The Telos Discovery Space Center and Renaissance Space Academy are Farpoint's founding space education centers. Farpoint a new "universe" within which our missions are housed. Goodbye Star Trek and Hello Farpoint!
Dr. Ryan Anderson, TDSC Director, has been hard at work creating models for Farpoint's Jumpships and fighters. This week he released images of the newest ships in our every growing fleet of awesome space travelling arks. In this selection of screen shots you'll see a Farpoint Jumpship and a Stinger Fighter.
In today's "Meet the Fleet," we introduce the Terran Jump Scout. Designed for speed and ease in maintenance, scouts are relatively small, with a crew of 40 people and only basic defensive capabilities. However, they are much less expensive than other jump ship variants, and therefore more affordable and well suited to serve as the front line in exploration efforts for Terran Space Command.
Interested in doing a Farpoint mission? Our three state of the art Jumpships are waiting:
The Voyager and Nighthawk (Space Academy) and the Hyperion (TDSC)
From the Historical Archives of the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center.
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| Giving the campers the "Going to Bed" rules. Look at the time, 11:25 P.M. That was normal for the overnight camps. No wonder I was always in a stupor over the weekends - no sleep. |
Allen Stewart Comments on the Space Center and Disneyland
June 11, 2003
Dear Space Cadets and Etc.
I was just reading Victor's post about Disneyland and about how to keep the magic of the Space Center alive. I was wondering just how much repeat customers we have verses those who only come once.
Anyway, I think that encouraging campers to visit the different ships is certainly one way to help keep their interest. But when I think back on the "old days" when a young Allan Stewart went on Voyager missions, I can't help but think that I went on the Voyager over and over without getting bored of it at all.
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| Campers moving their sleeping bags from the gym to the school's foyar for the "Going to Bed" speech. |
I think that the biggest thing that will keep people coming is creative storytelling. There are so many stories that can be told! But the trouble comes when all of the stories start to look the same... Sorry, Vic, but if Mad Dog takes over the ship and they fight pirates for half of the mission every time it won't work forever! Once the kids do that a few times they get used to it.
So no "cookie-cutter" stories please! Make them creative and inventive. Develop the story! Make them think about what is going on, instead of just reacting to the stuff that is thrown at them. That is what makes a lot of the Voyager stories so entertaining... especially the well developed ones like Stazi, Intolerance, and the like.
I hope that in helping Chris Call and James Porter on the new Odyssey mission (which I am not too sure about the final name yet ^_^ ) that we were able to meet this goal and that the campers will enjoy it.
-- Allan Stewart
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| The campers wait for their sleeping assignment: Would they be in the 1) Voyager crew quarters. 2) Voyager Sick Bay. 3) Bridge Sick Bay. 4) Voyager's Captain's Loft. 5) The Odyssey or 6) The Voyager's Bridge on the floor. |
Space Center Journal: June 16, 2003
Bill Schuler's role in helping develop the Overnight Camp program. New Eagle Scouts in the staff. The new summer camp missions. School construction makes for rough summer camps. A close vomit call. My problems with Event Horizon.
Hello Troops,
I thought I'd better get a Journal entry finished before our next EdVenture Camp tomorrow. I begin by wishing Mr. Bill Schuler a very Happy Birthday. Mr. Schuler is the Space Center's first non-central school volunteer. I opened in 1990 without a real staff. We had a few sixth graders to help with the simulator and that was it.
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| A Phoenix Captain waiting for warp speed. Overnight Camps. March 2009 |
Our first overnight missions were a disaster (in my humble opinion) and a complete joke by today's standards but I didn't have time to dwell on that. I had to open and then begin raising money. Overnight camps were the way to raise cash fast. In those days we started at 5:00 P.M. and ended at 11:00 A.M. (or was it noon you know I can't remember). I was stretched thinly. It was just a few eleven year olds and me. One day Bill showed up and saw I could use help. He began watching and then volunteering for specific tasks. He saw I needed someone to pick up the pizzas. He also suggested he do the videotape editing after looking at the terrible job I was doing butchering the videos for my first missions. Bill was the first to really get the idea of a second story line in a main mission off the ground by using the telephone in the Voyager's control room. He listened to the main story as it developed and then picked up the phone and made calls to the bridge. Those calls created the illusion of a large ship. These are the stories of the `old days'. If you hear us reminiscing during the evening down time before we go to bed, please stop what you're doing and listen. You'll be the better for it. Only by knowing our past can you truly appreciate our present and the path we followed to get where we are today.
I also want to congratulate Tanner Edwards and Rick Cowdell. Tanner and Rick were recently made Eagle Scouts. I was honored to receive invitations and regret I was unable to attend. There are several Eagle Scouts in our ranks. Although I was never interested in scouting I respect those that are and think highly of anyone in any organization that strives to be the best. I'm also very pleased with the report cards you've been turning in. So many
of you are A students and rightfully proud of your accomplishments. As I've always said – I'm proud to the point of boastfulness when I talk about the quality of our staff.
