The Troubadour: Photos of the Original Galileo. Heck Week at the DSC. The Imaginarium

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Photos of the Original Galileo. Heck Week at the DSC. The Imaginarium

Disgruntled Discovery Space Center employees showing their displeasure with Heck Week.
The DSC has a very polite and respectful staff who will go right back to work if they think
their demonstration will hurt BJ's feelings.

Hello Troops,
Heck Week has been a Space Center tradition for over 20 years. It started in the early 1990's when I was much younger and full of energy. We had too many campers wanting to come to too few camps. Our summers weren't long enough, especially because we were closed the first two weeks of August for school cleaning and maintenance. Putting three day camps back to back was the only way of meeting the camp demand, and that's just what I did one week of every summer. The week with the two back to back, three days camps was our Heck Week.
The Discovery Space Center in Pleasant Grove is in the midst of its first Heck Week. Their Leadership Camp went from Monday to Wednesday. Their Galaxy Camp starts tonight and ends Saturday morning; that makes for six very long days, running from 7:00 A.M. to 11:00 P.M.
I'm grateful I'm not in charge at the DSC. I don't have to be there all six days like I was when I was the director of the Space Center. That job falls on BJ Warner and his young and energetic staff. My contribution to the event is chaperoning. I leave home at 10:40 P.M., drive to the DSC, report for duty, ask how many boys I'll have, set up my pads (yes, I'm still on the floor after all these years) and wait for my charges to exit the ships for bed. I take them into the Great Hall, gather them around and give my usual speech covering such exciting topics as:

The Happy Bucket and the correct procedures for vomiting.
Fire Exits
Bathroom usage
Snoring
Sleep walking
Penalties for attempted escapes (no one ever escapes from one of my camps. No one).
Nocturnal Noise Abatement (for those who like to impress their fellow campers with the bodily noises they have in their repertoire).

Once the Going to Bed speech is given, the campers select their air mattresses and stake out their little corner of the room. Inevitable, one or more of the air beds will deflate during the night, so I show them where the spare air mattresses are located.
I turn out the lights once they're settled. I give them a few minutes to let their eyes adjust to the dark before asking if any of them would like to move. I keep certain lights on in the hall so the boys can find their way around the room during the night without stumbling over their campmates. Some of the boys like sleeping near the lights, others find the lights too bright and want to move to darker areas of the hall.
I go to bed once everyone is settled. I don't sleep very well on these camps; the snoring wakes me up, the shouting and ranting from the boys prone to sleep terrors wake me up, the sleep walkers wake me up as they stumble around, but I do it and do it happily. It is my contribution to the cause to keep the overnight component of the Space Center alive and well, considering the original Space Center only runs day camps and private parties now.
Come and join me at the Discovery Space Center on one of the few remaining camps of the summer season. Help support the overnight camp program and have a great time all at once.

Mr. Williamson

The Original Galileo

Tanner Chamberlain stands in front of the first Galileo. I believe the first Galileo opened
in 1995. It was made of wood and held 5 people. It was built by Kyle Herring and Central School's
principal, Dan Adams.

James Porter was one of the Galileo's flight directors.

The nose cone held the TV main viewer. This is what you had to do to turn the
TV on and off.

The Galileo was a nice looking ship that required a lot of maintenance.
The warp cones and nose cones always needed putty, sanding and painting..
The good thing about this Galileo was its movability. It sat on wheels. It was light enough
for two people to push it around the room with a crew of 5 onboard

The front of the Galileo

The back of the Galileo. There was very little room. Not a good
simulator for the claustrophobic.

Getting ready to open the Galileo's hatch.
That a young Megan Warner, current Space Center Director, on the far right.

The Galileo waiting for her crew

The original Galileo was auctioned off and sold for a couple hundred dollars when the new Galileo was built.
Someone got quite a deal when they bought this ship.

Did you fly in the original Galileo as a camper? If so, I'd like to hear your story. Please send them to me here at The Troubadour (spacecamputah@gmail.com). I'll post the stories for everyone to enjoy.

Mr. Williamson