Volunteering to Start Again. The Web Sites are Back Up. Space and Science News. The Imaginarium

Volunteer Open House at the Discovery Space Center

An exclusive open house and tour of the new Discovery Space Center in Pleasant Grove for the Space Center's former volunteers and their parents will be held on Tuesday, March 26 from 6:30 to 8:00 P.M.  Volunteers may attend without their parents if the parents are unable to attend.

Schedule:
6:30 P.M. to 7:00 P.M.  Tours of the Discovery Space Center
7:00 P.M. to 7:30 P.M.  Information meeting.
      A.  The administrators and staff of the Discovery Space Center will be 
            introduced
      B.  How the volunteer program will work at the DSC.
      C.  Questions and answer session.
7:30 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.  Tours continue and refreshments.  

Please wear your Space Center T-Shirt for old times sake.  Again, this is for the Space Center's former volunteers and their parent only, no siblings please.  Please RSVP if you plan on attending (spacecamputah@gmail.com)

Announcing Farpoint Institute at Renaissance Academy

Hello Troops,

The following is a press release sent out from Renaissance Academy outlining our Space EdVentures Foundation's Farpoint Institute program scheduled to start Renaissance next month.  Please attend the open house described in the press release below if you are interested in learning more.  

For more information:   farpointacademy.org  

Press Release

Renaissance Academy, Victor Williamson and the SpaceEdVentures Foundation are excited to announce their strategic partnership to create The Farpoint Institute at Renaissance Academy in Lehi, Utah. The institute will serve as a community center for the development and teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (S.T.E.A.M.) curriculum and educational simulations. Mr. Williamson will be the Director of the Farpoint Institute.

 Mr. Williamson has been a nationally recognized educator for over 30 years. He is also the founder and creative force behind the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center in Pleasant Grove. With the help of many dedicated local volunteers, Mr. Williamson and his talented Space Center staff have produced an amazing journey of educational discovery for nearly 310,000 people over the last 23 years.

Mark Ursic, Executive Director of Renaissance Academy comments on the shared vision of these two organizations: "The motto of Renaissance Academy is: Curiosity translating into Contribution: Play, Wonder, Explore, Serve. Victor Williamson's educational philosophy has always incorporated these elements into innovative educational programs that challenge students in ways not possible in a traditional classroom. Our school charter includes a similar mandate--to provide an experiential and cross-curricular education for our students. We do this well and our commitment to that methodology distinguishes us in the education community. Under Victor Williamson's leadership, the Farpoint Institute will provide even greater educational opportunities for K-12 students in the area.

Victor Williamson: "I am looking forward to working with Renaissance Academy to develop programs that inspire young people to expand their horizons and provide them the skills necessary to realize their dreams. My personal motto is: Imagine, Believe, Learn and Do. This motto, like that of Renaissance, relies on inspiration as the fountainhead of learning. This shared philosophy sets the stage for the creation of exciting and dynamic educational opportunities that will take children to the next level of critical thinking by building confidence, working as a team and proving that education can be fun and engaging."

Farpoint's first initiative will be a S.T.E.A.M. based after school program open to Renaissance Academy's students and the community-at-large. Students in the after school program will have the opportunity to learn from Mr. Williamson and previous space education center volunteers in a variety of hands-on classes, including:

• Astronomy
• Space Exploration
• Aviation
• Geology
• Nuclear Science
• Web Development

A number of these classes meet Boy Scout merit badge requirements. Classes are scheduled to begin in the next few weeks and registration materials will be available at www.renacademy.org.

A presentation will be given to the community on the future of the Farpoint Institute on Wednesday April 17, 2013 at 7:00 PM at Renaissance Academy. Press is welcome to attend the event on Wednesday evening. Exclusive media interview time will be held from 6:45-7:00pm.

The Space Center Community's Web Site is Up and Running!

Yesterday, members of the Space EdVentures Foundation's board met to finialize and approve the new Space Center Community's website (spaceedventures.org).  You can link through to the new Farpoint Academy website (farpointacademy.org).

Let me say how awesome it is to have such great people on our board of directors.  Kyle Herring, Heather Groom and myself talked and gave input while Brent Anderson programmed.   Heather came to the meeting with Subway Sandwiches in hand.

