and night running mission after mission trying to keep up with the demand. Crazy was one word used to describe it by one of the Flight Directors. I compared our numbers with last year and discovered we are running a record breaking season in attendance and missions run.
Most businesses would bless the increase but we aren’t most businesses. Our Center is run by one full time employee, a couple dozen part timers, and over one hundred volunteers - all busy with their own lives. Many are students with school pressures and teen age social lives
that require some of their attention. The 24 hour day can only be sliced into so many pieces. This increase brings in more money but perhaps not enough to compensate for the wear and tear on the employees and volunteers.
A message to my staff, Thank you for the time you give the Center. I know you could get a job almost anywhere else that pays more but you don’t. You realize that working here has some advantages - we are a really cool place and you work with tremendous people. You are a part of something not found anywhere else in the world but right here in Pleasant Grove. That keeps many of you here year after year. Our low turn over is a blessing to me. Running our simulators takes extensive training. It isn’t flipping burgers. A high turnover would lead to disruptions in service and that would lead to a lowering of quality.
So, in a nutshell we all need this vacation. Rest and do something completely different if you can. Let the batteries charge and come back a week from Monday ready to take the Center to the end of the school year.

Mr. Williamson

A Student's Dream Come True!

There is one satisfying benefit from seating students on the Voyager bridge as they ascend the spiral staircase - you hear their comments as they see the bridge for the first time. Some exclamations are worthy of repeat, if I could remember them. I'll hear something that brings a smile to my face and a rush of satisfaction and make a mental note to jot it down, only to forget a few minutes later. It is like my brain's files are full to overflowing and anything new I attempt to bulldoze in stays momentarily and then dissipates like a vapor to the wind. It is like George's wallet on Sienfield - for you fans of the show. You wonder if my mental stability parallels the condition of his wallet? Perhaps it does so think twice before pushing me too far.......... ;).

One sixth grader's comment a week ago found a resting place in the chaos of my thoughts. I want to share it with you.
"Oh my Gosh...... Oh my Gosh," he exclaimed as he slowly came up the stairs. His head turned from side to side taking in every aspect of the bridge. I was concerned that he would trip on the steps. He wasn't looking where his feet were going. The eye candy of the set was too much for his 11 year old nervous system.
"Oh my Gosh....... Oh my Gosh," he exclaimed as he stumbled right past me into the center of the bridge. I had my hand out to take his boarding pass but he didn't notice. Who was I anyway - some person?
"Oh my Gosh...... Oh my Gosh," he exclaimed as he centered himself under the 1/2 sphere on the ceiling and turned slowly - his arms semi-outstretched, resembling a pilgrim before the statue of his revered saint. I walked in front of him and asked for his boarding pass. He looked at me with a puzzled look on his face.
"Your boarding pass," I asked.
"Oh my Gosh....... Oh my Gosh," he exclaimed as he held it in the general direction of my hand. I took it from him. I looked at it. Written under his name was his position, right wing power. I took him by the shoulders and pointed him in the right direction.
"You are in the last chair of this row," I said gently while pushing him toward the right wing knowing he needed the extra energy to get his legs to move. He got half way to his chair and stopped. He turned toward me and spoke with a religious fever rarely heard even in testimony meeting.
"I want you to know that this is what I've dreamed about my whole life! I've finally made it! I'm on a Starship! OH MY GOSH!"
Although reactions to the Space Center are rarely that emotional, 99% of first timers ascending the spiral stairs are very excited and a bit overwhelmed by what they see. Can you believe that of all places on the Earth, in the middle of Pleasant Grove, not Las Vegas, not Orlando, not New York City, London, or Los Angeles there are six starships ready to take children on edventures in the universe of wonder.
Sometimes the magic of the Space Center wears thin for those of us that see it daily. I find myself looking for and seeing the imperfections. I find myself on a quest to find ways to improve the Center and our programs and then becoming disillusioned when the obstacles of money and bureaucracy act as mountainous speed bumps in the road. At those times I reflect on my memory of students coming up the spiral stairs for the first time. I shake my head to clear my thoughts and then, once again, as in the beginning - I see the forest despite the trees.


Mr. Williamson

A Few Thoughts from Mr. Williamson

Staff, Volunteers, Students and Campers;

Are you feeling overwhelmed? Are you stressed to the point of breaking? Are you tossing and turning at night when you should be sleeping. Are you sleeping in class when you should be learning? Perhaps you suffer from a desease called: IWANTTODOEVERYTHINGBUTIDONTHAVETHETIMEBUTIMNOTWILLINGTOCUT
SOMETHINGSOUTSOILLJUSTKEEPDOINGEVERYTHINGUNTILIDROPitus.

