An Open House for Brent Anderson!

The Czech Republic's LDS Meeting House (of course I could be wrong).
I'm told it can hold all the Mormons in the Republic. Well, not for long. Elder Brent Anderson is about to unleash religious fury throughout the land.

Hello Troops,
A special announcement. Brent Anderson will be going into the MTC on Wednesday. He was called to serve a mission in the Czech Republic (its in Europe for those not educated in Pleasant Grove). We will have a humble open house for him at my home in Pleasant Grove Saturday afternoon / evening. Wits End (my home's name) will welcome you no earlier than 5:45 P.M. We will wrap things up at 9:00 P.M.
I know for many 9:00 P.M. is when the party should be starting but remember my age and the fact that I’ll be coming home after 21 hours at the Space Center nonstop.
I’m exhausted on a Saturday night but can keep my mental facilities until 9:00 P.M. after which I collapse into a semi liquid ball of gelatinous matter and remain that way until Sunday morning when I congeal into a solid shape for worship (and no you may not stay and watch. I’ve been told it can get gruesome as my ligaments release their hold on my bones).

This Open House is open to all Space Center staff, volunteers and past staff and volunteers that know Brent and who are high school seniors and older. Sorry younglings, but adults only. There is one exemption to the age rule. If you are a younger brother or sister of an adult worker you may attend with them.

So stop by and say goodbye to Brent anytime between 5:45 and 9:00 P.M. Of course there will be refreshments and engaging conversation as always at a Space Center gathering.

Mr. Williamson

State Seal of the Czech Republic

(you see you always learn something when you read this blog)

A Fun Experience in the Field Trip Classroom

Mrs. Lorraine Houston Awarding an Honor to a Member of the Staff

by Lorraine Houston Space Center Educator 

      Teaching in the classroom is like giving a performance on stage. Each day the afternoon class comes in with full tummies and an attitude. The simulation is over and thirty small bodies enter into the classroom, They glare at me and I sense their thoughts; "Nothing you can do will ever be better than the spaceships. I dare you to teach me something!" 

     The lesson begins with the usual spill on Christa McAuliffe first teacher in space. Some adults ask questions but most of the time they settle in for a long nap. I then introduce them to Edwin Hubble an recite his words: "Equipped with his five senses man explores the universe around him and calls the adventure science." 

     I tell them to sit up straight, buckle their seatbelts and stare into the main screen. We are going to take an adventure into space. By this time most of them are listening and ready to see what the classroom has to offer. I turn up the volume as loud as I dare and push the button. On the screen stars appear, