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

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Leadership Camp. Day 1


Hello Troops,

There be giants among us.

Today was day one of the Leadership Camp. Our oldest campers (15-17 year olds) descended on the Center, sleeping bags and pillows in hand. They tower in size when compared to the fragile 10 -14 year olds we've had on the previous seven camps.

Awesome, is the word I would use to describe my first impression. They are well mannered. They follow directions. And best of all, you don't have to give explicit directions for every movement. They are old enough to handle complex thought and multiple directions given at one time.

"Stand, Breath, brush your teeth, get a drink, put your shoes here, line up here, march in single file, you sleep here, you sleep there, no talking." Those are the kind of directions we give to our younglings.

"Get ready for bed. Report to the Voyager for sleeping assingments." Those are the condensed instructions we can give to the older campers. Their more mature minds fill in the rest.

It's 12:03 A.M. and all is quiet. It's time for bed.

How about a few thoughts from the Imaginarium?




Oreo Art


Seeking Enlightenment at the Wonderland Station

Monday, July 25, 2011

Monday and the Start of our Last Extended Camp Week.

Hello Troops,
This is our last week of extended camps. After that, we have a few weeks off so the school's custodians can get the school ready for the school year.

Have you ever wondered what our staff and volunteers do when not at the Center during their summer vacation? Well, today I thought I'd answer that nagging question.


With the Space Center closing for its annual 2 week vacation our staff and volunteers may find other things to occupy their time There's always the Orangeage Shop here in Wonderland where new friendships bloom over chilled glasses of citrus delight and witty repertoire.



Several of our staff will have to hit the books and relearn everything they've forgotten during the long summer vacation.


A few have arranged other employment to hold them over until the Center reopens. Please help when you can. You can recognize a Space Center volunteer or employee by their pale skin (from being in the simulators all day) and their over use of 'big' words used in complex sentences (highly unusual for their age).

"Hello Sir, I can see you've an interest in reading the news of the day. For a few shillings I can satisfy that desire. Shall we complete a transaction that will be mutually beneficial to us both?"

I know a few of our brighter and more capable volunteers will be honing their acting skills on Pleasant Grove's streets performing scenes from Shakespeare. For a few quarters they will delight you with scenes from Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and various other Tudor favorites. They've been taught to take good measure of their audience's intelligence before they begin. This helps them adjust their delivery to match their audience's capacity to understand the complex structure of the language. This is accomplished by standing before them and shouting insults in Elizabethan tongue then watching for a reaction.

"Thou beslubbering bat-fowling canker-blossom!"
"Thou impertinent knotty-pated miscreant!"

If expressions of shock and horror are not forthcoming, then they slow their delivery and enunciate their words in hopes the simple minded capture the scene's essence and meaning.

Others in our Troupe of Troubadours will embrace their two weeks of freedom and strike out on their own to discover what adventures Fortuna has for them in her Basket of Fates and Fortunes. Considering volunteers are unpaid and the Center's employees live on starvation wages, our staff use creative methods to travel with little coin. The ability to run and jump are a plus when attempting to board a moving freight train.


Others in our volunteer and staff corps will use their vacation time for other pursuits. A few will dust off their Red Ryder BB guns and take up defensive positions outside the town to protect our citizens from marauders and bandits. Big Brown UPS trucks are a favorite target not to mention bears disguised as dogs and mountain lions disguised as cats.

You can find them anytime between August 1 and August 16 on the roof of Macy's Grocery Store (between 9:00 and 11:00 A.M.). They break for lunch then move to the town's southern boundary and take positions on the Maverick Gas Station's roof . The evening is spent at Discovery Park picking off Indians disguised as joggers and tennis players.

What will you be doing while the Space Center vacations?

See you in the trenches.

Mr. W

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Before they could Live


Once again we stand amazed at what hatred can do to the human heart.
And what sadness dawns over the land of the midnight sun knowing so many are gone before they had a chance to live.

There is a better way...