A New Addition to the Space Center's Picnic Area and Answers to Your Questions

New Additions to the Space Center's Picnic Area

James Merrell has volunteered at the Space Center for nearly 3 years.  He called me some time ago asking if there was something he could do at the Space Center for an Eagle Scout Project.

Two years ago I served on Clark Planetarium's Board of Advisers.  Seth Jarvis,  the Director of Clark Planetarium, gave me a granite plaque honoring the Challenger astronauts.  The planetarium didn't have a suitable place to display the plaque properly and thought of the Space Center. The Space Center was named after Christa McAuliffe, America's teacher in space who died aboard the Challenger when it exploded over the Atlantic in 1986. 

I told James I'd like the plaque mounted for everyone to see in our picnic area.  We also needed a permenant trash can.  Both projects would meet his Eagle Project requirement.

James finished the project two weeks ago.  Helping James with the project were;

Barry Merrell, Annette Merrell, Robbie Merrell, James Merrell, Dennis Spackman, Mike Roundy, Tyler Roundy, Austin Roundy, Dustin Roundy, Shad Roundy, Darin Harris, Duff Gardner, Jay Fletcher, Ken Fackrell, Emma Lynn, Jordan Reitz, Tanyon Jorgensen, Nikki Bailey, Jonas Mooney,  West Lewis and Miguel Nolasco.

I'd like to thank James and his team for a job well done.  The plaque and the permanent trash can complete our picnic area on the school's northeast corner.
It is a fitting tribute to the astronauts who died on the Challenger.  Their sacrifice and dedication to the exploration of space will be memorialized at our Space Center.

The Space Center's Picnic Area before the addition of the plaque and trash can

A few of the many who helped James.

 The Granite Plaque

The face of the plaque

The permanent trash can

James Merrell our newest Eagle Scout

 

A Great Article on the Use of Simulations in Education

http://www.creativeteachingsite.com/edusims.html


Answers to Your Questions

Caitlynn asked:
Do you know if we will still have the guilds? Or really if there is anything large that will change about the space center in regard to that line of thought?

Thank you for the question.  I don't know what will happen to the Space Center's Guilds.  The Space Center is under district office management.  They have directed me to close our organizations, clubs and programs pending recommendations from the fifteen member Space Center Committee.  The committee will make its recommendation to the Alpine District School Board.   

The committee is concerned because many of our dedicated and highly trained volunteers and staff have found employment elsewhere.  Others are preparing for LDS missions, while others have joined other school clubs and organizations.   

I strongly believe the Space Center should retain the Guilds.  I will do everything I can to ensure our guilds, clubs, classes and camps remain a part of the Space Center experience.  

Adam asked
I was just reading the blog and have a few questions.
Is the voyager, Magellan, and Galileo going to stay at central, or will we rebuild them in a new place.
Also, have the committee found out where the new space center will be?
Thanks for all you do.
-Adam P.

Thank you for your question Adam.  We have been assured the new center will have simulators.  We hope they will continue to be futuristic starship simulators.  I will encourage the committee to keep the names of our former simulators. 

The Space Center Committee will consider what to do with the simulators at Central School, then make a recommendation to the school board.  The simulators may stay at Central or be removed.  

Anonymous asked
I love the missions on the odyssey and voyager is there any way that those missions could be converted to the other ships? 

Thank you for the question.  The missions told in the permanently closed Odyssey and Voyager will hopefully be told in the other ships.  We can't begin the rewriting and mission prep work to get them converted to the other ships because our programming guild is closed.  I don't have permission to use Space Center funds to pay our staff and programmers to work on the story revisions for the remaining ships at the present time.     

Anonymous asked
I finished all of the requirements to become a volunteer right before the Center closed. All I had left was the final phone call... Will I be able to start up as soon as they Center reopens, or will I have to go through the process again. (BTW my observation form is framed in my room. just waiting...)

Thank you for the question.  You will not have to redo your mission observations when and if we get any of our simulators reopened at Central School.  Volunteers will be needed if the ships open.  Thank you for volunteering.