Contact Victor Williamson with your questions about simulator based experiential education programs for your school.
SpaceCampUtah@gmail.com

Sunday, February 24, 2019

From the Archives: Pictures and Posts from the Past 2003-2007. What a Summer Camp Season Looked Like. The Odyssey is Too Loud - Librarian On the Rampage. Was the School's New Computer Lab Going to be a Ship? Plus Many Pictures From the Day. Imaginarium Theater.


Summer Space Camp Swimming
Amanda, Metta, Caity, Megan


What the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center Summer Space Camp Season Looked Like Sixteen Years Ago

March 3, 2003

Hello Troops,
     In today's Posts from the Past series I'm posting the summer space camp season as it appeared in the CMSEC's YahooGroup SpaceEdVentures on March 3, 2003.  The overnighters each took 42 campers. The 40 Hour Camps each took between 42 and 62 campers each.  It was a very busy place back in the day.  The "Astrocamp" references refered to our partnership with the Astrocamp in Ogden, Utah. We sponsored two joint space camps every summer.  The campers started at Astrocamp on a Monday and bussed to the CMSEC on the Thursday for our 40 Hour Camp.  

Campers arriving at the CMSEC for a 48 Hour camp. July 2007

Space Center closed from June 1 to June 9, 2003
June 10-12: 40 Hour Camp 1
June 13-14: Overnight Camp 1
June 17-19: 40 Hour Camp 2
June 20-21: Overnight Camp 2
June 24-26: 40 Hour Camp 3
June 27-28: Overnight Camp 3
June 30-July 2: Day Camp 1
July 3-9: Space Center Closed
July 10-12: 48 Hour Camp 1 (Astrocamp)
July 15-16: Overnight Camp 4
July 17-19: 48 Hour Camp 2 (Astrocamp)
July 21-23: Day Camp 2
July 25-26: Overnight Camp 5
July 29-31: 40 Hour Camp 4
August 1-2: Overnight Camp 6
August 3-18: Space Center Closed
August 22-23: Overnight Camps begin for normal Friday schedule.


Summer campers arriving for a 48 hour camp. July 2007


Space Center Journal 
We Celebrate the YahooGroups 3rd Birthday. The Odyssey is Too Loud and the Librarian is on the Warpath.Brady Chaperones for the First Time. Randy the King of the Snores and Sleep Talkers. Bill Schuller Donates an Aquarium to the School. Central's Current Computer Lab was Going to Also be a Simulator.

March 17, 2003

Hello Troops,
     A couple of electronic milestones this week. Our Egroup is a young three years old and we launched the new Space Center Web Site on March 12th. It was unveiled with no fanfare, just a simple line of code on Kyle Herring's part and we parted company with the old and introduced the world to the new. Introduced the world is no overstatement if you consider the emails I get from many parts of the United States and beyond. Still waiting for the ultimate email. I can see myself sitting back in my chair with headphones on when suddenly "You've Got Mail!" and we have CONTACT! With my luck it would be the Paklids looking for a good Chinese take out. 


The Galileo is ready for the campers

     

     This Journal is a place where I record things for our collective memory - good, bad, and annoying. Speaking of annoying - how about the Odyssey's close proximity to the school's library? We've been working with Janet  Schiller (the school's librarian) since the beginning of the school year trying to find ways to reduce the sound bleed through from the Odyssey's control room. I should of taken the matter seriously before Janet reached the point of no return. 


     

     She had a word with the principal and Mrs. Green had a word with me. I was asked in a very nice way to find a way to muzzle the Odyssey. I wondered how that would work. A few weeks ago I wrote about running a mission without electricity but this would present a new challenge, running a mission with no sound. I suppose we could do everything through headphones or all of us could learn American Sign LanguageThat would also required the teaching of the language to our campers as part of their mission training. 

Training for a 5 hour mission in the Galileo. July 2007

     
     Training time would be increased from 30 minutes to several months or more for a private two and one half hour mission. Costly and not practical but you all know me - I always consider all alternatives before a course of action is taken. 


     Our solution was both novel and imaginative, we turned down the sound. Everyone is happy. Janet has been seen wandering the school with a noticeable smile and the nervous twitching around her eyes has stopped. Chris Call, Josh Babb, and Landon Hemsley are more relaxed knowing that the Odyssey and library have learned to peacefully coexist. I wonder if there is a lesson to be learned in that. Could a solution to the tension between the US and Iraq be solved if we brought a very irate librarian into the negotiations? 

