What a Difference We Can Make! This Week's Imaginarium Theater

 

Hello Troops,
Below this paragraph is a testimonial and thank you letter I received from a teacher several years back when I was the director. I'm reposted it today as a reminder to everyone in our line of work that what we do can and does make a difference in young people's lives.  

We don't get a lot of feedback from our teachers, students and campers. They cheer and clap after a field trip, private mission or camp and they leave. It is nice when someone takes the time to send an email telling us they appreciated the experience and how it affected them. Letters like this energized us and make us want to work harder to created the best field trip and camp possible with our limited resources. After all, what are we after? World domination of course........Is that too much to ask?

Mr. W.

And Now the Teacher's Letter:

Dear Space Center,
It is has been 7-8 years since I took a classroom to Space Camp. Of course, I haven't been teaching all that time. As a matter of fact, I have just gotten back into the field. I teach seventh grade homeroom at a conservative private school in American Fork. I am looking into the possibility of taking both seventh grades next year and was excited to hear that the curriculum would be the same as it was the last time I went.

Because I had recently heard about Space Camp, I decided to see if it would fit the curriculum of the private school I worked for back in 1999. The principal was excited about it, so I sent off for information. We were thrilled that the book I had chosen for my sixth grade that year was The Diary of Anne Frank and that the Camp curriculum was going to cover that same book. I set up a date for us to go in November of that same year. Our principal decided that the small seventh and eighth grade would accompany us.

I worked with that teacher to set up the curriculum to include Science, Math, Language Arts, Music, Art, Literature, Spelling, Orthography/Penmanship, Speech/Oratory, Social Studies, Leadership and "Followership" Skills and PE. We started the day school started preparing our students for this experience. Although we used different student books and manuals, we were able to adjust the curriculum.

The students were not easy to handle, as many of them had been with each other for several years, some for seven years! We and they kept notebooks of our work. When the day came, we did our culminating activity and went to "after-school Space Camp."

It was fascinating to watch the class become a team during the two and one-half hour mission. However, what was phenomenal were the next days, the next weeks, the next months. These students had been somewhat surly in their approach to each other and me during the first several months of school. The next day, students who had had hard feelings, negative reactions to each other and to me, had been "re-born" because of this two and one-half hour experience. They were much more positive towards others in class and out. The looked for ways to help each other have positive experiences with learning.

They had a strong desire to learn, to be a part of a team, to look for ways to help me and they wanted to do their best. They were not little angels all the time, but they recognized that they could change and that it was a better change for them. I had
"new" students the rest of the year in more ways than one. Whenever a student came in who was new to seventh grade, my other students looked for ways to help them acclimate. They all gathered round those who had difficult or hard times during the rest of the year. It was a joy to behold!

Since this experience, I have had both parents and students of that seventh grade write to me expressing that this experience was a turning point in lives. Many of these
same students are now full-ride scholarship students at great universities, working on Doctorates. Others greet me on the street, telling me that that is one of the greatest experiences they have had in their lives, that they remind those with whom they come in contact with about this experience and are now "missionaries" for Space Camp, just like me!!!

What more can I say except what I have already said? I have said this in such a hurry that I hope that I have not been too incoherent!!!

ENGAGE!!!!! (as Commander Pickard used to say)

Mrs. Sharon S.

Imaginarium Theater

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Desolate Eden, A New Project from Celestial Horizons: See What Your Old Space Center Veteran Friends are Up To. It's Amazing. Get Involved. Imaginarium Theater

Happy New Year to everyone in the Space EdVenturing community! Have you ever wondered what some of the Space Center veterans  are doing these days?  Sure, they retired from Starfleet years ago but they're hardly past their "sell by" dates.  Many are living useful, productive lives planetside.  Some have found a way to keep their feet in the science fiction / space drama / simulation pool by joining Nathan Young's Desolate Eden Space Extravaganza! And what a production it is.  I listened to the first part and am impressed, nay amazed, nay floored by the quality and professionalism.  Well done to everyone involved.  

This is something which deserves your support.  Please read the following update written by Nathan Young - and when finished, join the Discord, listen to the tracks (the link is below) and if possible, donate some of that Christmas money you found in your stockings. 

To sum up, I'm calling the space center diaspora to find a way to support our friends in this endeavor.  

Victor

And Now, Nathan's Update...

      

Hey Vic,

We are SUPER excited to share Desolate Eden, our MASSIVE audio drama. We just put up the YouTube versions this week, though the Spotify, Audible, and Apple Podcasts versions have been up for a month or so now. I thought it’d be fun to share a few behind-the-scenes photos from the production process with your readers! (Not to mention brag about the cool Space Center people we roped into it!)

