July 24, 2000
Report on a summer 48 Hour Camp with 65 Campers! Yes, those were the days!
Summary: Things mentions; Discovery Room under construction. Air conditioning not working in Galileo. 65 campers and their comments about the camp. Simulator scores for the camp.
Dear Voyagers!
I'm happy to report the staff survived Hell Week! For the most part we are actually still speaking to each other! Many of you egroup members may not understand why we called this last week "Hell Week" so I will explain. Last week's camps consisted of a 3 day Day Camp from Monday to Wednesday and a 48 hour camp from Thursday to Saturday. Most of the staff and some of the volunteers put in nearly 60 hours of work in last week. I think you are getting the picture now.
The camps went very well for the most part. The air conditioning problem in the cafeteria was not resolved to our great dismay. The temperatures soared into the 80's in the cafeteria during meal times and during the times the Falcon and Galileo were operational. A special thanks to Stephen Porter, Kyle Herring, and Mr. Daymont - and all those that staffed with them for working in that difficult situation.
The flights went well - nothing to report about the simulators. Construction on the Science Center [Discovery Room] is moving along rapidly. I'm going to post some pictures of the Science Center so you can all track its progress.
The student polling results for camp 484 are in.
The students were allowed to grade each rotation. The results are below.
First Place: Voyager with a 1.098
Second Place: Odyssey with a 1.324
Third Place: Magellan with a 1.426
Fourth Place: Classroom with a 1.53
Fifth Place: Galileo with a 1.64
Sixth Place: Falcon with a 2.22
The scores follow letter grades: (A = 1; B = 2; C = 3; D = 4; F = 5)
As for which rotation made you think the most the results are as follows:
40% of the 25 students that flew the Galileo said it made them think the most
19% of the 40 students that flew the Odyssey said it made them think the most
28% of the 65 students that flew the Voyager said it made them think the most
28% of the 65 students that flew the Falcon said it made them think the most
15% of the 65 students that flew the Magellan said it made them think the most
There is a section on the questionnaire where students can write suggestions for Space Center improvement: Here is a sampling of the results:
"Funner Magellan Stations"
"More Simulator Time"
"Get Better Food"
"More Action"
"No Video Night"
"Some way to let crews finish without removing difficulty"
"Bring back Babylon 5 for the Magellan"
"Falcon the whole period - no Mars class"
"Sleeping should count as class hours"
"Falcon"
"Better Falcon Missions"
"Work on the Falcon"
"Get a better storyline on the Falcon, actually use computers, make
the simulators longer"
"At night fight bad guys in the halls. Get lazer tag suits and guns"
"Make more simulator time !!!!"
"Let me go for free"
"Less swiming - more simulators"
"Not stay up late at night"
"Make longer missions"
Not bad for 65 campers. The majority of the polls said the Camp was perfect and not to change a thing.
There is also a section to tell us what they like about the Camps. Some of their comments were:
"Fun"
"It was so Fun"
"The simulators" This was repeated by sooooo many of the campers.
"The Challenge"
"You meet new people"
"Making new friends and the simulators"
"I had never been on a space mission before! I liked them the best"
"The Voyager mission"
"Everything"
"Swimming and Odyssey"
"Everything! Such as good staff and fun!"
"The Galileo"
"The simulator experiences, Team members, and night missions"
"The Voyager cause it is very fun"
"Fun Exciting"
"The whole thing"
"The Magellan"
"It really makes you think hard under stress and gright so when you're
succeed it gives you a cool feeling"
"Voyager"
"It's like it's real"
"Doing the missions on the simulators"
"Robots and simulators"
"Make longer camps"
All the Best My Friends!
Mr. Williamson
Bryce Redd Wins Lord of the Votes for the Summer of 2000's Last 48 Hour Camp
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| Bryce working the Galileo. Summer of 2000 |
On Behalf of all the Staff and volunteers at the Center I want to congratulate Bryce Redd for getting the most votes on our last 48 hour camp. Bryce is now crowned Lord of the Votes. He took in $19.50 in votes from the flight.
