Photos of the Original Galileo. Heck Week at the DSC. The Imaginarium

Disgruntled Discovery Space Center employees showing their displeasure with Heck Week.
The DSC has a very polite and respectful staff who will go right back to work if they think
their demonstration will hurt BJ's  feelings. 

Hello Troops,
     Heck Week has been a Space Center tradition for over 20 years.  It started in the early 1990's when I was much younger and full of energy.  We had too many campers wanting to come to too few camps.  Our summers weren't long enough, especially because we were closed the first two weeks of August for school cleaning and maintenance.  Putting three day camps back to back was the only way of meeting the camp demand, and that's just what I did one week of every summer.  The week with the two back to back, three days camps was our Heck Week.
     The Discovery Space Center in Pleasant Grove is in the midst of its first Heck Week.  Their Leadership Camp went from Monday to Wednesday.  Their Galaxy Camp starts tonight and ends Saturday morning; that makes for six very long days, running from 7:00 A.M. to 11:00 P.M.
     I'm grateful I'm not in charge at the DSC.  I don't have to be there all six days like I was when I was the director of the Space Center.  That job falls on BJ Warner and his young and energetic staff.  My contribution to the event is chaperoning.  I leave home at 10:40 P.M., drive to the DSC, report for duty, ask how many boys I'll have, set up my pads (yes, I'm still on the floor after all these years) and wait for my charges to exit the ships for bed.  I take them into the Great Hall, gather them around and give my usual speech covering such exciting topics as:

• The Happy Bucket and the correct procedures for vomiting.
• Fire Exits
• Bathroom usage
• Snoring
• Sleep walking
• Penalties for attempted escapes (no one ever escapes from one of my camps.  No one).
• Nocturnal Noise Abatement (for those who like to impress their fellow campers with the bodily noises they have in their repertoire).  

     Once the Going to Bed speech is given, the campers select their air mattresses and stake out their little corner of the room.  Inevitable, one or more of the air beds will deflate during the night, so I show them where the spare air mattresses are located.
     I turn out the lights once they're settled.  I give them a few minutes to let their eyes adjust to the dark before asking if any of them would like to move.  I keep certain lights on in the hall so the boys can find their way around the room during the night without stumbling over their campmates.  Some of the boys like sleeping near the lights, others find the lights too bright and want to move to darker areas of the hall.
     I go to bed once everyone is settled.  I don't sleep very well on these camps; the snoring wakes me up, the shouting and ranting from the boys prone to sleep terrors wake me up, the sleep walkers wake me up as they stumble around, but I do it and do it happily.  It is my contribution to the cause to keep the overnight component of the Space Center alive and well, considering the original Space Center only runs day camps and private parties now.
     Come and join me at the Discovery Space Center on one of the few remaining camps of the summer season.  Help support the overnight camp program and have a great time all at once.

Mr. Williamson

The Original Galileo

Tanner Chamberlain stands in front of the first Galileo.  I believe the first Galileo opened
in 1995.  It was made of wood and held 5 people.  It was built by Kyle Herring and Central School's
principal, Dan Adams.

James Porter was one of the Galileo's flight directors. 

The nose cone held the TV main viewer.  This is what you had to do to turn the
TV on and off.

The Galileo was a nice looking ship that required a lot of maintenance.
The warp cones and nose cones always needed putty, sanding and painting..
The good thing about this Galileo was its movability.  It sat on wheels.  It was light enough
for two people to push it around the room with a crew of 5 onboard

The front of the Galileo

The back of the Galileo.  There was very little room. Not a good
simulator for the claustrophobic.

Getting ready to open the Galileo's hatch.
That a young Megan Warner, current Space Center Director, on the far right.

The Galileo waiting for her crew

The original Galileo was auctioned off and sold for a couple hundred dollars when the new Galileo was built.
Someone got quite a deal when they bought this ship. 

 Did you fly in the original Galileo as a camper?  If so, I'd like to hear your story.  Please send them to me here at The Troubadour (spacecamputah@gmail.com).  I'll post the stories for everyone to enjoy.

Mr. Williamson

No truer words have ever been spoken

It looks like they haven't explored far enough

I enjoy creativity in advertising

You'll go nowhere really fast by always staying in your comfort zone.

Very Creative People have Fun with the SciFi Channel's Cheesy Movie: Sharknato

You won't have to worry about this boy

My favorite of the day.  Right On Dairy Queen!  You know how to drum up business

Even those roadside sign holders are in peril of losing their jobs to animation.
Who's job isn't in danger these days?

Fire the photographer

Best children's story

Kids have evolved over time.
Left, children when I started teaching in 1983
Right, children today.
What Happened?

Curiosity, You're born with it.
Don't loose it.

The Japanese are very creative

An Arkansas Mansion

The Brits know how to put things.

A youngsters constellation at a science museum.

My new goal in life is to have my own parking place with this as its marker

The current state of affairs.
A sad commentary

Remembering the Voyager through Video and Pictures. A Cadet's Volunteering Story.