If you suffer from this aliment and are looking for a magic cure I want to assure you that there isn't one. There are only 24 hours in a day and nothing you do will increase that. You may choose to sleep less and thus cheat on the day by stealing hours from night but that therapy will fail over time. Soon your sanity will surrender to insanity and you'll be found doing cartwheels down State Street in your underwear!

A bit of balance is what the doctor orders. To avoid going 'GaGa'. To avoid falling asleep at your desk in school and drooling over your notes may I suggest you take a look at your schedule and decide if everything you're juggling is really necessary. You may need to cut some things out to save a few hours for other things to bring balance to your life and sunshine to your soul. Here are a few ideas.

1. Reserve time for some kind of activity. Many participate in a sport. Whatever you do to keep your heart beating is good. A healthy body is more alert. You'll spend less time sick. Physical activity is a must in any daily schedule. This is an order!
2. Give your education your very best. This is your future. Any shortcuts in this section of your time will be lasting. Shoot for the 'A'.
3. Community and / or faith. I believe everyone needs to give something back to the community. Considering volunteering for a few hours per month in a school or other organization. Giving of ourselves keeps us unselfish and gives you insights on how blessed you really are. Community and Faith gives you an anchor during troubled times.
4. Reserve time to be a kid. You need to hang out with your friends. You need to go to a movie and listen to your music. You need time to unwind. Don't feel guilty for taking time for friends. Just remember to keep it clean and follow your parent's guidelines. They've been there before and know the potholes in life's road you should avoid.
5. Don't forget your family. Teenagers find themselves wanting to spend more time with friends and less time with family. This sometimes causes parent's to 'freak out'. They've raised you all these years and find it tough to let you start creating a life of your own. Help your parents through this tough time by not neglecting your family. Don't cut them out of your decision making. Keep the lines of communication open. You'll see the apron strings loosen if you take time to talk to mom and dad on a regular basis. Shutting yourself away in your room or always hiding behind your ipod is the wrong approach. Weekly time for Mom and Dad is a must. Trust me - you'll be happier and they'll be happier.

Your life should be a careful balance of the items above. Try to keep this balance and I believe you'll be happier and more successful.

Mr. Williamson

Weekly Update from the Space Center

Our Condolences to Mrs. Houston

On Monday we learned that Mrs. Houston's father passed away. Lorraine is a teacher at the Space Center. She has been with us for nearly fifteen years. Lorraine took the week off to spend with her mother and family and will return to the Center on Monday, March 31st. Our condolences to Lorraine and her family.

A Busy Week

Busy isn't the word to describe last week at the Center. The simulators were running morning, noon, and night. By Saturday 5:00 P.M. the wear on the staff was obvious. It was all I could do to keep from curling up on the floor behind my desk and going to sleep for several hours. Brittany (Magellan Flight Director) came staggering in from the Magellan and collapsed into the desk chair opposite mine in the Briefing room. "I'm too tired to get up," she kept repeating. I told her sister Nicole, a supervisor in the Magellan, to carry her to the car and get her home to bed. Brittany and Nicole started work Friday afternoon at 4:00 P.M. It was now Saturday 5:30 P.M. - a long 25 + hours! Several of the other Saturday staff were there since Friday. Many already put in long hours during the week with school field trips and private missions.

We have two months of mind breaking days ahead. Some simulators will be running four missions a day nearly everyday. Luckily we have new flight directors on hand to help with the load. Good news as well - Emily Perry will be returning from university in April to help with the Magellan and Odyssey missions. We have a challenge but it is good to be busy. It means we are doing our job well and our students appreciate our work.

New Flight Directors

I've appointed two volunteers as new Flight Directors. Jordan F is approved to FD in the Phoenix and Christine S will be a new Odyssey FD. Both are full of energy and enthusiastic. They both work well with our campers.

Aleta Clegg New Office Assistant

Troops, I can't keep doing everything. I was slowly getting buried in my work load and not getting home until late. Aleta Clegg saw a need and stepped forward to fill it. She offered to

take on several of my office duties. This will free me up to spend more time on missions and flight directing. I also look forward to spending time with the Flight Directors in their simulators helping them sharpen their skills. Aleta is booking all students for summer camp and taking care of the YahooGroup database. She handles many of the phone calls as well.

Thank you Aleta!

Wrap Up

My thanks to our wonderful staff and volunteers for the many hours, paid and unpaid, you spend at the Center creating our one of a kind EdVentures. My thanks to our campers and students for coming to the Center. You are why we are here. Let us know how we are doing by sending me an email: director@spacecamputah.org. I'd like to know what we are doing right and how we can improve.

