Open House Update. Sentimental Trinkets, Disney and Star Wars and the Imaginarium

Hello Troops,

I just returned to the trailer after a meeting with the principal of Central Elementary School.  Permission for an Open House has been granted.  Dr. Carter and I are working out the exact details (date, time).  More information will be forthcoming.

I'm anticipating a large turn out, so we want to be sure everything is well thought out.  My staff and volunteers have heard me say over and over again, "Think what can go wrong, then make sure it doesn't".   The Open House needs that kind of careful planning if we are to accommodate the numbers I'm expecting.

Matt, Brent and I will be working from time to time in the Space Center.  Matt and Brent will be backing up the computer programs and ensuring our computers and equipment are cared for and will survive this prolonged closure.  I will be working through the Center's files and cleaning out the ships (discarding items that will not be needed in a future Center).

Everything of monetary value will be kept for the new Center or sold.  The school district will make that decision.  This blog will let you know if and when items will be offered for sale.

I'm sure I'll find many items of sentimental value to the Center's staff, volunteers and campers during my equipment survey.  These items will be sold if they have monetary value, or kept if they can be used again in the new facility.  The items will be given away if they can't be sold or reused.  Watch the blog for news and offerings. 

Thank you for your continued support,

Mr. Williamson   
 

And Now, the Imaginarium!

A very confused sci fi fan

Did we ever blend different sci fi universes at the Space Center?

Never  :)

One pumpkin to rule them all.

Just a few of the things brought to us through NASA research

A creative way to greet Walmart's guest.

Imaginative and very cost effective.

Oftentimes imaginative solutions won't work without 

the application of physics, mechanics and engineering.

I believe this home owner will be disappointed

Three movies in one.

"I'm going on an adventure!"

It's time to get out of the car and walk.

Do it right now.

Don't wait.

Best to have an exit stragedy before you start.

Disney buy's Star Wars!

The entertainment story of the day -- and probably the week -- is that the Walt Disney Company got one step further in its eventual goal of owning every piece of intellectual property ever created by gobbling up the entirety of George Lucas' Lucasfilm, lock, stock, and barrel-shaped robot.  Star Wars belongs to Disney.

Disney will continue to make Star Wars' movies.  The seventh movie, with a working title of “Episode 7,” is set for release in 2015. Episodes 8 and 9 will follow. The trilogy will continue the story of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia beyond “Return of the Jedi,” the third film released and the sixth in the saga. After that, Disney plans a new “Star Wars” movie every two or three years. Lucas will serve as creative consultant in the new movies.

A Space Center Open House Update and A Letter to the Editor

Hello Troops,

In a previous post I suggested a Space Center Open House for November 8th.  The response was so overwhelming it caused me to rethink the event.  The thought of hundreds and hundreds of people touring the simulators for pictures and reminiscing, within a few short evening hours, convinced me to suggest another option to our administrators.  The human traffic jams in the school's halls and in the ships would make a junior high school hallway between class periods, look like a walk through the park.  I will suggest a five hour Saturday open house sometime in November.  People will be able to come and go at their leisure, keeping the crowds manageable.  More information on a Space Center Open House will be posted once permissions are given. 
  

The following is portion of a letter to the editor of the Salt Lake Tribune concerning the article on the closure of the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center which ran in the paper last week.  Many letters and emails similar to this are coming in from people from all over the country.  People are sharing their experiences from the Space Center, hoping to show how important this program was to them, and hoping it will continue far into the future.    

"The closing of The Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center is a tragedy.....

While the space center is closed, dreams are being crushed, because they are not being allowed to form.

The McAuliffe center altered the course of my life. Because of it, I graduated from Harvard with degrees in astrophysics and Earth and planetary sciences. I then designed and built scientific instruments that went to the South Pole to study the beginning of the universe.

I am now preparing for doctoral work that will entail researching Europa, a moon of Jupiter that I first learned about 12 years ago on my first visit to the center. None of that would be true if it had been "temporarily" closed back when I was 10.

The space center helped me turn my dreams into reality, and mine is just one of thousands of stories......."

