Bill Schuler is Building a Real Eye Catcher for the Space Center. I Think I'm Ready to Take the Universe's Helm. From the Archives: Celebrating the Work of the Space Center's Field Trip Educators. Imaginarium Theater.

Bill Schuler

Space Center campers, volunteers, and staff remember Bill Schuler from his 20 years at the Center playing two primary characters in many Voyager missions: Mad Dog (leader of the Orion Pirates) and Admiral Schuler. In addition to his characters, Bill was a Space Center educator and video illustrator for many missions.

Bill retired from active Space Center service several years ago but that hasn't stopped him from adding his special touch to the educational mission of the Center. Today Bill builds the rocket models on display in the Space Center's lobby. This week Bill received a Dragon 1/72 scale Saturn V. It is huge at a little over 5 feet tall. In the photo you can see his 1/72 scale Mercury Redstone on the floor. His right hand shows roughly how tall the finished Saturn V will be - major size difference. This will be a real attention getter.

Thank you Bill for your continued service to the Space Center.

I Think I'm Ready to Take the Universe's Helm.

 Hello Space Fans!

     I was Tabitha Ricks' second chair up in the Crow's Nest at the Space Center's Planetarium on Saturday.  What a view of the universe you get from up there!  Being in the trainee's chair meant that I looked but did not touch.  No messing around in experimentation mode with the paying public. Tabitha excelled at the helm, skillfully guiding our audience from Utah Valley to Betelgeuse and the Pleiades and home again with stops at the sun,Jupiter,Saturn,Mars and various points in between.   There were a few glitches which only Tabitha and I knew about. She was too good at hiding such things from the audience.  

  

     CMSC Planetarium presenters are called Navigators. All planetarium shows start with the Navigator's personal greeting from the floor. Above the Navigator are images showing the do's and don'ts everyone is expected to follow during the adventure.  "Motion sickness bags are located to the side of every chair," Tabitha said before explaining how to properly fit the floatation devices kept under the chairs should we suffer an inflight emergency and need to land in one of Titan's methane seas (I'm kidding about the bags and the devices, but I think I'll add such things to my welcome just to add a bit of Mr. Williamson to the show :)

     The lights were dimmed and the show began. 

The Beginner's Guide to the Galaxy is perfect for celestial novices who want the basics without all the scientific jargon; a perfect show for parents and children who love space and want to learn more.  

     Tabitha was good; quite able to do the show as written. What impressed me were those other moments when a member of the audience asked a question and she jumped off script to illustrate her answer. With on hand working the keyboard and the other navigating the mouse, she projected planets and a multitude of other  celestial objects not included in the basic script - all to answer that question.  It will be awhile before I'm that good. 

      After the show Tabitha slid her chair back, turned to me and said the helm was mine.  There was no hesitation in my reply. With her at my side answering questions, I found my way through the show.  When all was said and done, I felt confident enough to put my name down for the 1:20 P.M. show this upcoming Saturday.  Tabitha will be there to help me when I inevitably mess things up, but with the tutoring I've received so far from Doug, Matt, and Tabitha I feel I am capable of presenting a decent show.  Wish me luck. I'll give you a full  report next post.  

Mr. Williamson  

From the Archives

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2009

Sheila

A Class Act. Redcoats to the Rescue

 By Sheila Powell (Saint Sheila) . Space Center Educator.

     The Space Center really has two personalities: 1) The ship flight directors/support crews and the educational staff. While the flight directors and their staffs are busily engaged torturing children in the simulators, there is another group of hard-working folks busily working to keep the "second field trip" group engaged with activities in the Star Lab and Discovery classroom. The educational staff members include Lorraine Houston, (myself) Sheila Powell, Aleta Clegg, and Megan Warner. Out-of-site and out-of-mind during the morning field trips simulations, these ladies handle wound-up, excited (occasionally rude and unruly-yikes!) classes of field trip classes in the Star Lab, Classroom, lunchroom and preparing the students for their flights. 

