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| Mr. Daymont Directing a Magellan Mission. Chief Okinawa is Really Upset About Something |
Tonight, on this bitterly cold Saturday evening in Pleasant Grove, I'm posting another Blast from the Past Historical Post giving you the chance to learn the history of this Space EdVenturing movement using primary documents from the Space Center's first blog - the YahooGroup SpaceEdVentures. You'll find them interesting and perhaps even entertaining. Please take a moment to read. I've highlighted important reading points to draw your eye.
Best Wishes,
Mr. Williamson
Blast From the Past: Learn Your Space Center History. Tonight's Post Covers August 2001
Space Center Journal: Broken Air Conditioners. The Overnight Camp Worked Regardless. The Staff and Volunteer Trip to Lagoon. Visiting Dave Wall's Pathfinder Simulator in Salt Lake City. August 19, 2001
By Victor Williamson
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What a week. Again I say we are living proof that humans have the ability to adapt to difficult surroundings and can accomplish the impossible. The electrical work still isn't finished. The school still looks like a level 5 tornado swept through. They are only now starting work on the Sixth Grade bathrooms so that hallway is impassable. Work on the Magellan was still in progress a day before the overnighter. The Discovery was usable for 1/2 the overnighter.
On Friday I noticed the air conditioning wasn't working in the cafeteria (home of the Falcon and Galileo). I called maintenance to send a specialist over. I then noticed that the electrician had cut power to the control panel that operates the air conditioner. I found
an electrician to rewire that system so the controls were working. The specialist came without my knowledge and turn the air conditioner on(or so he thought). He left without telling me he had come. He also left without going into the Cafeteria and checking to see if the thing had actually come on. It hadn't. It was more phone calls. The overnighter started. The temperature in the cafeteria was approaching 90 degrees. The Galileo's computers were freezing up. To top that off there were large traffic jams on the freeways. We were getting calls from parents of campers telling me to hold up and let them get the ship
of their choice.
I went in and sat down in the cafeteria (sauna) and wondered what it the heck was I doing there. It is sobering to be powerless as things spiral down around you.
Enough was enough. I stood up, all present or not, and we started. I ordered the Galileo to close (luckily we didn't have enough kids to fill it anyway). We started. I got the kids divided into teams and to the simulators. Then the late kids began arriving. My own Voyager
crew had to sit and wait for me. They lost a good 45 minutes to 1 hour of their simulator time to the problems. They were good about it. Thing hit bottom and began moving upward when the specialist arrived to work on the air conditioner. 30 minutes later it was on and the
temperature in the cafeteria began dropping. We made it.
The crews were all good kids. Mostly newcomers but all good kids. There were several deaths in all of the ships. Reviews were good.
It seems the school will look fairly normal for the next overnighter. The halls will be cleaned and waxed on Monday and Tuesday. The electricians will be out of the building on Monday. The bathroom will be finished by the end of next week. We are getting back to normal
after a very disruptive summer.
A special thanks to Mr. Daymont, Herring, and Schuler for their willingness to work in the heat and for their positive attitude. A thank you to Mrs Houston for the cakes and treats Friday evening.
Our staff and volunteer Lagoon trip was on Wednesday. We left the school at 9:00 A.M. and stopped at Dave Wall's new simulator "Pathfinder" in Salt Lake City. All of us were impressed. Several flight directors came out with wish lists and ideas on how we could implement some of Dave's ideas into our sims.
Lagoon was fun. They got me onto Rattlesnake Rapids. I got drenched. I rode the new ride "Cliffhanger" and wondered how anyone could enjoy torture so much. I guess my body isn't constructed to hang upside down for extended periods of time. I'll let others that were at Lagoon write their impressions if they choose. I haven't much to say except that I really enjoyed the day and your company. It is good for us to get together and "Play" as if we don't do enough of that at the Center.
School starts for me on Tuesday. I'll be in 2 days of workshops and then meetings. Have Pity.
All of you enjoy your last week of vacation!!! Get yourselves ready for another school year. Positive attitudes and stiff upper lips. Set high goals for what you want to achieve this year and then meet those goals. Schooling is the doorway to your future. It is your job for
the next 9 months. Of course, don't forget - I'll be watching. Remember you need to turn in your quarterly grades. No grades below a C please.
All the best my friends. Again, post your impressions of Lagoon and I want to hear more from Julie. She just returned from Space Camp.