In the Odyssey (Invictus for that summer mission) July 2007
The Odyssey when not the Invictus
     
     We celebrated four birthdays during the bedtime break on the overnighter. Brady Young, Jennifer Remy, Ben Hoglund, and Joey Storey stood before the staff and volunteers, their faces lit by the candles on the red devils food cake Lorraine Houston made (and I mean red - yummy and really red!). They were serenaded by two birthday songs. The females on our staff sang the traditional Happy Birthday song and the male staff sang the Primary Happy Birthday song. Sounds like that are rare in Pleasant Grove although I was told that several car alarms were triggered mysteriously at 11:45 P.M. Friday evening around Central Elementary School. 

The Voyager Crew. Summer Camps July 2007
The Voyager's Science Defense Station
     
     The overnight mission went well. Brady Young did something he has never done before. He chaperoned! He says he doesn't want to do it again but at least he did it once. He even had a pretty good crew, boys from Lehi and Cherry Hill Elementary Schools. I even slept well (which is unusual for me on an overnight camp knowing that I'm responsible for 60 people sleeping over at a school) except for a brief wake up at 4:00 A.M. because of Randy Jepperson's combined snoring and sleep talking. It was nothing my ultra bright flashlight couldn't take care of. From across the room I hit him with full brilliance. I find the light 
can wake most snorers up. Randy snorted once, rambled on a few more sentences and turned over and peace was reestablished. 

The Voyager Right Wing Sensors / Scanning Station
Damage Control Officer Training for a 5 hour summer camp rotation on the Voyager
     
     Central Elementary received a very nice gift Wednesday evening from Bill Schuler. Bill's grandmother passed away recently and left Bill with a small amount of money as an inheritance. In tribute to his grandma, Bill bought a 90 gallon aquarium and set it up in the school's foyer. His grandma loved fish and children so the gift of an aquarium seem appropriate. Everyone was surprised by the gift. Next time you come to the Center, take a moment to watch the fish and our little blue crawdad. Thank you Bill on behalf of the Space 
Center and Central Elementary School. 


Great Food was always a part of the summer camps. Thank you Aleta!
Campers eating supper before heading to the swimming pool
July 2007

     Summer registration has begun. The flyer went on the web March 12thYesterday (Saturday) I enrolled our first campers who sent their registrations through the mail. Kyle has created an impressive post card to be mailed to all former campers. This week we will print up the post cards and bring in a crew to attach the mailing labels typed up last Saturday by our great crew of volunteers. The post cards tell the campers to go to the internet to print up a registration form. That saves the Center money. We won't print up flyers for everyone and we save money on postage by using post cards instead of envelopes.



     
One last thing, we've been told that there will be a new computer lab in the addition to Central. Construction begins at the end of April. Mrs. Green told me that we had the green light to make plans to design the lab to be a simulator with the idea that the Falcon would be closed and relocated in the new lab. We are going to look over the plans for the new lab (the room is much larger than the current Magellan) and can then start the imagineering. I'll keep everyone updated as developments occur. 


     Thank you all for your support and labor. I know many of our staff are not feeling well. There is a bug going around. Here is a collective "Get Well!" wish from us all.

Mr. Williamson


"The Space Center is a Really Great Place," Says Brady Young

March 26, 2003

Hello Everyone,
     It's me Brady again and I have a little something to say about the Space Center. WHAT A GREAT PLACE!!!!!!!!!!! This is such a great place for education on space and real life morals. I was working a private mission after school today and I was on the bridge. I was standing there by the spiral stairs, looking at all the computers and listening to Mr.
Williamson speaking to the ambassador as the Stazi Chancellor.
It occured to me how lucky we all are to be able to come and volunteer to work here. This is the only simulation center of its kind in the entire world! We are especially lucky because we all live so close to it. How could a place like this end up in a little town called Pleasant Grove. That just blows my mind.  Without the Space Center w
e probably wouldn't know each other


     What a great place this is. I would like to invite all of you to post your comments on the center and thank Mr. Williamson, Mr. Daymont, Mr. Schuller, and Mrs. Houston who have been here from the beginning for all of their hard work and dedication to making this place a success. THANK YOU!!!

Brady Young


Imaginarium Theater
The Best Videolettes from around the World Edited for a Gentler Audience.

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Canyon Grove Academy's Discovery Space Center Changes its Name and Logo. Meet the New Co-Director Taking Maeson Busk's Place. Was Maeson Busk the First Space EdVenturer to Defect to Disney? Possible Proof he Wasn't. The Imaginarium.