     We have a tight schedule to follow…just as in the simulators…"Have those kids ready for transport at 11:45 am sharp!" But prior to this, they must gather the school lunches off the busses and get them into the lunchrooms, brief the students on CMSEC/Central Elem behavior expectations, take the kids on potty breaks, move the kids through the school to the Star Lab and the Discovery Classroom, make sure they have a quick lunch, and get them properly lined up and introduced to the transportation procedures all before 11:45 am Sharp!!! A daily juggling act of time vs. student/class needs!!! Sheila, the newcomer, has been leading the morning classes, while Lorraine assists on the Voyager. Then, Lorraine, takes the morning simulation group into the Star Lab and Classroom. Aleta was the designer of the amazing classroom experience! Aleta and Megan love occasionally taking a break from flight directing the Odyssey and Phoenix to cover the classes as well….which gives Lorraine and Sheila a break.
     These "classroom warriors" loosely call themselves the "Redcoats", because there are days (unbeknownst to one another), when they all wear red jackets or sweaters all on the same day. Their jobs in the Star lab (a student called it the "Star Igloo" the other day..hahahhhaha), classroom and moving the kids through the school is tough…just like in the simulators. As the Flight directors struggle with incohesive groups during a mission…the education members struggle as well. 

     Here's the difference, though, between the simulation groups and the classroom groups: The flight directors can torture the non-cooperative groups with tough alien negotiations and help from "Tex"…the classroom directors must deal upfront with rude comments, noise and disruptions in the Star lab and classroom settings. Handling the classroom experiences can be tough, but SO rewarding at the same time. There are days when the groups are talkative and refuse to listen and behave…Whew, those are tough classes! On those days, the Star lab is shut down early &/or the classroom experience is "simplified" just to get through the time. Too bad, because the class is missing out on some fine inspired learning!

     On the other days--when the classes and teachers are well - behaved, engaged and prepared--the morning and afternoon field trip classes are so much fun to teach! The kids are excited and willing to learn! they ask lots of great questions and appreciate what the education staff are presenting to them. Those days are memorable and fun to teach for the educational staff!!!!
     Needless to say, then while the flight directors and crews are directing student field trip groups in the morning…so are the "Red-coats" directing students through "the other aspect"…the educational side…through CMSEC at the same time. We are all working together to provide a one-of-a-kind, unique experience for kids….and loving every minute of the experience. No matter what kind of classes come our way!! Both "sides" of CMSEC staff handle the daily challenges the individual school/classes present to us! Separate, maybe at times, but all of us are working together as an amazing group that thrills, inspired and amazes children daily!!!!

Sheila

Mr. Williamson's Imaginarium Theater

The best videos from around the world edited for a gentler audience.

Imaginarium Theater February 21, 2021 from SpaceCampUtah's Imaginarium on Vimeo.

Mr. Williamson is Given Control (under close supervision) of the Universe. Sorry Japan for the Earthquake. I Didn't Mean to Push that Button. From the Archives: 2009 and a Week at the Space Center. The Imaginarium.

Hello Friends,

     What you won't hear in today's news is the true cause of that strong earthquake in Japan yesterday.  Using The Troubadour as my confessional, I will stand and take partial responsibility for the trembler.  The burden of guilt also rests squarely on the shoulders of Matt Ricks (sorry to throw you under the bus Matt, but you did give me control of the mouse). 

     

     Yesterday I coerced my way into the heart of the Universe's Central Command Center (UCCC) at the Christa McAuliffe Space Center's planetarium.  Matt Ricks was in the Crow's Nest monitoring an unusual movement of dark matter around Saturn's rings. The UCCC dome was brilliantly illuminated by the planet. I watched for a moment as he skillfully manipulated the Digistar 7's massive computer. We navigated up, down, and around the gas giant and its moons in search of the faintest whisper of dark energy and the even more elusive wrinkle in spacetime such an event would produce.  

     "Come on up." Matt spoke in hushed tones.  "I'll let you have a go." 

     "I'm here to learn the ropes," I explained. "I've been recalled to duty". I was the latest victim of that very same reactivation clause I had written into the Release of Duty contract all Space Center employees had to sign when they retired from Starfleet and into civilian life. 

     "So I've been told," Matt responded. 

     I climbed the carpeted steps, higher and higher until I found the Universe's controls.  Matt invited me to take a seat. Over the next hour he explained the controls as he worked his way through a stack of work orders. The last order in the file was an examination of an incoming comet. Just as we finished the flyby another order flashed on the screen. Matt gave it a quick read and mumbled. "Not this one again. NASA wants us to head to the sun." 

     "Problems?" I asked as the Digistar sped us across the fabric of spacetime to the center of the solar system. Matt was focused on the computer screen. After a moment he spoke.

     "This work order wants us to add a few more sunspots. I mean, I can give them more if they really want them, but that would disrupt the 11 year sunspot cycle and I don't have orders from above to do that."