What is Desolate Eden? First, you can find links to your favorite platforms at https://celestialhorizons.io/.   And the good, old-fashioned YouTube release playlist can be found here:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7zi8NzIpNPYOHBgPaaDgpGHr3w8uUzIS

Desolate Eden is a history podcast from the future, where a trio of historians reconstruct the “truth” behind events that took place hundreds of years before they were born. Note, however, that these narrators may not be entirely reliable. Some of their sources are heavily redacted, and others are – by their own admission – entirely fabricated.

The narrative is brought to life by a large cast of voice actors, an original score, and unique sound design. The YouTube release has visuals that give new context for the events of the story.

To help make it easier to listen to, we broke it into 3 parts – each of them a continuation from the last.

THE STORY (Don’t worry, no spoilers here.)

During a golden age now long past, humanity spread itself amongst the stars. But while enthusiastic colonists were on their way to their new homes, mission control cut all communications with them.

Now, centuries later, their descendants are given the opportunity to return to Earth, to make contact with their lost cousins, and attempt to discover why they had been abandoned.

Desolate Eden is designed to stand alone, so although it ties in with other podcasts we’ve put out, you don’t need to know anything to be able to jump right in. We think of those other podcasts more as test runs as we were preparing to tell this story. That means that if you find you really like Desolate Eden, you can go back and get a more in-depth look at the events that led up to it!

Rachel Harken was one of the people who gave me feedback on the script, providing helpful comments like “ooooh Alice is SPICY,” “you should just throw all of this ((REDACTED)) out, cause it sucks” and “this scene was good, but it could be, like, 100x spookier. Get on it.” Legitimately helpful comments, all the way around! You have her to blame for that sequence.

Rachel from her Space Center days

In the words of the great Connor Larsen when flying “Escape” in the old Magellan, “Holy Cow, ya’ll.” We sent out a casting call on twitter... and were FLOODED with submissions from all over the world. In the course of 1 week, we had NEARLY 1200 submissions. This is a screenshot of HALF of the readings we had for ONE character...

This is what the actors would record and send to us – it's called a “side.” I designed it to serve as a litmus test – if the actor could nail (or surprise me!) with one specific line, I’d listen to the rest of their audition. They’ve got 3-5 seconds, (in some cases, two words!) to convince me they get it and can do it, and then I will actually listen to their take. I could teach a whole class on how to handle callbacks, but for brevity’s sake, I’ll say it left me looking like this:

It’s heartbreaking, having so many talented people to choose from, and having to make cuts based just on how you want all the parts to fit together. Casting is INCREDIBLY difficult for large pieces like this.

Our final cast has people from all over the English-speaking world, from New York to Canada to the UK to Australia. But a lot of them came from Utah! (Though many of them resisted sending me pictures...) Space Center people may recognize some of the names on there, including...

Natalie Brianne, the pen name for Natalie Anderson, former Odyssey set director, as Tasella Lamoreaux, first officer of the main ship we spend our time on in the show, who appears at the end of part 1.

Chris Call as Odyssey Set Director

Chris Call, the real name for Chris Call, former Odyssey set director, as Hession Poctoli, captain of one of the other ships in the fleet, who appears in Part 2.

Nathan Young and Natalie Anderson in the Odyssey

Nathan Young, the True Name for Nathan Young, former Odyssey set director, as Vasan Vandariel, appearing at the end of part 1.

Christine Appointing Emily as her Replacement Odyssey Set Director

Christine Smith, the married name of Christine Grosland, former Odyssey set director, as Zilnara, one of the other ship captains, appears in Part 2 (See a pattern here? No, I didn’t realize this trend until I was writing this up... but I will say, if there are any other Odyssey set directors who want to audition for anything of mine in the future, I’d say your odds seem to be in your favor...)

                                   Jon Parker Having an Idea on the Old Magellan

Jon Parker (who needs to introduction other than to note that he has never been Odyssey set director,) played one of the crew members in part 1.

Lindsey Hatch was a reporter in part 1.

Stacy Harken and James Smith were both additional voices in part 1.

Now that it’s all cast, I needed to give them notes, as everyone would have to record at home. Here are some samples of the things I would write:

I made a binder full of all of the themes. When it came time to score the whole thing, I’d listen to the dialogue, and play along with the scene. The goal was to create more of a “live” feeling to the performance, rather than something perfectly synthesized and static. I’d flip back and forth through the sheet music, improvising variations on each theme, and then would go back through and add new instruments, fix mistakes, and “put some meat on those musical bones.”

