A New Look to the Odyssey?

Hello Troops,
Andrew H. is one of our volunteers. He is working on a new 'look' to the Odyssey simulator.
Of course, the real Odyssey sits behind a wall in a room at the Space Center, but in the fantasy world of our stories it needs an exterior look. This look is how it would look in space if it were real. Andrew finished a model of his new Odyssey. I thought I'd post it here for all to see and comment on.

Mr. Williamson

Camps, My Gray Hair, and Other Things.

March 2, 2008

We’ve had textbook perfect overnight camps the last two weeks. The kids had a great time based on the post camp surveys. I want to thank the staff and volunteers for giving their best and almost best. There are always ups and downs and room for improvement but when all is said and done we did very well.

Overnight camps are difficult for me. Over the last seventeen years exhaustion, like my thinning - graying hair, has become a more constant camp companion. By 7:00 P.M. Friday evening I’ve already run ten to fifteen missions and put in over fifty hours at the Space Center. Now add the overnight camp and a full day of Saturday missions and that number hits 70 hours! That is two weeks of work I do in one week - year round. I have one day off a week - Sunday. Sunday is my day to do everything else required for a semi private life and then back to work on Monday.

By overnight mission time my patience is feeding off fumes. When you see me at my desk with headphones I’m working on time schedules, private mission bookings. emails, the budget, phone calls, summer camp bookings, and everything else. I have one hundred things to do with very limited time. If my answers to your questions are quick and to the point I’m not trying to be rude - I’m tired. When I don’t always have a smile and bounce in my walk its because I’m slightly wore out and reserving my energy and cheerfulness for the campers.

By Friday many of you are done with school and ready to have some fun. You enjoy coming and working with your friends. You laugh and bring a friendly atmosphere to the Center. Don’t let my ‘to the point’ demeanor bring you down. Just give me a little space, try not to ask me too many questions (hold them until Saturday morning - you'll have a better chance of getting a good answer), and be attentive to your campers. I’ll be my ‘normal’ self again Saturday morning after my good four hours of camp sleep.

I want to thank those staff members that understand the commitment and hours I give the Center and do their best to share my load by taking care of my number one concern - the campers. Thank you for greeting them with a smile and a warm, contagious personality. Thank you for staying with them, even during training. Thank you for turning off your cell phones and not using your work time for personal socializing. Thank you for not gossiping about other staff. Thank you for dressing correctly with your staff shirt and black pants. Thank you for stopping to pick up trash and vacuuming a carpet without being asked. Thank you for making me aware of potential hazards. Thank you for your time. Your volunteering relieves the stress of how I staff the Center with our small budget.

Thank you all and I apologize in advance for the next several years of Friday Night grumpiness.

Mr. Williamson

Overnight Camp Camper Satisfication Inventory

Hello Troops:
Here are the results from the student survey taken by the campers at
the end of the Overnight Camp of February 29 - March 1, 2008. This camp was sponsored by the the 6th grade students of Barratt Elementary. There were 45 campers. A special note, this is the second week the Phoenix acheived a perfect score! Very rare indeed. Great Job Phoenix crew!

Our Flight Directors were:

Voyager: Bryson Lystrup (Shadows: 11 campers)
Phoenix: Dave Daymont (Supernova: 6 campers)
Odyssey: Stacy Carroll (Outlaws: 8 campers)
Galileo: Taylor T. (Scorpion Relay: 5 campers)
Magellan: Brittney V. (Red Storm Rising: 15 campers)
_________________

The first question: Think about your story in the simulators. Were
they fun? Did it have good characters? Did it challenge your brain or way too easy to solve?

Here are their choices:

A = 1
B = 2
C = 3
D = 4
F = 5

Here are the results. Remember, a 1 is a perfect score.

Voyager story's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

Galileo story's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.20)

Magellan story's quality score: 1.13 (Last camp's score: 1.07)

Odyssey story's quality score: 1.14 (Last camp's score: 1.50)

Phoenix story's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE VOYAGER, GALILEO AND PHOENIX FOR TAKING TOP STORY HONORS.

__________________

The next question: How would you grade the Staff of the simulators? Think
about friendliness, helpfulness, and acting.

Voyager staff's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

Galileo staff's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.20)

Magellan staff's quality score: 1.07 (Last camp's score: 1.13)

Odyssey staff's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.13)

Phoenix staff's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE VOYAGER, PHOENIX, GALILEO AND ODYSSEY FOR TAKING TOP STAFF HONORS.
____________________

The next question: How much did you enjoy your job in the simulators?
Choices: (1 = Great; 2 = Good; 3 = OK; 4 = Not So Good; 5 = Bad)

Voyager job's quality score: 1.09 (Last camp's score: 1.10)

Galileo job's quality score: 1.20 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

Magellan job's quality score: 1.07 (Last camp's score: 1.13)

Odyssey job's quality score: 1.29 (Last camp's score: 1.38)

Phoenix job's quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE PHOENIX FOR TAKING TOP JOB HONORS.

____________________

The next question: Did you feel doing your job made a difference in the
mission?

The Camper's choices were: Yes(1) Maybe (2) No (3)

Voyager making a difference quality score: 1.09 (Last camp's score: 1.10)

Galileo making a difference quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.20)

Magellan making a difference quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.20)

Odyssey making a difference quality score: 1.14 (Last camp's score: 1.13)

Phoenix making a difference quality score: 1.00 (Last camp's score: 1.00)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GALILEO, MAGELLAN, AND PHOENIX FOR TAKING TOP HONORS IN MAKING A DIFFERENCE.
_____________________

The final question: Would you like to come back to the
Space Center again for another mission?

The Camper's choices were: Yes (1) Maybe (2) No (3)

Yes: 100% (45 students)
Maybe: 0% (0 students)
No: 0% (0 students)

The Director's Trophy: Overall Scores averaged:

Voyager: 1.04 LAST WEEK'S SCORE: 1.06
Magellan: 1.05 LAST WEEK'S SCORE: 1.11
Odyssey: 1.11 LAST WEEK'S SCORE: 1.25
Galileo: 1.04 LAST WEEK'S SCORE: 1.12
Phoenix: 1.00 LAST WEEK'S SCORE: 1.00

Overall Average: 1.05 Last Week : 1.11

The PHOENIX is awarded the Director's Trophy! Super Job Dave Daymont and his staff: Rachel H. and Hanne P.

SATISFACTION SCORES:

Our Satisfaction Scores for the Overnight Camp. Campers were asked the following question at the end of their survey.

1. How would you rate your overall experience for this overnight camp?

Their choices follow:

10 = The funnest thing I've ever done in my life.
9
8
7
6
5 = As Good as watching my Favorite Movie for the first time.
4
3
2
1 = The Most Horrible, Boring time I've ever had.

The students are asked to rate the overall camp experience on that
scale. They are given verbal instructions on the rating system to
insure comprehension.

Here are the results for today's overnight camp.

Voyager: This Week: 9.18 Last Week: 9.60
Galileo: This Week: 9.20 Last Week: 9.80
Phoenix: This Week: 10 Last Week: 10
Magellan: This Week: 9.87 Last Week: 9.67
Odyssey: This Week: 9.43 Last Week: 10

The MAGELLAN takes the Prize for Best Satisfication Score!

Overall Ranking by all campers for this Overnight Camp:
This Week's All Ship Average: 9.54 out of a perfect 10.
Last Week's All Ship Average: 9.81 out of a perfect 10

Thanks All for Another Great Overnight Camp!

Thanks for all you do to support the Space Center,

Mr. Williamson