     I understood. Any tinkering with the cosmos's natural cycles required permission from the very top - and upon examining the work order, such a signature was absent.  

     "This is a waste of your training time." Matt printed the work order, and with a stroke of his red pen quickly dispatched it to his supervisors for review. "We're going back to earth and let you have a go at the controls."  In the blink of an eye the Digistar 7 had us orbiting our home planet. "Take the mouse and I'll show you how to orbit," Matt said as he pushed the mouse in my direction.  I hesitated.

     "Are you sure?"

     "No, but you need to start somewhere." He pointed to the dome. "Look, we're over the Pacific Ocean. You can't cause much trouble here."  

     I don't know how it happened. It may have been the disorientation caused by the camera's flash but I clicked the wrong button. An alarm sounded. 

My moment of distraction. The flash and earthquake - a separation of 3 seconds. 

     "What did you do?" Matt was panicked. 

     I jumped up from the chair. "I don't know," I answered.  With two keyboard strokes Matt stabilized the Pacific plate and just as quickly as it started, it was done. 

     A tone sounded from  the Digistar's computer. Matt turned and whispered. "They're calling from upstairs.  Quick, out you go.  Hurry up they don't like to wait."  I grabbed my phone and nearly empty Diet Mt. Dew with grape flavoring and rushed out of the planetarium into the safety of the lobby.  Mason Perry sat at the welcome desk.

     "Was that you?" he smirked. 

     "Maybe," I answered. "What happened?"

     "A 7.1 earthquake off the coast of Japan..... that's a real screwup for sure.  Best to make yourself scarce and let Matt deal with it. He's good at that."  

     I exited the Space Center's double doors. It was a dark, overcast, rainy winter afternoon.  So much for my lesson on the Space Center's new planetarium controls. I think I'll give it a week before going back.

Mr. Williamson 

From the Space Center's Archives. Twelve Years Ago         

                    

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2009

My Week at the Space Education Center and Other Things. Really. I'm not Kidding.

Where is this place of Perfect Children?

Hello Troops,
It’s the kind of Sunday I enjoy. It's cloudy, it's spitting with rain but not too cold. It reminds me of an unsettled early spring day. I was out and about today. While driving I noticed Pleasant Groves’ roads were getting cratered with blemishes. Some of them were large enough to feel in spite of my Battlestar’s (my Lincoln’s) luxurious feather bed suspension system. Dodging the potholes meant dodging the other cars around me. It made driving entertaining. I think I’ll go out and drive some more once I finish this post.

People usually steer clear of my Battlestar. Its big, its heavy and it's something they don’t want to mess with in their little shrink wrapped cars. And if the Battlestar’s size doesn’t convince them to give me a wide berth - one look at me will. I wear my aviator’s leather cap with goggles and my Nottingham Forest Soccer Team scarf wrapped around my neck. I drive with the window down and head stuck part way out so the scarf flaps behind me in the wind. If I’m feeling lucky I’ll open the sunroof, straddle the center armrest, and stick my head and shoulders up through it. I steer with my knee. The cruise control provides thrust. What a rush. The locals call me the Red Baron of PG as I dodge the potholes in a beautifully choreographed dance of rubber on pavement.

OK, back to reality. Forgive the way my brain works. It's the potholes in my brain. They are the result of age and the company of 600 hyper kids a week. One day I’ll take a long rest in Willowing Acres Rest Home for Teetering Teachers. I’m paying a little bit monthly so the Home will reserve a room for me on the third floor. My family and friends know my thoughts on having a room with a view. Willowing Acres is a nice place - known for peaceful quiet and green gardens.

OK there i went again. I’ve got to get focused on what I sat down to write about............. What did I want to write about? If you know send an email and I’ll write about it next week. Until then I’ll talk about a few things that happened this week.

Monday:
We had Monday off from school so no field trip. I sat through teacher training meetings. They took us into the gym to show off Central Elementary’s new PE equipment. I got to stand near a cone and jump on one foot. After that they said to gallop like a horse in circles. Wait, it gets worse. I was handed a hockey stick and plastic puck. We stood in the four squares painted on the gym floor and had to pass the puck around the square to the other three players. Kind of hard to do when the stick is designed for midgets. I may have slipped a disk in my back. After five minutes of that I used my stick as a cane and kicked the puck with my foot. What was the inservice instructor going to say? Willowing Acres was looking better and better.