Mr. Williamson
What We Can Learn from the Space Camp in Alabama. They Had Better Facilities. They Had Correlated Classes. They Had Better Food. Their Simulators Could Communicate Together.
By Julie Collette
What can we learn from them? Well, a lot of what made this space camp so cool was that they had the facilities in order to do it. Not only did they have the massive "habitat" and cafeteria, but it was a museum as well as Rocket Park, surrounding you with things related to NASA. This put you in the "NASA mood" the entire time you were at camp. I have no idea how we would ever be able to build something like a Star Trek museum, and if we did we would definitely have to charge more. A LOT more. So there are just some things that can't be fixed. Part of the problem is that we started from scratch, with one simulator built inside of a school.
They had three simulators in which we had training, then we did a 1-hour mission in all three, and after that they had what they call an EDM (Extended Duration Mission). In the EDM we were able to choose which simulator and which position we would like. This might work for the Space Center on 48-hours or if we do the Edventure Camp again. The only problem would be running the classes, because, no offense, but no one would choose the class as their favorite. If, however, we could figure out a way that this would work, it would give everyone a chance to do their favorite simulator again, as well as maybe choose
another job that looked fun for them as well. Although, this could cause conflicts right and left.
Another thing they did better was the food, shockingly enough. This is rather embarrassing on our part because we feed less than 100 and they feed 800. Why was it better? I have no idea.
As I briefly mentioned in the previous post, all three of their simulators communicated with one another. For instance, MOCR gave Enterprise a go for take-off and if Enterprise ever experienced problems, they could once again contact MOCR and get advice from
them. If it were ever possible, it would be cool if when Odyssey calls Voyager for permission to dock or undock, they would actually call Voyager. And same thing when one ship sends a long-range message to update them on their progress.
One of the cool things about the classes we attended was that they gave us important information that we would need to know for the simulation. If only we had a way to do this. Maybe at the beginning everyone could learn a brief history of Star Trek and the characters, more than is in briefings. This would just ensure that the very best
teams are winning in the end. I don't know exactly how this would work, but I will just have to say that I never thought it would be vital to know our exact altitude and velocity on the Orbiter until after we died. I guess that's why we didn't win in the end.
Basically, there's not a lot we can learn from them because first of all we don't have the facilities and second of all we don't have the numbers and fame. And, we are more creative with our stories. But if you have any questions about how they might have run things
differently that I did not cover, please feel free to ask. And for those of you who feel like spending your summer's worth of savings, I would encourage you to attend one of the several Space Camps.
-Jules-
James Porter Makes Threat. Who Messed With the Galileo?
August 25, 2001
By James Porter
Hello, my name is James Porter. Mr. Herring and I are flight directors for the Galileo. Unless one of us tells you (Or the higher beings known as Victor and Mark ) to do something concerning the Galileo... Don't do it. Don't go into the "control room" and mess with
stuff. Recently the 3 CD's I use have been taken. If you know about their whereabouts, please tell me.
Thank you
-James Porter
Warning - I will only be disgruntled if you give them back. I will KILL you if I find out you have them.
Space Center Journal. Central School is in Shambles. High Teacher Stress. My Speech to the New Teachers Detailing the Space Center's Story. My Tribute to the Voyager and the Many People Who Were Part of Her Creation. Aaron Yeager's Last Mission. Stephen Porter and Jennifer Remy Accept Jobs at Central and the Space Center.
August 26, 2001
By Victor Williamson
Hello troops,
This has been an interesting week for me. I've gone to work daily and did what I needed to do to get things ready for our school season. Around me at Central the teacher's and principal's stress levels have been pushing the breaking point. The classrooms are not all ready. The cabinet makers are still installing. The electricians are not finished. The Sixth Grade bathrooms are at least a week away from completion. The halls were a disaster. The work of some was being undone by the work of others (for example, the floor waxing crew came in on Monday and Tuesday and mopped and waxed the school. The floors were as shiny as clear lake reflecting the afternoon sun. The day after they left the workers were back on the floors dragging equipment from place to place. The shimmering lake soon was looking like the floor crew had wasted their time). Teachers were commenting how calm
and "organized" I seemed to be.
"Its like this," I said. "My stress level was as high as yours for about 2 full months during our summer season. Now that our season is finished I can calm down and relax and enjoy seeing the rest of you reach the place I was at just a few weeks ago. Gives me great pleasure that does...." Of course I have to make for the door quickly after saying that to
avoid the books and desks being hurled in my direction.