I also want to announce that Bryce just passed the 500 point mark. Bryce is the first one in the Volunteer Class of 2000 to achieve that level.
Another First, Bryce is the first in the Class of 2000 to pass off all of his stations.
I think it important that we all recognize excellence here at the Space Center. Bryce's hard work has made the summer space camps a joy to many. I also receive many positive comments about Bryce and his excellent work. Of course the same is true about many of the staff and volunteers but this post is dedicated to Bryce and his accomplishments.
Once again, on behalf of the flight directors, teachers, and staff - a big "EXCELLENT JOB BRYCE!" is shouted from the decks of the Voyager, Magellan, Falcon, Galileo, and Odyssey.
Mr. Williamson
Bryson Lystrup Loses His Expensive Watch. Richard Orcutt Introduces Himself as a Waiting Volunteer.
July 30, 2000
Hey Guys,
I HAVE LOST MY SILVER $156.00 WATCH WHICH I THINK I LOST AT THE SPACE
CENTER. IT LOOKS LIKE THIS: IT HAS A LIGHT BLUE FACE(IT'S A TILL
COLOR),IT HAS A SILVER BAND, IT'S NOT A DIGITAL WATCH,IT LOOKS VERY
NICE, IT'S MADE BY "GUESS"(IT SHOULD SAY IT ON THE BACK SIDE OF THE
FACE.) IF YOU HAVE IT PLEASE CONTACT ME AT 756-8121. $50.00 TO THE
ONE WHO FINDS IT AND CONTACTS ME. PLEASE IT MEAN SO MUCH TO ME.
THANKS,
BRYSON LYSTRUP
P.S. I LEFT A NIKE HAT THAT IS FITTED, IT IS BLACK. I LEFT IT AT THE SPACE CENTER I KNOW THAT FOR A FACT. IF YOU FOUND THAT I WILL GIVE YOU $15.00.
July 30, 2000
Hi,
I'm Rno12 and I'm on the waiting list for staff I'm going to post more messages later to tell you guys n gals about myself later but I'm going to scout camp this week and the Jamboral next week so it might be a while.
Richard Orcutt
Rno12@hotmail.com
Mr. Williamson's Frank Discussion on Staff and Volunteers Issues. You'll Notice that Nothing Changes. The Same Issues are True Today.
July 31, 2000
Hello Voyagers!
I have a few spare minutes today so I thought I'd write a general note to all and discuss a few topics which have come up.
1. A change in Universes. All of our simulators will be changing into a new universe we can copyright. We will use as much of Star Trek as we can without getting into copyright problems. All of the simulators will make this change after the flight directors have had a chance to discuss the universe and make changes to the model so their needs are met.
2. We are looking for anyone that can generate special effects for this Universe. Someone out there knows how to or knows someone that can create realistic special effects at a decent price we can afford. Dave Wall and a friend have been working on effects for the new Odyssey story and they are very good. We need them for all other simulators as well.
3. Volunteers. Please do not stand around staring at the students as they arrive. Imagine coming into Disneyland and having all the staff standing around staring at you as you walk through! If you don't have a loading station then please stay in the briefing room or
the cafeteria and wait for the program to start. If you really want to be helpful stand by the door and help the kids with their stuff as they come in. That would make an excellent impression on the guests and their parents (Not to mention great vote fishing)
4. STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS PLEASE SHOWER AND BRUSH YOUR TEETH BEFORE YOU COME TO THE CENTER FOR A MISSION. PLEASE BE SURE YOUR HAIR IS CLEAN AND SO ARE YOUR CLOTHES. IF YOUR T-SHIRT IS WEARING THIN THEN
PLEASE DISCUSS THIS WITH ME SO WE CAN GET YOU A NEW ONE.
5. Props and Costumes: Please hang up all costume and put away your props in their proper places after each use. If you don't know where a prop or costume piece goes then please put them in the plastic bins located in the Voyager.
6. Props. As you shop around keep your eye out for any props you think might fit at the Center. You would be surprised what you find in a toy store that would fit our needs. Email the information to me and I'll check it out. We are especially in need of Doctor's props
for the sick bay.