Tuesday:
I don’t remember a thing about Tuesday at the Space Center; funny to live through 24 full hours and not remember anything about it. It's kind of like driving to the store and realizing you drove the entire way unaware of anything. 
Wait, something is coming through. There is a memory from Tuesday emerging from the fog in my head. I remember telling Kyle Herring he had the Voyager private mission that day. Of course he had forgotten. He is the only person I know with a memory worse than mine. 

Wednesday and Thursday:
Parent Teacher Conferences both nights. I’ll get a parent or two of one of my pre-algebra students wanting to visit. I’ve got a great class this year so the conversations were pleasant. We ran a few Odyssey missions in the evenings. One was a junior mission. Poor Emily, Aleta and BJ. They truly distress over Junior Missions. You want to see what someone looks like after getting run over a car? Come look at Emily, Aleta, or BJ after a Junior Mission and witness what an adult looks like after being savaged by 9 hyperactive, uncontrolled pre-humans! I feel for them. CAUTION, they shouldn't mistake my sympathy for a desire to give them battle pay for Junior Missions.

Friday:
Overnight camp. We hosted 37 students from Cedar Hills Elementary. They were great kids. No throw up - thank you Fortuna! They were kids from the school’s STY sixth grade class  - you know, the gifted A.L.L kids.  (I call them STY standing for ‘Smarter than You’).

Saturday:
Brittney and I had a laugh Saturday morning as the kids ate breakfast in the cafeteria. I usually hover over the kids to keep them from escaping to the rest rooms. If you let one go you’ve lost the group. We keep them in the cafeteria until they finish eating. The flight directors take them to the rest rooms for hand washing and drinks afterwards.

I saw one boy holding a banana sitting at the table nearest to me. Now remember, this is an STY child. The boy was staring at the banana in apparent confusion. He turned it one way and then another. He smelt it and ran it over his face to feel its texture. He started to peel it and stopped. He noticed that the peeled portion of the fruit would flap as he moved the banana up and down. He was totally engrossed in this wondrous work of mother nature. Wanting to capitalize on this bit of humor, I walked over to talk to him.
“That is what we call a banana,” I said. “It's fruit and you can eat it.” He looked at me like I was stupid. Then came the smile. He understood what I was talking about. I turned away and started laughing. Brittney was sitting on a small table near the serving line. She was laughing as well. She saw and heard the whole thing. Sometimes Kids say and do the craziest things.

I Love My Job.

Take Care Troops and Have a Great Week,

Mr. Williamson

The Imaginarium Theater

This Week's Best Videos From Around the World Edited for a Gentler Audience.

Imaginarium Theater February 14, 2021 from SpaceCampUtah's Imaginarium on Vimeo.

The Falcon Returns to the Space Center. See the New Design and Watch a Thrilling Video About the New Simulator. Got the Covid Blues? A Mission at the Space Center is What the Doctor Ordered. From the Archives: A Cold Overnight Camp and Campers Say the Darndest Things. Imaginarium Theater

Happy Birthday Falcon!

In 2001 the inflatable Falcon simulator joined the Space Center fleet. It was housed in Central's cafeteria and flew the overnight campers on adventures to the furthest reaches of the galaxy. Some amazing stories were told in that unique setting.

The CMSC is excited to bring the Falcon back to add new uniqueness to the fleet. The Falcon II isn't the old bubble ship of the past. It is a real permanent set beautifully decorated and equipped to offer its crews unique missions not flown in the other five simulators.

James Porter has released a deeper look into the design of the ship exterior and a video of its new backstory. Watch the video and you'll catch a glimpse of how a civilian merchant ship was originally a warship.

Got the Covid Blues? Take the Family Out and Do Something Fun! How About a Space Adventure at the the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center?

The new simulators at the Christa McAuliffe Space Center are progressively opening. The first ship to open was the Odyssey. The Odyssey III launched on January 31.

It has been a long 11 months of construction and Covid restrictions, so it was joyous to hear the sounds of panicked crews again echo through the building.

Flights are currently open to FAMILY GROUPS ONLY at this time due to Covid restrictions. If your family is looking for adventure you can find out more and make your reservation at spacecenter.alpineschools.org/group-missions 

Friday, FEBRUARY 4, 2011

The End of a Friday......

