From the Archives: The Space Center Journal
April 28, 2003. Field Trip Schools. Report on the Overnight Camp. Repeat Campers are a Pain. Spotlight on Outstanding Staff. Simulator Updates. Staff News.
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| The Magellan Admiral from a summer EdVenture 3 Day Camp. June 2008 |
Hello Troops,
A fine, cool, cloudy Sunday. I'm sitting here in my living room writing the weekly (or almost weekly) Space Center Journal. My diet Mountain Dew on my left and IBook on my lap.
It has been a very busy week for all of us. We came back from Spring Break rested and ready to see the rest of the school year through. I spent most of Monday sending out the final curriculum materials to our May schools and getting the call for volunteers prepared.
It has been a very busy week for all of us. We came back from Spring Break rested and ready to see the rest of the school year through. I spent most of Monday sending out the final curriculum materials to our May schools and getting the call for volunteers prepared.
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| The crew of the Magellan. Summer Overnight Camps. June 2008 |
Schools:
This week the Center was visited by Jordan Ridge, South Jordan, and Rocky Mountain Elementary Schools. The Jordan District kids were terrific. The Rocky Mountain kids were a bit of a challenge. Their lead teacher warned me that this was the very "busy" fifth grades they warned me about earlier. The term `busy' was to conjure the image of a class that is intelligent by all measures but very, very noisy. The sort of class where every student has something to say about everything all the time. We are familiar with this phenomena from the District's gifted classes. The teacher was right - they were `busy' !
Jeremy Ranch Elementary School from Park City occupied our Voyager, Odyssey, Galileo after school slots this last week. All great kids and very enjoyable.
Jeremy Ranch Elementary School from Park City occupied our Voyager, Odyssey, Galileo after school slots this last week. All great kids and very enjoyable.
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| A Few of our Park City Regulars. Summer EdVenture Camp June 2008. They're enjoying their frozen treats before bedtime so it must be around 10:45 P.M. |
Overnighter:
This last overnight camp was a mixed group of students from Aspen Elementary in Orem, Park City kids, and four students from Alta Wyoming. I had the kids
from Wyoming in the Voyager. Sharp is a good word to describe them. All of the flight directors agree on this statement; we love missions crewed by kids between the ages of 12 and 14 that have never been to the Center before. The kids that have to sacrifice
something to get here are the very best, the cream of the crop. Some of the hardest crews are those made up of high ranking, multiple repeat campers. The repeat campers sometimes have the attitude of "I know the tricks and I won't fall for them this time". They become very critical of the missions and the sets. It's like riding the same ride at
Disneyland over and over again. Pretty soon the magic of the ride diminishes and you begin looking for how the ride is put together and what makes it run. You also find yourself looking for defects and errors perhaps overlooked on earlier visits.
from Wyoming in the Voyager. Sharp is a good word to describe them. All of the flight directors agree on this statement; we love missions crewed by kids between the ages of 12 and 14 that have never been to the Center before. The kids that have to sacrifice
something to get here are the very best, the cream of the crop. Some of the hardest crews are those made up of high ranking, multiple repeat campers. The repeat campers sometimes have the attitude of "I know the tricks and I won't fall for them this time". They become very critical of the missions and the sets. It's like riding the same ride at
Disneyland over and over again. Pretty soon the magic of the ride diminishes and you begin looking for how the ride is put together and what makes it run. You also find yourself looking for defects and errors perhaps overlooked on earlier visits.
New, older crews are in the awe stage. They've never seen or experienced anything like this before and it blows them away. They are amazed at the set and comment repeatedly on how much it all must of cost. They are so easily drawn into the story and tend to `play along' with us. They are so happy to be here.
Perhaps the answer for older, advanced crews is to give them more of a challenge. I've thought about creating special missions for advanced officers that would start at the normal time on a Friday and go longer into Saturday afternoon. I would lower the number of students on the bridge from 10 to 5! We would feed them in the simulator and give
them opportunities for relaxation. We would equip the lounge with a Nintendo and other things. This ultimate camp would cost $50.00 per person. They would get the most challenging experience of their lives. What are your thoughts, suggestions, and comments?
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| Bedtime Treats. June 2008 |
SpotLight: Randy Jepperson, Tanner Edwards, Brady Young, and Bryson Lystrup.
I want to spotlight some people on our staff this week in the Journal. Randy Jepperson, Tanner Edwards, Brady Young, and Bryson Lystrup: These outstanding young people are examples for all to follow at the Center. I see them all arrive early for their missions (except Randy who does like to arrive a bit late but once he's here you get 200%). These kids amaze me and make me proud to have them on our staff. They not only do what they are asked but go well beyond what's required and look for ways to improve their simulators.