Kristi Bradford - Salt Lake Tribune Editorial

New York City

This reminded me of an article I read in Scientific America in 1997.  The article discussed a study at Purdue University first published in 1993. Engineering students at Purdue were asked what motivated them to go into engineering.  The responses surprised the study's authors.  The number one reason given was Scotty, the Starship Enterprise's Chief Engineer.  I've quoted that study often when explaining to people how science fiction and science go hand in hand. 
 
I am another example.  My love for science and space sprang from my love of science fiction. Such is the power of science fiction when used as a motivational tool in education.  The Space Center understands this connection better than any organization. Carl Sagen, a renowned American astronomer, said it best in this short video presentation 

Questions and The Imaginarium (To Lighten Things Up a Bit)

 

 We were so busy worrying about other things we totally forgot to celebrate the season's first snowfall.

A quick rummage through the closet and  I was ready with my Winter Survival Gear

Hello Troops,
Wow, didn't that past week put us through the emotional wringer?   It is time to move on.   It's time to take a breather and enjoy Halloween Week!!!  Dust off your costume, plan your trick or treat route and finish that neighborhood survey to find out who is giving out the worshiped treasure of Halloween, A FULL SIZED CANDY BAR!

Before we get to the Imaginarium, let me answer a few questions sent in by one of the Space Center's Supervisors.   My answers to his questions are in blue. 

Connor L. wrote: 

I thought the question you asked on the blog was pretty cool, so you should do some more, here's some of my ideas of a couple you could try and my answers to them:

If you could relate any bad guy from any Space Center mission to Darth Vader, who would it be?

---Dr. Marcus from Supernova, he's big and bad and soft and caring in the end.
          I agree. 

If Mr. Williamson were to come on a Space Center mission in a ship besides the Voyager, what mission would you fly?

---Red Storm Rising in the Magellan or Currahee in the Phoenix. Red Storm is political and Currahee is very basic, yet very complicated.
         Good question.  I think I'd go for Red Storm Rising in the Magellan. 

Which Space Center Mission could be written into the best book/short story?

---Mercy Strike, very cool, somewhat complicated and very interesting

         I'd go for The Children of Perikoi.  I was writing the continuation of Perikoi on this blog.  It kind of got away from me.  Maybe I should finish it now that I have a bit of extra time on my hands. 

If Mr. Williamson flew another ship besides the Voyager what ship would it be and why?

---.......I don't really know :)
         I'd go for the Phoenix.  I'd like to Flight Direct a ship where I could see everyone at one camera glance.  

Which Disney movie, if properly translated into our universe, would make the best Space Center mission?

---Lion King! We already have one! Heir to the Empire!
        Hummmm.  A good question.  I'd like the challenge of converting Mary Poppins into a Space Center mission.  I'd call that the Ultimate Challenge!  Any takers?  

Its time to put on your sneakers and take a walk with me through Wonderland's Imaginarium.

 Imagination Award for best toddler Halloween Costume

This sign gets an A for advertising.

Great imagination.
I'd stop there and eat, meaning it did its job.

An imaginative approach to decorating your Halloween pumpkins.

Another great Halloween costume

Scary and imaginative with very little out of pocket costs.

I don't get it and I don't want to try.

Question.  "What would happen to the Imaginarium if the Space Center were to close?"

The Imaginarium, 5 years after the Space Center's closing.....

 

I'd sell a million of these if I could find a way to get them manufactured.

Imagination.  A

What happens when a human gets involved.

At your local ice cream shop.

Creativity.  A

A family that Zombies together, stays together.

My mother's menu the whole time I was growing up.

"They" are always watching.

Beware of big government and bloated bureaucrats.

The scariest house on the street!

Brilliant!

I'm the national office's recruiting manager.  Contact me for membership information

There's a mind bender!

The Halloween decorations at the Nearly There Retirement Home

A bit too imaginative.  Very true to life, wouldn't you agree?

Here, take my money!!!  Get me one of these.

If I had the chance to change one thing on planet Earth with a wave of a magic wand.

I'm on board with this.

Have a Great Halloween Week!  Now go have some fun.

Mr. W.