     The Younglings from Rocky Mountain Elementary are down for the night. The staff and volunteers have either gone home or are in their sleeping bags winding down from several hours in the simulators. I'm at my desk writing this blog post while I consider hitting the sack myself. The kids have been really good - which is a blessing for us. We have exactly 23 boys and 23 girls on this camp. It's not often we get a perfect balance.
     I just looked outside. The ground is dusted with newly fallen snow. More is falling, but only visible in the street lamp's light. I'll have to brush the snow off the Battlestar before leaving at 6:05 A.M. to pick up the morning's donuts at WalMart. We're out of M and M's (our patented Magic Medicine for everything from Denebian Slime Devil bites to excessive solar radiation to third degree phaser burns and disfiguring transporter malfunctions). I've got to remember to pick up a bag or two during my morning donut run.
     The Briefing Room doesn't have heat so the temperature hovers in the mid 60's for most of the day and lower 60's at night. I brought an extra blanket, having learned my lesson by shivering all night long on last week's camp. Speaking of the cold, before going to bed I need to push the override button for the gym heating system. Mrs. Houston tells me that the heating shuts off at midnight unless I do.
     In 12 hours or so our Super Saturday will start. It ends at 5:00 P.M. For myself, and many of the staff, our one day weekend begins when we hear the final latch engage on the school's front doors when the last person leaves the building at 5:30 P.M. I feel a rush of accomplishment, having put in another long week as I drive home listening to A Prairie Home Companion on the Battlestar's radio. Those darn folks from Lake Wobegon are a hoot, don't ya know.
     Now let's be honest....... Don't you wish you were here with us right now on the overnight camp and not in your warm bed at home?
     Time to collapse on my pad with two blankets, and dream of epic battles in the Orion Cluster.......

Mr. W.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2010

Our Campers Say the Darndest Things......

Hello Troops,
     Campers are surveyed at the end of every Overnight Camp. The staff and volunteers gather after the campers return to reality to review their comments and award points to the simulators and people that score the highest on the satisfaction indexes.
     One section of the flyer gives campers the opportunity to provide feedback in written form. Here are a few of the many comments we received on this last camp. Please be advised that the interesting spelling is the author's and not mine:
“My Favorite part of the mission was the very beginning, running through and halls.”

This is a typical comment- the kind that has us scratching our heads. Kids come to the Space Center because of the simulators and when they get here all they want to do is get out of the ships for Away Teams and Landing Parties. First they want in the ships and then they want out! Go figure that one out.

“I think you can make the Space Center better by building an addition and make more awesome simulators. And make the computers touch screens".

Sure, an awesome idea. That will be the first thing on my agenda, building another addition to the school. I’ll need some of Obama’s Stimulus money for that because it ain’t gonna come from anywhere else.

“I think you can make the Space Center better by building a Romulan”

OK, someone help me on this one. How do we go about building a Romulan?

“I think the best part of my mission was saving my crew!”

Aaahhhhhh. Sweet. Gets you right in the gut doesn’t it?

“I like that everything at the Space Center felt real like Star Trek”

Felt real, like Star Trek? This kids needs to get out more often. Just Kidding :)

“I think that when the aliens shoot you with the phasers it should feel like you really got shot. Also, make some planets to land on.”

Yes, I finally find someone as warped as me. Wouldn’t you love to go to a place where you can be shot by a fake phaser that does no real damage yet feels like you were skewered with a stream of volcanic plasma? As for building a planet to land on, I've got to first remember my Calculus for planetary orbit before even considering the trillions of possible DNA competitions for life forms!

“I like beating the mission flawlessly.”

Flawlessly? Excellent vocabulary for a 6th grader. Definitely not what you’d hear from some of the students I’ve worked with in the past. “Teacher, I gone and done that there thing without a hiccup.”

"I hated the crazy wake up music.”

Tough because I picked it out last weekend. :)

“I liked blowing up a lot of bad guys.”

That’s what they are there for - blowing up.

And today’s best answer to the question, “What was the funnest thing about your overnight camp?”

Response from an 11 year old girl. “My Farting in the gym.”

     Classic, just classic. We go to all this trouble putting together the best program we can using our million dollar facility and what does this student say about our efforts?
“Farting in the gym?!” I’ll tell my staff of 25 that their efforts were well appreciated.

Sheeeeezzzze. Some Respect Please :)

Thanks Troops for Reading and Thanks for Coming to the Space Center.

Mr. Williamson

Imaginarium Theater

The best videos from around the world edited for a gentler audience.

Imaginarium Theater February 7, 2021 from SpaceCampUtah's Imaginarium on Vimeo.