More New Pictures from the CMSEC's Voyager Era (1990-2012) Telos Discovery Space Center and InfiniD Fly Thousands of Students at the STEM Festival. Theater Imaginarium.

The Staff in the Discovery Room enthralled and captivated by the words of their fearless leader
Casey, Brittney, Stacy, Rachel, Christine, Erin, and Taylor 

Life at the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center in the Voyager Era (1990-2012)

Hello Troops,

The Troubadour is pleased to bring you another of its weekly "Life During the Voyager Era at the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center".  Today I have six newly discovered photographs from that time.  

Stacy Carrell was the Galileo's Set Director. Here she is in the Odyssey's Control Room.  Was she flying the Odyssey or just visiting one of her many co-workers and friends?  I've been told repeatedly by many flight directors both past and present that Stacy was one of the best flight director trainers the Space Center ever had.  

The old Odyssey was a temperamental ship, no doubt about it.  You never knew what it would throw at you when you woke it from its slumber for a field trip or private mission.  The blue styrofoam behind Stacy covers a sealed door between the Odyssey's Control Room and the school's library.  The styrofoam was to dampen the noise between ship and library. It didn't work very well, leading to constant tension between Mrs. Schiller and the Odyssey's staff.

    

The girls hard at work beautifying themselves.  Stacy, Erin, Rachel, and Caity.

 Rest assured I wasn't the one who took the photo above. Here you see several of our female staff doing their hair in the 4th-grade girl's restroom.  I always wondered where people would disappear to when I needed them.  Now I know. 

Stacy and Emily Accusing Each Other of Leaving the Set Up Landing Party on the Stage a Shambles

Stacy and Emily were good friends.  Yes, they would at times disagree over this and that as most flight directors did - especially when it came to landing parties on an overnight camp.  Who was going out first and what part of the school did they claim as 'theirs' was the usual trigger for a fiery discussion.

Aleta Clegg, the best camp cook, planetarium director, teacher, merit badge instructor, and office manager a Space Center Director could wish for.

Aleta Clegg, pictured above, saved my sanity the day she suggested she help me trim my daytime hours from 13 to 11 hours by taking over several of my office responsibilities.  Aleta did the deposits, answered emails, returned phone calls, and just about anything else I needed done. Her work freed me up to fly double field trips, work with the staff, handle volunteer and staff schedules, teach my pre-algebra class, and the multitude of other things that filled my day from dawn to dusk.   

Brent Anderson and ? sitting in front of my desk in the Briefing Room. Brent was the Programming Guild Director

Brent Anderson (above) was my Programming Guild Director and the Space Center's IT guru for a few years before his mission. He kept our ships operational. He was the man we called when the ships refused to obey a flight director's commands.  He was the one of the Space Center's first "ship whisperers".  He had the temperament, personality, and skill to coerce, cajole, and tease a simulator back into action.  

Mr. Williamson

Telos Discovery Space Center and InfiniD Fly Thousands of Students at the STEM Festival.  

The line to enter the Valiant and Titan at the STEMfest in Sandy last week. Casey Voeks is seen next to the Titan

The 2017 Utah STEM Fest was held last week at the South Towne Exposition Center in Sandy. The expo attracts more than 30,000 students, teachers and parents every year.
Dozens of local exhibitors set up interactive booths with hands-on activities for kids, from a vortex cannon that shoots concentrated air at delighted onlookers to InfiniD's Titan Starship Simulator and Telos Discovery Space Center's Valiant Simulator.  Other booths included biotechnology secrets, Lego robots, and drones equipped with thermal cameras.

InfiniD's Titan Simulator

One of the Crews on their 3 minute live or die Mission

 InfinD's Casey Voeks sent me a text summarizing the InfiniD and Telos team's exhausting Tuesday schedule. "We flew about 125 three minute flights today with our partners at TDSC. The Titan and the Valiant flew. It was rad. About 10% of the crews beat the scenario. Who needs Disneyland when you have InfiniD Learning?!? 2 hour waits today to fly a three-minute problem-solving scenario at Utah’s STEM Fest. 1500+ simulated deaths. We love our partners at USSynthetic and we love flying around with #kidsinspace.  There you have it, just wanted to pass along the good news."

Telos Discovery Space Center's Valiant Simulator at the STEM Fest.  

The two simulators were a real crowd pleaser

We were going up as a sixth grade until our bus reservation fell through. We licked our wounds and consoled ourselves with the fact that we had the USS Voyager right there at our school. All 750+ Renaissance students will have the opportunity to fly several InfiniD missions this year in the Voyager. Then there are our 25 Young Astronaut and Voyager Club squadrons (258 students) who will fly an additional eight times this year in the club's long duration after school mission program.  No other school in the broad international network of starship simulators offers its students as many opportunities to fly in a Voyager inspired simulator than Renaissance Academy.  

Thank you Renaissance Academy administration and Board and thank you InfiniD for these great opportunities. I also want to thank Farpoint's hardworking and dedicated staff and volunteers: Isaac Ostler, Alex DeBirk, Maeson Busk, Spencer, Jensen, Chris and the Voyager Club volunteers and Space Tech class. 

The partnership of Telos Discovery Space Center, InfiniD, Lions Gate Center, and Farpoint is bearing fruit with joint missions, training, curriculum, the WebDev Programming Group, and other areas yet to be explored.  The Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center in Pleasant Grove is working with us by joining forces on grant applications to explore new ways to join forces to bring this 35-year old simulation educational experience to students worldwide.  Wonderful things are happening.  Get involved.   

Mr. Williamson


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