Last week was our first EdVenture Camp. The simulators told their new
stories:
Voyager: Event Horizon
Magellan: Operation Revenge.
Odyssey: Heir to the Empire.
Galileo: Battleship Bismarck.
Falcon: Shakedown.
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| Overnight Camps. March 2009 |
The reviews of the camp were favorable. I'm please but know we can do a bit better to equal our scores from last summer. That may be hard to do because of construction's handicap that yokes us like an anchor making any type of excursion from the simulators all but impossible. These new stories must all be told in the simulators no landing parties at all. The Magellan suffers the most with the loss of the Situation Room. They also operate in a sauna
without the swamp-cooled air that cooled their control room. I would have closed the Magellan for the summer had I understood the conditions but that is water under the bridge. We are open and all doing our best.
The Voyager's story was told in a ten-hour block. Event Horizon was overwritten by several hours and I've no one to blame but myself. The other flight directors understood my orders to write five-hour stories but you can't expect me to follow my own directives can you?
Day one went well. The kids went to bed easily, which is always a relief to me. The more sleep the campers give me the more I can give back in camp quality. Day two had a few hiccups. We finished the first rotation at 10:00 A.M. and boarded the bus for the Clark Planetarium. I sent Mr. Daymont to chaperone the field trip so I could stay at the Center and do the office work. A few hours later I got a phone call. The large IMAX screen at the Planetarium was sagging due to humidity. The movie was canceled. Our campers had to
stay an extra hour to catch the following show. What do you do with 50 kids? They went through the exhibits twice. The gift shop was more than amply browsed. It was a bit of a hiccup for Mr. Daymont but they returned happy. There were no complaints.
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| Overnight Camps. March 2009 Sego Lily Elementary School. They usually sponsored two overnight camps each school year. |
I took them swimming Wednesday evening. Video night followed and bed. My sleep was interrupted by a voice from the Voyager's hallway. "Mr. Williamson, Mr. Williamson!" I sat up realizing the voice wasn't in my dream.
"What is it?" I called out into the darkness.
"I'm not feeling well. I think I'm going to throw up." There are no words in the English language that get me to move faster than those. I was up in an instant leading him to the trash cans in the Briefing Room. 15 minutes later he was feeling better and went back to bed. I couldn't fall asleep. I was tired all day Thursday. Camp ended Thursday at 11:00 A.M.
The overnight mission went well. The first week was successful. Now the second week of camp season starts. I'll see many of you this week.
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| Overnight Camps. March 2009. On the Voyager's Bridge |
Space Center Journal: June 22, 2003
Jenna Glover's retirement. The 40 hour camps with 50 campers. Clark Planetarium and humidity. The Voyager's remodel is nearly complete. Retirements announced for Honor's Night. A new Falcon Flight Director.
Hello Troops,
The weather has been favorable this weekend. Storms with flashing lightning and rumbling thunder followed by the sweet smell of rain are good for this old soul. I understand there are many out there that share my opinion of a great day. A gloomy day, in my opinion, is one with no clouds and bright hot sunshine. A great day is one of steel gray clouds hanging low, blanketing the mountains with moisture. It is a day that asks for a jacket. When you step
from your home you feel a mist across your face on my great day. Utah isn't blessed with many of my great days so when one blows in always take the time to welcome it by stopping a minute to marvel at the mechanics of this planet.
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| Time for ice cream before going to bed Overnight Camps. March 2009 |
On Thursday evening the friends of Jenna Glover met at Dan Adam's house to send her off into retirement surrounded by those that worked with her over the years. Many of you in the Egroup may not remember the name but you wouldn't forget the person or the wonderful smile she had saved up for everyone. Jenna was the school's secretary while Mr. Adams was principal. Yes, now many of you can put a name with a face. The Space Center was
represented by Mark Daymont, Bill Schuler, Kyle Herring, and of course yours truly. I thanked her on behalf of everyone at the Center for her kindness and professionalism over the years. Afterwards I gave her a gift basket from Kneaders and a gift certificate to Los Hermonos. She wanted me to thank everyone for the gift and the memories.
Jenna and Dan are true friends of the Space Center! Dan has been there anytime we've been in a pinch with tools in hand and time he stole from others that need him. Many have told me how lucky I am to have people like this willing to help and share their talents
and time. I do know and appreciate all of you that go out of your way to make the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center what it is today. Your efforts are a memorial to the teacher the Center is named after and a gift to the children of Utah that attend. Some of you don't get to see their faces on a daily basis or hear their laughter and excitement when they arrive for their missions or camps. I do and marvel that such a place like this even exists.