A Special Add On for the Space Center's Real Old Time Staff and Volunteers

Hey, all you Space Center old timers, move your mouse of the front page logo and click for a surprise I'm sure you'll all recognize.  Thanks Brent for the extra effort to get that included and thanks Matt Ricks for reminding me of that feature I enjoyed from the old old web site.

Mr. W. 

Space and Science News

➤ Holographic Display: http://is.gd/QpX0l9
➤ Emotional Computer: http://is.gd/EbhQ9b
➤ Age of The Universe: http://is.gd/4ItIiL
➤ New Frog Species: http://is.gd/c9bfrv
➤ Tea, Bone & Teeth Disorders: http://is.gd/ik28Zw
➤ Comet & Dinosaurs Extinction: http://is.gd/cZsVb1

Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference and/or the use of reason.  "The word 'intuition' comes from the Latin word 'intueri' which is usually translated as 'to look inside' or 'to contemplate'."  Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot justify in every case. For this reason, it has been the subject of study in psychology, as well as a topic of interest in the supernatural. The "right brain" is popularly associated with intuitive processes such as aesthetic abilities.  Some scientists have contended that intuition is associated with innovation in scientific discovery. 


News from the New Space Center Program in Logan, Utah.

By James Porter

Director of The Space Center, Logan Utah

Great news, we have a facility! The details are being worked out but we are very excited to be partnering with Wilson Elementary to help bring hands on science to their students and our program to the whole community. If things go well we could be moving in as soon as the second week of April. Keep spreading the word: Like Facebook.com/spacecenter for a chance to win a Kneaders gift basket and don't forget to stop by http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spaceedcenter/space-education-center because all our little donations are going to make this program happen.

Do you Dream About the Space Center?  This Former Volunteer and Staffer Does

Jason Hills, a former Space Center volunteer and staffer, has dreams of his time at the Space Center.
He wrote the following on Facebook.

Once every few months or so I have a space center dream (yeah, it's still that often). Tonight I dreamt that I showed up for a visit just as you needed someone to play a Romulan. Needless to say, my years of bridge-taking experience made me an excellent candidate.
Thanks again for unforgettable experiences which still fuel my dreams!

Thanks Jason for Sharing.

I too have had many many dreams and many many many nightmares about the Space Center  :)

Mr. W.

Space Center Volunteer Gets Great Opportunity to Travel and Learn

An email from Space Center volunteer, Caitlynn Stone

A few months ago I received an opportunity through my school, Laurel Springs, to travel to Costa Rica for a nine day trip. The trip is based around the chance to go to a 2-3 day Earth conference on the environment, global issues, solutions to these problems, etc. Different people like Al Gore (former vice president), Óscar Arias (former Costa Rican president and nobel peace prize winner), as well as many other influential people that have a lifestyle focused on the environment like biologists. The reason I get to go is largely due to my being a member of my school, where the students are often people that need a different type of education (online) to match their lifestyle. The idea of having students as a member of the conference is that we are not only younger people with our own ideas, but also that we are going to be taking the world from the adults.

For my own personal travelling party we have plans to go out to Costa Rica six days before the actual conference. The reason for this is so we can learn more about the local rain forests and people. Costa Rica has even dealt effectively with a large amount of the global issues that we face. Different ways we are going to experience the country are by travelling down a river, visiting a few national parks, zip lining through the cloud forest, and planting a few trees. The last few days of the trip will be spent at the conference listening to different speakers and communicating directly with people for the collaboration and bringing together ideas.

Before we even go on this trip we are going to create a short video for the Local Challenge. Basically just approaching one issue and figuring out how other countries have approached our chosen problem as well as coming up with our own ideas on how to fix it. These videos will help to put our information and ideas into a more centralized form. 

Another interesting part of this trip is that I am going to be one of the few students that will also be going as a reporter. I will be writing articles on Costa Rica and all of our adventures, even interviewing some of the locals to help create my articles until eventually I can report on the actual conference. This entire experience will not only be extremely fun and a very unique experience, but also definitely aiding in my learning more about the world. It will potentially help us all fix some of the environmental issues and make others more aware of their very existence. I am honored to be chosen for this trip, and really look forward to it!

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