Mr. Williamson

Director

The Space Center's Brent Anderson is Named A Sterling Scholar

"As chief technical officer at the Christa McAuliffe Space Center in Pleasant Grove, I have been able to reach out to the community through service while refining my own capabilities in leadership and business. The Space Center provides educational and entertaining space flight simulations to elementary school students in Utah Valley. When I accepted the position in 2005, I was given neither instruction nor assistance. Since then. I have created their entire programming department, given hundreds of hours to several projects, created marketing campaigns, taught technology and business to junior high-age students and revolutionized the way the Space Center educates and entertains students from across the country. This experience has been vital in my development as a businessman and as a member of society. Working there has helped me develop people skills, make executive decisions and experience the 'real world' with a safety net. I have had an opportunity to experiment, practice and implement my own ideas in a stable environment."
"I plan to obtain a bachelor's degree in computer engineering from BYU. I will go on to receive a joint MBA/juris doctorate, lending me the business, legal and technical skills to handle my own startup businesses. "My greatest dream in entrepreneurship is to found a nonprofit mentoring organization for teenagers. This organization would partner teen entrepreneurs with volunteer businesspeople, accountants and attorneys, guiding them through the process of starting and running a business."

SCHOLARSHIP: Ranks 43 out of 531; overall GPA is 3.9; 33 composite ACT.
AWARDS AND PROJECTS: Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center chief technical officer; Forkaster publicity editor; consulting services; Student of the Month for Counseling and Business; National Merit Semifinalist; high honor roll; academic letters in German, math, English and Renaissance; Business Law Skill Certificate; IC3 Certification; trumpet section leader; BYU senior projects judicator; BusinessQ Rookie of the Year; journalism publicity editor; German National Honor Society; American Fork City Youth Council; Youth Committee Chairman.

FRONT | INTRO. | CATEGORIES | NOMINEES | FINALISTS | WINNERS

Are You Ready for a Challenge? Try This!

New Records for Midnight Rescue on the Voyager!

Today two records were set in the Voyager for our school mission “Midnight Rescue”.
Eaglecrest Elementary sent two of its sixth grade classes for our regular field trip.
There were 32 students in each class. While one class takes the astronomy lesson and planetarium presentation the other class is in the simulators. The AM mission started right on time. The captain seemed rather confident. “I play a lot of strategy games,” he told me as I was setting him up with his radio headphones. “As if that will help,” I thought to myself. It was rather cynical but this is the time of year with I get that way.

The mission started. The captain impressed me. He stayed focused and attentive. He paid attention to detail and listened. His decisions were spot on. He seemed to know what to do in every situation. When all was said and done they ended with a 0 score!
A perfect score is -3. They beat the record set by Deerfield Elementary.

The afternoon crew boarded the simulator at 11:45 A.M. They were great kids.
I hesitated to score them. I didn’t want them to leave with 7 strikes and have to hear about the 0 score from the other class while on the bus for 40 minutes. The mission started and strangely enough they were rolling through with errors. I think the teacher was giving them suggestions on what to say during the debates which helped but not enough for me to disqualify the class. At the end of the mission they also scored a 0!

Two classes from the same school on the same day with 0 scores. I don’t think a day like this will be repeated. Congratulations to Eaglecrest Elementary for a job well done.

Mr. Williamson

The Power of Suggestion

Magellan Simulator Security Officers Discuss Options with Staff

By Alex A.
Space Center Programming Guild

A few weeks back, I was doing bridge on the voyager. This was a slightly older group (about 14-15 years old) and they were running 'Midnight Rescue.' They were doing a pretty good job, and eventually transported the New Earth engineer (Sierra, a Central worker) onboard. The security quickly dispatched her and brought her up to the brig. After a few minutes, the engineer stirred and the security officer quickly grabbed his interrogation papers and began badgering the helpless engineer. The engineer curled up in the corner and didn't say a word. Discouraged, the security officer emerged from the brig and walked up to me. He said "What am I doing wrong? She won't tell me a thing!" I thought for a moment, and then told him "Well, maybe you are being too harsh with her. She might feel more comforted if you talk to her kindly." I told him to act like his best friends mom would act to him. He stood there for a moment, probably thinking "He wants me to do that!?! He's crazy!" But eventually he walked back to the brig with his clipboard and warily stepped in. The engineer looked up at him, and then resumed her original position. He walked closer to her and said something like "Are you alright? It's okay, don't worry." Remember that this is a 14-15 year old guy. I smiled and returned to the bridge. A few minutes later I decided to check up on the conversation and saw the security officer crouched down next to her, talking with the engineer in that same soothing voice. I saw a few of the questions filled in on his clipboard. It amazed me that I was able to make this security officer warm up to this engineer so much by just telling him to.

I guess that is all.

Alex A