7. Volunteers and Staff. Please stow all your personal belongings on the stage and not the faculty room. That faculty room is messed up enough with all the construction.
And now a few words about the Simulators.
1. Each simulator is to be cleaned before guests arrive. Yes, that means between rotations on the longer camps. All guests are entitled to a clean ship with everything in working order.
You all know I am a fanatic on appearance. I want the keyboards flush up to the edge of the desks. I want chairs pushed in. I want mouse pads aligned with the keyboards. I want tape players set out properly not just tossed on the desks. I want clean carpets. I want the beds made. I want the bathroom clean. I want the pencils sharpened. We are after perfection my friends.
I know there are those that say you can't get perfection but I say in some things you can and having a ship ready for guests is an area of perfection we can obtain!
2. As you move around the sims and the school always look for things out of place or that need to be picked up. There was a piece of trash on the gym floor that was noticeable to everyone on one of the camps. I usually stop to pick them up but I thought I'd watch
if anyone one else would. No one did. Our flight directors walked right by it many times so did our staff and volunteers. Friends, I stop and pick up trash - You stop and pick up trash. No one is too good to stop and pick up trash on the floors.
3. Who takes orders from who? This is the pecking order at the Space Center so you all know.
1. Mr. Adams
2. Me. I am the Director of the Space Center. I take orders from Mr. Adams our principal.
3. Mr. Daymont. Mr. Daymont is the Assistant Director of of the Center. He takes orders from me and Dan.
4. Flight Directors and Teachers. The Flight Directors and Teachers are next in line.
5. Blue Shirts. The Blue shirts are our senior staff. The Blue Shirts that have the most seniority are:
1. Josh Webb
2. Ryan Davis
3. Shayne Skaggs
4. Stephen Porter.
6. The Volunteers. Volunteers, who do you take orders from? There are too many blue shirts and they don't all have the authority to tell you what to do. You follow this chain of command.
1. Orders from Me
2. Orders from Mr. Daymont
3. Orders from your flight director.
4. Orders from the highest senior Blue Shirt working in the simulator you are assigned to.
I hope this clears up any question concerning this matter.
4. Flight Directors may ban you from working in their simulator and I will back them up if they feel your performance is not up to par. What do we do with Staff or Volunteers whose performances are not up to standard?
1. Discuss the problem and tell them they are not allowed to work with that flight director until the issue is resolved.
2. Retrain if necessary.
3. Approach the Flight Director again and see if the person can retry the station. What if a person is banned more than once? They are taken off the working list.
5. How does a volunteer get a blue shirt?
1. Easy answer - be the right person at the right place at the right time. That my friends is how life works.
6. What is the Right Person?
1. Well, a little tougher to answer. My personal experience may help answer this one. My life as an employee has always been successful no matter what I did because of the following:
A. I always found out who had the power to make my life better or worse and made sure that person knew me or at least knew of me by reputation.
B. That meant I had to stand out of the crowd of other workers. My work had to be slightly better than the work of those around me.
C. I didn't ever make enemies!!! Try never to make an enemy of anyone where you work. You never know where that person is going. They may be promoted before you and if they are your enemy you are sunk.
D. Find a way to become indispensable. I always looked around for ways to make my bosses lives easier and then did those things. Soon my bosses grew to rely on me to do those extra jobs. They needed me to do those things. Then when I needed a raise or promotion they were in my corner. Some of our other egroups members may want to comment on what they have done in the past to succeed in their careers.
These things of course come into play after you get the education necessary to do the job right. Never let anything stand in the way of your education
Well, my friends this post is long enough and my extra time is shot. Time to get down to the Center and get ready for the overnight mission.
Thank you all for your devoted work. I consider you all friends and co-workers. We learn from each other. Yes, I learn from everyone at the Center. Each day is an adventure for me
because working at the Center offers challenges and rewards.
All the Best,
Mr. Williamson
The Imaginarium
Imagination. The essence of being human