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| It's up and at'em for breakfast on the second day of the 3 day EdVenture Camp. June 2008 |
They aren't flight directors or set directors but act the part in their concern and pride they take in their ships. Brady and Bryson created their own hoodies as a way of generating staff morale. Randy and Tanner (not to forget Ben), have their own knitted caps and Magellan hand signals and signs. They are the right hand staff of their Flight Directors. The missions
run smoothly because they are on board. Their happy and enthusiastic attitude is contagious and they elevate the mood of the staff they work with. It's just fun to listen and watch them as they talk about their sets and tease each other. Staff morale is high thanks to the example set by these Rangers. There are others, but today I want to highlight them. There isn't anyone that wouldn't agree with me that they need spotlighted. Thanks Randy, Bryson, Brady, and Tanner for all you do. You are spotlighted and please take a bow.
Be ready - the spotlight is out searching for next week's highlighted staff and volunteers.
run smoothly because they are on board. Their happy and enthusiastic attitude is contagious and they elevate the mood of the staff they work with. It's just fun to listen and watch them as they talk about their sets and tease each other. Staff morale is high thanks to the example set by these Rangers. There are others, but today I want to highlight them. There isn't anyone that wouldn't agree with me that they need spotlighted. Thanks Randy, Bryson, Brady, and Tanner for all you do. You are spotlighted and please take a bow.
Be ready - the spotlight is out searching for next week's highlighted staff and volunteers.
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| The stage mats were always great set pieces for the gym away teams. |
Updates:
This week Matt Long was in working again on the isolinear chips There are a few bugs here and there but they'll be worked out. Get Ready to have real working Isolinear chips for the summer camps in the Voyager.
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| The Voyager Crew on an away team. The turning door on the stage led to the Voyager's main accessway hallway. June 2008 |
Odyssey, and Magellan.
Matt Long will also be working on new Odyssey station revisions as Chris Call and Landon Hemsley work to improve the quality of the Odyssey. Look for developments soon.
Allan Stewart came by on Thursday and spent the day at the Center. He just finished his finals at BYU. He reminded me that he hasn't retired yet and accepted Chris's request to do a few things for Chris and Landon's new summer story. We are all under the gun to get everything ready for the trail runs of our missions in May. Allan is very busy working full time this summer so we won't see much of him but I want to thank him for the giving us the time he can.
Allan Stewart came by on Thursday and spent the day at the Center. He just finished his finals at BYU. He reminded me that he hasn't retired yet and accepted Chris's request to do a few things for Chris and Landon's new summer story. We are all under the gun to get everything ready for the trail runs of our missions in May. Allan is very busy working full time this summer so we won't see much of him but I want to thank him for the giving us the time he can.
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| Can't get away from the Orion Pirates fast enough. June 2008 |
Simulator Reports: The Magellan
The crew for this weekend's flight was older than most of our crews, and with more experienced campers our staff knew we were in for a struggle. Of course, the Magellan staff of Bad Boy Orion's under the leadership of that infamous Phillip Q. Nimbly (our main bad guy, who used to just be a second story distraction), felt sure that they could overwhelm this crew. However, as I predicted, this crew had members who were what I call "Chargers and Cheaters". You know, the kids who defy all phaser fire, call-downs from Bridge and
doctor staff, who "miraculously" survive phaser fire from 7 Orions and leap down the hall another 200 yards...
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| Sarah Glad on the Voyager's Bridge. June 2008 |
The visiting crew took up the challenge of trying their best against our most experienced staff (Rio Downs,Randy Jepperson,Tanner Edwards ,Ben Hogland ,and Charlie Heaton) and a "Mother of all battles" it was. I thought our guys could hold though, but the only thing we managed to hold was the schedule... which is what it's all about. We had great reviews, even though I had to "chastise" the crew a wee bit about overacting and not following
staff instructions. The kids loved it and the staff was pretty happy about the way it went by the end. Unfortunately, that Phillip Q. character seems to be getting a bit uppity with his Orion leader, Cooter, so there may be an accidental marooning in the near future...
Thanks to all the staff who kept the crew busy and having fun.
Mr. Daymont
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| The Voyager Engineer. Summer Camps June 2008 |
Galileo
The crew this weekend was pretty slow. They had barely left space dock at 10:00 pm. Later Friday night, the captain got a really bad headache and had to leave the bridge for about 20 minutes. With a lot of help and some slight modifications to the mission, the crew made it through to the end on Saturday.