Hello Troops,

     Our Farpoint Cadets are having a great time working in the simulators at both the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center and The Discovery Space Center; both space education centers are located in Pleasant Grove.
     As leader of the Farpoint Cadets, it is my privilege to get to work with some of the finest, most intelligent, articulate and well mannered students of great character Utah has to offer.  Where else can an adult walk into a room of teens and pre-teens and be outclassed and outsmarted at every turn?
Currently, the cadets are using their talents to enrich the missions at the two space edventure center listed in the first paragraph.  In a little over one year, they will be able to direct their energy and talent at their home base: Farpoint Station at Renaissance Academy.
     Lindsey is one of our cadets.  She was kind enough to send the following story from a mission she worked recently.  I thought you'd enjoy reading the story yourself.

Mr. Williamson,
Here is a story from yesterday's mission I worked at Discovery.

        I guess you could say the day started out normal, I had just walked into the Galileo Room, where I found Dave Daymont. He was going to be flying the mission, but I had never flown with him, so I introduced myself as the crew from the last mission left.
         As we were chatting, Jon came over with a man in a suit. He introduced us, but I didn't catch his name. We all shook hands and the two went on their merry way to take a tour of Discovery. Dave turned to me and asked,
         "Do you know who that was?"
          I answered honestly, "Nope."
         "Don't you watch the news? That was Congressman Jason Chaffetz."
          The crew hadn't even arrived yet, and I had already met a government official. I could tell this was going to be a great mission.

          My next adventure was during the mission. Dave sent me on, and I began training, what I didn't know was that this crew knew me very well. As soon as they saw me they were ecstatic that their "Russian Lady" was back. And that is when it all made sense. Beforehand I had been their Russian doctor, Taisia. They were thrilled that I was back to train them.
         Throughout the briefing they asked if the "Russian Lady" was going to be there to help them. Dave had no idea who this "Russian Lady" was, so he told them that she was on a new assignment to a new ship. The crew wouldn't hear of it, saying that they had just seen her just ten minutes before. Eventually he told them that she was working in a different part of the ship. The crew was content, Dave was content, and we started a great mission.

Lindsey H. 

Do you have a favorite story from your time spent at the either of the two space edventure centers either as a volunteer or a camper?  If so, please do me a favor and send the story to me at the following email address:  spacecamputah@gmail.com.   You just might see your story right here on The Troubadour.

Remembering the USS Voyager.  The Finest Ship of the Fleet. 

     The USS Voyager was my first ship built in 1990.  For over a year, it was The Space Center.  There was no Odyssey or Magellan, or Galileo or Phoenix.  The Voyager was built by the Alpine School District Maintenance Department and Phillipoon Construction during the winter, spring and summer of 1990 and opened for business on November 8th of that same year.  I raised most of the money to build the Voyager from grants and donations.   The Alpine District stepped in when money ran tight and helped with the construction, electrical installation and the metal work (bannisters, spiral staircase, and bunk beds).  The Voyager was a school, community, business partnership.  It was a simulator loved by hundred's of thousands of people.
     The cost of bringing the Voyager up to today's building and safety standards was more than our budget could afford and the Voyager was permanently closed in October of 2012.  It will never reopen and will eventually be torn down when Central School is demolished sometime in the future.
     As the years go by, and space edventure simulations expand to new locations, the USS Voyager will always be remembered as the first ship, the mother ship.  The heart of this movement lies within her now silent walls.
     There were times at night, after everyone had gone home, when I'd sit in the Voyager's captain's chair and enjoy one on one imagination recharging time with MY ship.  I'd remember all the stories told in the past, and think of new mission ideas for the future. I'd listen to the engine soundtrack, look at the screens and marvel at what we had all accomplished as a team of dedicated space enthusiasts.  We lit fires in the imaginations of thousands and thousands of Utah's schoolchildren; we motivated them to dream big and know that the impossible can be achieved with imagination, linked to the motivation that comes through believing anything is possible with education and hard work.
     The Voyager lives on in memory, photographs and video.  Let's take a minute and experience the Voyager again in tonight's Troubadour.

A Space Center Staff Video, Made for the 2010 Leadership Camp  

 

Raw Footage from a Company's Team Building EdVenture on the Voyager     



The UEN (Utah Education Network) Highlighted the Space Center.  See the Voyager in all her Glory starting at 4:18 on the video and ending at 6:45



Photographs of the Voyager

Voyager Security learning the ropes

Carson training Right Wing

Spencer M. in the Voyager Control Room

The Voyager Captain in all his glory

Voyager Communications being trained by Bracken

Bradyn training Records / Science / Tactical

Voyager Engineer

Bracken Give his Final Briefing on the Bridge

Voyager Volunteers in the Galley and Crew Quarters.