The Center was closed Monday for waxing. Tuesday was the first day all teachers had to be back to work. I've had two days of UPASS training. This training is required so we better understand what we have to do to get you folks prepared to take your SAT 9 tests. The training was held in the Briefing Room.
On the second day of training Dr. Jacobson (our new principal) asked me to get up and tell the story of the Space Center to the new teachers. I stood up and began:
I told them about my first simulations back in the spring of 1983 in room 18 at Central. Room 18 was the home of the first Starship at Central. I told them about the overhead projectors and the simple drawings. I told them about the music from the boombox and my position
behind my desk.
I told them about the Central's first Young Astronaut Club I started in 1985. They didn't know our club was one of the top 10 in the nation. I told them how we were selected to represent the United States at International Conferences in Japan, Korea, and Russia (twice). I told them about our club hosting International Camps here.
I told them the story of the Voyager. They understood, perhaps for the first time, the great sacrifice made by so many people to bring the Voyager to a reality.
Sometimes I sit on her bridge and look at the walls amazed that this is where it all started. I remember standing on the playground where the bridge is now wondering if I would ever raise enough money to build her. Once the ground was broken I would stand near the present brig looking at the cement foundations really afraid I couldn't raise enough money to finish construction. I wrote grant after grant. Talked to business after business. I worked with so many good people that saw my vision and graciously offered their time and talents. Oh, the stories the walls of this fine old ship could tell you. The lives that have been changed. The lives that have been enriched. I told them it may seem like a cool couple of well equipped rooms to them but to those of us that were there to see this all unfold and develop it was nothing short of a miracle.
To me the Voyager is a living monument dedicated to the hundreds and thousands of people that have come through her doors. A monument standing as a testament that your dreams can come true if you are willing to pay the price. The Voyager tells all that come to imagine
big, to make your ideas tangible and real. It tells us not to accept "no" for an answer.
Sometimes, in the quiet of the moment, you should go and sit on the Voyager's bridge. Just you and the four walls. Listen to the voices. Listen to the laughing and crying. Listen closely, and you can faintly hear the pounding music and the alien's deep voice. You will feel the old staff. They all left a part of themselves in that room.
I told them the story of the Space Center. I told them that the saying from the movie is true. "If you build it they will come." They came. You came. So here we all are - partners in a unique American experience. Where else but in America would you find this?
The room was quiet when I finished. Perhaps out of fear that Mr. Williamson finally had "rounded the bend" or perhaps because that for the first time they realized that the cool rooms that make up the Center are the living, breathing, extensions of some of the most
wonderful people to ever come together for a common cause.
Thank you my friends for what you do.
The overnight mission went well. It was a bittersweet moment. That overnighter was our last scheduled summer program. The summer binder is now empty. No more camps and no more campers names for the summer of 2001. Of course you can't have your last summer camp without something to remind us of the entire summer we lived through. At 9:15
A.M. the power went out. All the ships went black. The blackout only lasted 5 minutes. The Falcon kids stood in the partial darkness with arms outstretched holding up the collapsed walls. I thought, "Yes, this is the way to end this summer!".
I'm happy to announce that Stephen Porter has accepted the position as Computer Aide for Central School. He will work in the Magellan every day from 9:30 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. I'm also happy to announce that Jennifer Remy will be joining us for daytime field trips.
The display case has new labels for the models. Mr. Schuler also deserves a round of applause for extra duty.
Mr. Daymont is currently working a 2 new Odyssey private missions.
Saturday evening was Mr. Aaron Yeager's last private mission in the Odyssey. What an addition he made to the Center! Did you know that because of Aaron the Odyssey was able to put over 40 extra groups on missions this summer! That's over $3,200.00 extra dollars we wouldn't have had. I expressed thanks on behalf of all of you and twisted his arm to see if he wouldn't continue to take a few extra missions monthly. We shall see.
I don't know about the rest of you but I'M SICK TO DEATH OF THIS HEAT AND SUNSHINE. PLEASE BE TO THE POWERS ABOVE TO GIVE US TEMPERATURES IN THE LOW 70'S, COOL BREEZES, AND A WEEK OF RAIN. IF YOU AGREE SAY AMEN!!!!!!!!!!
Well, I'm going to close this Journal entry. Please post your thoughts on this first week of school. What are your concerns and goals for this year. Let us know - it will motivate you to reach them. I'll start....... My goal for this school year is to try to be more relaxed on the overnight missions. Now, help me reach my goal.
All the best my Friends.
Mr. Williamson
The Imaginarium