What’s next for us? Great question! Right now, I’m doing a lot of reading, research, and outlining. I’ve got a few smaller things (zoomed-in looks at different parts of the universe, like the Alice Corp., the situation back in Hypatia, and the head of the Cyprian state,) that I’ll be producing in the next few months. The proper sequel, however, is still very up-in-the-air.

It took me about 1350 hours to make this over the course of 8 months, on top of my day job. I probably won’t survive doing that again... (at least, not in any timely manner.) And while we produced this for easily 25x less than what it would cost a full production company to do, it still cost us a couple grand in tools, paying actors, etc., so we’re also kinda waiting until we can raise some more money. As fun as paying out-of-pocket for everything is, I’m running out of meals I can skip to make ends meet!

So if you enjoy it, be sure to like, share, subscribe, send it to your nerd friends, leave a review, etc. Also, if you have any rich eccentric relatives who are looking for somewhere to throw a lot of money, maybe send it to them too. We’ve submitted it to some competitions and award shows in hopes of increasing its visibility, so we’ll be sure to share any good news that comes on that front. The further we can spread it, the better the odds that we can do this again!

And if anybody wants to learn more about the production process, the project as a whole, or just say hi, feel free to join our discord server (link on the website) or shoot me an email at

nathan.young@celestialhorizons.io!

Nathan

Imaginarium Theater

The Best Videos From Around the World Edited for a Gentler Audience

Merry Christmas to the Space EdVenturers Worldwide! The Imaginarium Theater!

Merry Christmas!

Speaking as the founder of our form of simulator based experiential education, I want to wish the staff and volunteers of the Christa McAuliffe Space Center, The Space Place at Renaissance Academy, American Heritage Space Center, Telos Discovery Space Center, and The Lions Gate Space Center at Lakeview Academy along with our Voyagers, Young Astronauts, loyal Troubadours, and our good friends at InfiniD a very merry Christmas! And let's not forget to send our Season's Greetings to our great friends at Dream Flight Adventures. I know the many simulators are enjoying a well-needed rest. Each one parked, snoozing, and waiting to be woken by a flight director at the beginning of the `Long Stretch' to Spring Vacation.

The Long Dreaded Stretch That Lies Ahead

This 'Long, Dreaded, Stretch', is the time of the school year only understood by the educational community and students. This desert of time runs from January to April. Its landscape is marked by a few, one-day holidays and nothing else. Teachers survive the 'Long Stretch' by rationing their sanity and patience into weekly packages.

Each Monday one parcel of sanity is opened and inserted into the appropriate mental slot. By Wednesday, students begin sensing the supply is waning. This is usually demonstrated by the teacher's quivering lip and a seemingly innocent twitch over the left eye - a warning sign that something dark and sinister is bubbling in a dark place.

Thursday is the bleakest day. It marks the end of the teacher's working supply of patience. This is the day teachers earn their notorious reputation by verbally striking out at children with swords of satiric comment and bullets of snide and degrading remarks describing their student's mental abilities. Thursday finds teachers sticking pins into the pictures of their 'deserving' students on 'The Bulletin Board' kept hidden from public view in most faculty rooms. At the beginning of each school year the Board is cursed by a practitioner of the Voodoo arts. The ritual begins with hours of chanting accompanied by shaking rattles. This is followed by the sacrificing of a chicken (recently modified by replacing a real chicken with a 9 piece McNuggets from McDonalds to satisfy the animal rights advocates in the educational community. Although not as effective, it is less messy). The Board is ready for use once it is properly prepared.


On Thursdays one is reminded of the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem as you watch teachers gaze at the hundreds of pictures on the Board. The chanting, the rocking, the occasional weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth are all there. Many of you have wondered why you suddenly take sick at school. Now you understand. I could tell you more but I'm taking a calculated risk writing what I've written.

Friday's wisps of sanity are fueled by fumes only. The Fumes of Patience have a calming effect on teachers when combined with warm thoughts of a weekend. I know the long stretch from January to May is hard on students also. Best thing to do is keep a positive attitude and work hard. When you are working hard the time goes faster.

Seriously, I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. It has been a pleasure working with the finest young adults in Utah Valley over the years. I'm honored that you consider the space centers worthy of your valuable time. Enjoy this holiday season with family and friends and be all the more ready to return to the trenches. There are thousands of children waiting anxiously for their upcoming missions and you make it happen!

Yes, Merrily Go!
Mr. Williamson

Imaginarium Theater

The Best Videos From Around the World Edited for a Gentler Audience