Reality's Edge Log

     The Discovery Space Center at Canyon Grove Academy has changed its name to Reality's Edge Space Simulations (RESS).  A name change was necessary to avoid confusion between the Telos Discovery Space Center at the Canyon Grove Discovery Space Center.  Reality's Edge continues its partnership with the Telos Discovery Space Center.
     The new name was suggested by Sofia Felix, a RESS volunteer.  Caleb Harrison designed the logo (above).



   
     Let's take a moment to acquaint ourselves with the five Space EdVentures locations in Utah County.


The Christa McAuliffe Space Center (CMSC); the granddaddy of them all located in Pleasant Grove. Affiliated with the Alpine School District.  
Starships: Magellan, Odyssey, Phoenix, Galileo


Renaissance Space Academy (RSA) located in Lehi
Affiliated with Renaissance Academy, a public K-8 charter school.
Starships: Voyager, Nighthawk



The Lion's Gate Center (LGC) located in Saratoga Springs 
Affiliated with Lakeview Academy, a public K-9 charter school.
Starships: Leo, Apollo, Artemis

 The Telos Discovery Space Center (TDSC) located Orem 
Affiliated with TelosU and Telos Academy
Starships: Hyperion




Reality's Edge (RESS) located in Pleasant Grove
Affiliated with Canyon Grove Academy a public K-6 charter school.
Starships: Everest, Dauntless, Valiant   


Meet Caleb Harrison, Reality's Edge new Co-Director

Caleb being bid farewell by Maeson Busk and a Welcome by Sydney Brown
     Maeson Busk's dramatic temporary defection to Disney World left a management opening at Reality's Edge.  Caleb Harrison was hired to fill that opening. Caleb and Sydney Brown will be co-directors of the center. 
     Caleb is 23 years old and is trained in graphic design and marketing.  He was a camper at the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center back in the day and is excited to reenter the Space EdVenturing world by joining the RESS team. 
       
Could This be Brandon Wright Outside The Troubadour's Top Secret West Coast Bureau 



     The Troubadour's west coast office's exterior camera took this picture of someone who looks very familiar to many in the Space EdVenturing community. Using Chinese face recognition technology the security software identified the person with 60% probability as Brandon Wright, a long time Space EdVenturer who dropped off the radar some time ago.
     The Troubadour Tavern at Disneyland appears, on the surface, to be your average outdoor eatery with a medieval theme.  Guests enjoy their bratwurst on brioche rolls with bacon, sauerkraut and pretzel bites with cheesy sauce with kids' snacks and soft drinks under a pavilion-style tent.
     Secretly, the Troubadour Tavern operates as The Troubadour's west coast bureau. We all know that Disneyland is the Happiest Place on Earth with the Space Centers coming in second.  What better way to keep an eye on your competition than to plant your spies right in the heart of the Magic Kingdom.  From our "Tavern", our cashiers, waiting staff and cooks watch and learn.... watch and learn.... always looking for ways to improve our programs until one day that coveted title of Happiest Place on Earth is ours.
     The sighting alert came right through to my phone at Renaissance Academy while I was teaching my 6th grade history class.  There was a "ping" just as I was describing ancient Roman outdoor toilets. I excused myself, stepped out of the classroom, and called the bureau chief. "Step away from the cash register for a minute and look for someone in a black t-shirt with dark glasses. It is a possible Brandon Wright sighting." 
     There was a pause. Over the line I could hear a disgruntled customer complaining his cheesy sauce was too clumpy. A minute later she returned to the phone. "Nobody matching that description around the perimeter," she responded. I told her to keep a eye out and give the customer another order of cheesy sauce with our compliments.  
     Two Years ago Brandon disappeared from the Lions Gate Center. Nathan King stepped in to fill his shoes. The official statement from Lions Gate said he had taken a sudden sabbatical and it was of "undetermined length".  Perhaps it was something more sinister.
Out of fear of losing its crown as "Happiest Place on Earth" to the space centers, did Disney pull a North Korea maneuver and kidnap Brandon in hopes of extracting his knowledge of simulations and simulator based experiential education?  
     If this was Brandon, then the question to be asked is, "Was Brandon Wright Turned? Was he brainwashed and programmed to work for DUD (Disney Undercover Department)?
     The Troubadour advises all Space EdVenture centers to be on the lookout for someone matching the description of Brandon Wright. Look for someone suspiciously hanging around the center or perhaps chatting with the employees or volunteers, or someone digging through the dumpster for bits of intelligence which could further Disney's cause.      
     Of course this could all be speculation. Perhaps this wasn't Brandon. We may never know. But if this was Brandon it would make sense he would be seen near the Troubadour Tavern possibly reminiscing in nostalgia about the time of Great Expansion when the first new colony fleets left for the schools of the galaxy. 

Imaginarium