A Student's Dream Come True! What it was Like Seeing the Voyager's Bridge for the First Time

     One of the most satisfying benefits I had as the director of the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center for 23 years was seating field trip students on the Voyager bridge.  I heard all their comments as they ascend the spiral staircase and saw the bridge for the first time. I wish I kept of record of everything I heard. So many comments brought a smile to my face and I'd make a point to write what I heard down ..... only to forget a few minutes later. 

     Out of everything I heard over the years, one sixth grader's comment found a resting place in the chaos of my thoughts. I want to share it with you.
     "Oh my Gosh...... Oh my Gosh," he exclaimed as he slowly came up the stairs. His head turned from side to side taking in every aspect of the bridge. I was concerned that he would trip on the steps. He wasn't looking where his feet were going. The eye candy of the set was too much for his 11 year old nervous system.

     "Oh my Gosh....... Oh my Gosh," he exclaimed as he stumbled right past me into the center of the bridge. I had my hand out to take his boarding pass but he didn't notice. Who was I anyway - some person?
     "Oh my Gosh...... Oh my Gosh," he exclaimed as he centered himself under the 1/2 sphere on the ceiling and turned slowly - his arms semi-outstretched, resembling a pilgrim before the statue of his revered saint. I walked in front of him and asked for his boarding pass. He looked at me with a puzzled look on his face.
     "Your boarding pass," I asked.

     "Oh my Gosh....... Oh my Gosh," he exclaimed as he held it in the general direction of my hand. I took it from him. I looked at it. Written under his name was his position, right wing power. I took him by the shoulders and pointed him in the right direction.
     "You are in the last chair of this row," I said gently while pushing him toward the right wing knowing he needed the extra energy to get his legs to move. He got half way to his chair and stopped. He turned toward me and spoke with a religious fever rarely heard even in testimony meeting.

     "I want you to know that this is what I've dreamed about my whole life! I've finally made it! I'm on a Starship! OH MY GOSH!"
     Although reactions to the Space Center are rarely that emotional, 99% of first timers ascending the spiral stairs were very excited and a bit overwhelmed by what they saw. Can you believe that of all places on the Earth, in the middle of Pleasant Grove, not Las Vegas, not Orlando, not New York City, London, or Los Angeles there were six starships ready to take children on edventures in the universe of wonder.
     Sometimes the magic of our Space EdVenture centers wears thin for those of us that see it daily. I find myself looking for and seeing the imperfections. I find myself on a quest to find ways to improve our program at Renaissance Academy and at times become disillusioned when the obstacles of money and talent act as mountainous speed bumps in the road. At those times I reflect on my memory of students coming up the spiral stairs for the first time. I shake my head to clear my thoughts and then, once again, as in the beginning - I see the forest despite the trees.

Mr. Williamson

Imaginarium Theater

The Best Videoettes From Around the World Edited for a Gentler Audience.

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Free Stem Camp Tomorrow. An Update from Mystic Black Hills. We're Dodging hail floods - all in a good day. Independence Day Deadwood Style. Imaginarium Theater.

Free Stem Camp at the Christa McAuliffe Space Center Starts Tomorrow

     A free STEM camp sponsored by Stanford University's SPOKES starts tomorrow (Monday) at the Christa McAuliffe Space Center in Pleasant Grove. You can sign up for  at spacecenter.alpineschools.org/camps/.  The camp is open to students ages 12-16.                Several Renaissance Academy Space Academy students attended the Stanford camp last year and enjoyed it very much.  Here are a few pictures of them at work. 

The Troubadour From Wits End Too Cottage on Williams Street in Beautiful Deadwood, South Dakota

     The Troubadour coming to you again from Wits End Too Cottage in Deadwood, South Dakota.  One thing is for sure, there are no starship simulators in this neck of the wild west. 

I watch a glaze of confusion sweep across the good faces of the local folks here when I try explaining to them what I do for a living back in "Mormon Country".  

     We enjoyed the Independence Day Parade down Main Street. There was one band from a Lutheran school in Minnesota along with a good collection of local dignitaries and businesses.  The amount of candy gathered by kids during a Deadwood parade is only eclipsed by a night on the doors at Halloween.  A day of storms made even better with strong lightening, thunder and hail made the day even better. 

     My favorite "float" was from Danny's Plumbing Service. It was called the "Game of Thrones"............ Get it?  He sat on his plunger bedecked throne issuing orders while winning the favor of his subjects by tossing copious amounts of DumDums. 

     The horn on the Hawk Extreme Firefighters truck was loud enough to nearly part my spirit from my body.

     Our motoring through the mystic Black Hills included several good restful hours at the Rouges Gallery in Hulett, Wyoming owned by my sister and brother in law.  I enjoy sitting in the small lobby and swapping stories with the odd assortment of local characters who drop by.  Hulett has a population of 467 on the days when they're not bringing in the harvests. The population swells by a couple hundred or so tourists during the summers who drive by on their way to and from Devil's Tower just down the highway.    

  

     Last year the Williamson's gathered to have a picture taken in the Photo Emporium near Saloon #10.  

     Just the other day the weather took another turn to nasty (but exciting) with golf ball sized hail, tornado sirens, and flooding throughout the Hills. We found partial shelter with the locals under a gas station awning just off the highway. How often do you get that kind of excitement in Utah?
      It makes for a good summer to keep company with family and friends on lazy Deadwood afternoons.  Soon enough it will be time to return to Utah, but not yet.  

Imaginarium Theater

The Best Videoettes of the Week Edited for a Gentler Audience. Today, From Wits End Too Cottage in beautiful Deadwood, South Dakota.