Stacy Carroll
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| The Voyager's Right Wing Stations: Sensors, Scanners, Right Wing Helm, Right Wing Power, and Engineering |
Staff News:
Ryan Davis, one of our old timers, was hit by a 90 mph fast ball while up to bat on Friday.
He is a senior this year and on the PG High School's Varsity Baseball Team. His hand is broken and in a cast. He can't play center field or bat but will continue with the team as a base runner. He is working hard to get a baseball scholarship.
He is a senior this year and on the PG High School's Varsity Baseball Team. His hand is broken and in a cast. He can't play center field or bat but will continue with the team as a base runner. He is working hard to get a baseball scholarship.
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| The campers taking a small break from the action |
Nate Bullock is getting married. He returned from a mission to Moscow, Russia two years ago. I'll pass along further information as I get it.
Bryson Lystrup will be in Mountain Ridge's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Coat. More information coming soon on date and times.
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| Saint Sheila Powell explaining what the campers will be doing in the summer space / science classroom rotation. |
Bill Schuler recently purchased a new home in Pleasant Grove. He says moving out of the Thornberry Apartments will be a dream come true. I guess some new move ins above his apartment play their music too loud. Punk Rockers for sure.
Chris Call and Rio Downs have finished their end of term exams and are feeling the blessed relief of having finished a university school year. Us old timers that went to university know the feeling of finishing your last final at the end of a term. It is a time to celebrate.
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| The summer camps drew between 44 and 60 campers per camp with the campers divided between the simulators and the classroom sessions. |
Kyle Herring is preparing the Space Center's first internet Radio Talk Show to be hosted over our web site. The first 30 minute show will feature me. Wow, what a surprise. More information coming soon.
Aleta Clegg brought her new baby to the Center to show her off on Friday. She had her dressed in a little mini Star Trek uniform. She is a doll. Both mother and daughter are doing fine.
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| A group of campers waiting to be assigned a simulator |
Gary Nuilia, another member of our old time staff, has returned from his mission to Uruguay. He looks just fine and came by at the beginning of the overnight mission to drop his little brother off. He was in a hurry so we didn't get to talk too long - he had his first post mission date waiting for him in the car. He did say he was happy to be back and had a wonderful time on his mission. He is preparing to head back to school and get a law degree. He is also getting a private pilot's license. Flying is in his blood - his dad is a 747 pilot for United Airlines. His little 5th grade brother has been hounding me for a year to get on staff. I told him as soon as he started 6th grade we would be ready to have another Nuilia on board.
Have a Great Week
Mr. Williamson
Three More Space Academy Young Astronaut Squadrons Complete their Eight Month Long Duration Mission on the Starship Voyager
The 6th Grade Tiger Squadron took the gold medal in the 6th grade division and on Saturday embarked on their victory flight aboard the Voyager. Jackson commanded the expedition. With him were Porter, Isaac, Savannah, Mark, Audrey, Ammon, Quinton, and Paige. Congratulations 6th Tigers for a job well done this year.
The 5th Grade Phoenix Squadron successfully completed their dangerous eight month mission to the star Beetlejuice with only a few scrapes and bumps to show for it. Their final mission of the year was commanded by captain extraordinaire Caleb. The team was remarkable in performance and in the handling of the Starship Voyager in an extreme situation. Members of the squadron are: Caleb, Dane, Gavin, Bryson, Ethan, Kaylee, Korver, Sawyer, Sophia, Hunter, and Milo.
The 4th Grade Tiger Squadron finished the mission Supernova just by the hair on their chinney chin chins. It was down to the last two seconds before they would have made a nice meal for a carnivorous black hole. They have been a delight to fly all year. A team full of personality and enthusiasm. Congratulation to the 4th Tigers for a job well done this year. Members of the squadron are: David, Luke, Mya, Elizabeth, Ella, Enoch, Kallie, Kate, Andy, and Liam.
Weekly Construction Update of the New Christa McAuliffe Space Center and Central Elementary School
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| The Playground as it was |
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| As of Today. The ground is level and ready for the footings |
Our Universe
Watch how the universe may end by the expansion of the universe. The famous big rip theory explained.
If dark matter is real, then it is quite possible that the ultimate fate of the universe is for all things to be pushed far enough apart that even matter itself dissolves.
Imaginarium Theater
The best Videoettes From Around the World Edited for a Gentler Audience
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