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| The Sego Lily overnight campers eating their ice cream before bed. It's just going on 11:00 P.M. The ship's are emptying - the crews assembling in the cafeteria. |
On Saturday a mom and dad pulled me aside after bringing their kids here for a mission from Salt Lake City. They told me that their children had been planning for this day for months and had been marking the days off on their calendar. They wanted to know what it was about this place that had such an effect on kids. How does one explain magic of storytelling the oldest form of human communication? We are storytellers that carry on this ancient art in a very modern world. The magic is how the story is told and the involvement
of the listener. My thanks to all of you for your support and efforts.
This last week we conducted a 40-hour camp, several private missions, and an overnight camp Friday evening. The 40-hour camp went well. The visit to Clark Planetarium went perfectly no humidity on the large Imax screen. Swimming at the Orem Rec Center was wild and very dangerous for the staff. I saw poor Josh Babb and Randy Jepperson fending off repeated attacks from rabid campers intent on dunking the life out of them. I laughed from the balcony wondering how long the lifeguards would permit that kind of rough housing. They didn't seem to mind so the carnage continued. I didn't interfere thinking Randy and Josh had the sense to get out of the pool when they had had enough.
On Friday the carpet layers came back and installed the mopboard trim around the Voyager. Wow, that old girl is looking very pretty these days. Slap a little make up on her (the new paint job she had this last school year), and a new skirt (carpeting and trim) and she could pass for twelve years younger! My thanks to Kyle Herring and Randy Jepperson for going above and beyond the call of duty to be at the Center with the carpet layers so I could have some time off. They also removed the bunks from Sick Bay so it could also be carpeted. After the carpet was put down Kyle and Randy gave the sick bay a new coat of paint. The Voyager is nearly finished. It will look brand new for this upcoming school year. Monday the new floor will be installed in the Voyager's Galley. It just keeps getting better and better!
The windows of the school have been removed from the kindergarten classrooms to the office. The new school windows arrive on Wednesday. The rooms are being fitted for central air conditioning. Construction continues on the new addition on the north side of the school. As of yesterday the hole is dug but no footings poured.
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| The Odyssey Crew. Sego Lily Elementary Overnight Camps. March 2009 |
Some of you have asked about the next Honor's Night. Please be patient with me on this.
We have all been very busy lately. I promise to have one no later than the end of July.
We have several promotions to award and retirements.
Charlie Heaton retires.
A.J. Birrell retires.
Stacy Carroll retires.
Charlie and A.J. are moving on to school. Stacy will have a very demanding school schedule and feels she will need to devote more time to school and her job as year book editor. We will miss all of them. I hope all of you can come to wish them off on the next Honor's Night.
With Stacy's upcoming retirement comes a need for another flight director for the Falcon. I made the decision to give that to Josh Babb. I'm sure all of you join me in welcoming Josh as a flight director in the Falcon. Josh will be working under Lorraine Houston's supervision. Lorraine supervises the Falcon and Galileo during the camps with a primary emphasis on the Falcon.
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| The Odyssey Crew. Sego Lily Elementary Overnight Camps. March 2009 |
Look for upcoming news on Falcon developments.
David Call tells me that his brother Chris (yes, the Set Director of the Odyssey) has finished Real Estate School and is ready to begin work as a real estate agent. Good luck Chris and we hope to have you back in the Odyssey soon. Until then I want everyone to know that James Porter has been doing an outstanding job. You know, it is as I've always said, when the need at the Center is there the right people always seem to turn up to help. James was there at the right time so Chris could have this extra time to pursue his goals.
I also want to thank Mr Daymont and his awesome staff for their work in the Magellan this summer. They are working under very stressful conditions. Their situation room is a hopeless mess and useless. It will not be useable until the end of August. Without the Situation Room's cooler the Magellan's control room overheats causing real discomfort to the staff. In addition to the loss of the Situation Room the Magellan can't use any of the classrooms for landing parties like they did last year. The Magellan crews are confined to
just the Magellan room. Let's all give them an extra pat on the back for being able to deliver a good mission in such circumstances.
Well troops, that is about it for this week. Please let me know your news so everyone can keep in touch through this Egroup.
Mr. Williamson
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| The Odyssey Crew. Sego Lily Elementary Overnight Camps. March 2009 |
Construction Update: Christa McAuliffe Space Center / Central Elementary School
Pleasant Grove
Construction of the new CMSC and Central Elementary School is moving along rapidly in Pleasant Grove. These pictures are from the Space Center's Facebook Page. Be sure to "Like" the page for regular updates.
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| This is the Space Center part of the building. As you can see, the simulator floor will be underground. |
Imaginarium Theater
The Week's Best Videos From Around the World, Edited for a Gentler Audience.
The Imaginarium in Memes