The back of the Bridge

Security checking the Sensors Station

 The Voyager as it is Today

 This video is a walk through of the Voyager as it is today (begin at 3:33 ending at 7:50)




The Voyager Returns at Farpoint

The good news, Farpoint will be the home of the Voyager II, opening in the fall of 2014.  We will bring back the Voyager in all her glory, with all the necessary improvements to make it the finest simulator in the world.  The spirit of the Voyager will live on.

Mr. Williamson

The Myth of Average. A Farpoint Cadet's Story. Space and Science News. The Imaginarium

Hello Troops,

     I once had a student who considered himself average at most things.  And because he was average at most things, he considered himself an average person.  One day we got into a discussion about the word 'average' at my desk.  I told him about our very average star, the one Earth orbits every year.  Our star is nothing special as far as stars go.  You've seen one star like our sun, you've seen a zillion.  Our sun wouldn't even be listed as a place of interest on an alien's Guide to the Milky Way Galaxy.  

     "And your point is?" my student questioned.  

     I explained that BECAUSE our sun is an average, run of the mill star, the conditions were perfect for our planet to develop and support life, and as far as we know, intelligent life may be the rarest of things in our universe.  Our sun's crowning glory was the development of life on one of its eight planets.  Therefore, it has the universe's best bragging rights.   It is the little star that could and did!  

     "Well, that means our sun isn't average then, if planets like Earth are so rare," he thoughtfully replied to my logic.

     "Precisely," I answered.  "Just one thing made our average sun, extraordinary and unique."

     "I get what you're saying.  I say I'm just an average kid, and you're saying that there is something about me that makes me above average."  

     "Yes, that's what I'm saying."

     He looked puzzled.  "Then what is it?"

     "One day you're going to discovery something you are passionate about.  Maybe not this year or next, but one day it will come.  That one thing can make you exceptional if you learn to use it to better yourself and those around you."

     After that day my student was kinder to himself.  Find the things you're passionate about and pursue them.  It is how we make our lives extraordinary.  We use our talents and abilities to better our lives, and the lives of those we care about.   

Farpoint Cadet Nolan W's Story From the Simulators

     It was your average 2.5 hour mission until in mid sentence Jackie said, "the crew has an 18 month child napping in his mother's arms, and there is a little girl.  I can just tell she is going to cry as soon as we go red alert". 

     At first I did not believe her and was not worried until, to my disbelief, a mother holding a small boy walked up to the counter intelligence station in front of me.  She sat down.  The small child curled up his tiny hands and banged viciously on the desk and keyboard. I silently wept for the keyboards that were to be lost on this mission. It didn't help that two other mothers were in the same situation. 

     I left in sadness for whoever would be doing bridge. Andrew told us volunteers to set up a bomb landing part to make the little kids happy. It was like any other bomb away team. The first round was like any other. Then we decided to ease it up a bit. I hid by the chairs and planned on standing up and getting shot. After a few seconds all the other volunteers were shot.  I panicked because the only person doing anything was the eight year old security guard who was the whole reason we did a bomb away team. He started to look around for any other intruders. The young security guard was approaching the desk at the front to double check that he got everyone. He turned around. He made eye contact with me wondering if I was an intruder or just another odd thing in discovery. I was confused.  I couldn't just sit there like a fool for the rest of the bomb scene. I slowly raised the phaser, my finger jerked back  and I fired.  The boy was confused. The bridge officer heard a phaser go off in the room but wasn't sure where it was coming from. It was too dark for her to see me so I fired it again.  She finally saw me and called the boy down. The kid was on a roll and I hated to end it. I felt terrible so I basically just stood up and got shot. 

Nolan W.

(Thanks Nolan for taking one for the team so the little boy could have his moment of glory)

Space and Science News.

Hubble Finds New Moon Orbiting Neptune

In 1989, the Voyager 2 spacecraft was carrying out a survey of Neptune's moons and rings but inexplicably zipped by the planet without registering what would turn out to be truly big news. That finding would have to wait until earlier this month when Mark Showalter, an astronomer at the SETI Institute, was working with images sent back by the Hubble Space Telescope, when he discovered the presence of the smallest moon in the Neptunian system.  Read More

18 Great Careers College Kids Know Very Little About

A grim job market and crushing student debt have many people second guessing their higher education decisions. Nearly half of recent grads regret choosing their school or major.  

A recent Reddit thread asked for some great careers that college kids have no idea even exist.

Here are some of the best potential alternatives to spending four years on a degree and racking up student loans, or potential alternative paths to people who graduate and find themselves working in retail.  Read More  

The 16-year-old student from Istanbul spent two years perfecting a way to make a bioplastic out of discarded banana peels that could, in turn, be used for the electrical insulation of cables.

On Thursday, her efforts paid off when Scientific American named her the winner of its $50,000 Science in Action prize, a stepping stone to the Google Science Fair for young inventors in California this September.  Read More

In the Imaginarium's Creative Design Department

What a perfect name for fake butter
Creativity and truthfulness: A

This is how you know to pull or push

Cover a step with a mirror and really freak people out

Someone's Mom has had enough

The cat beard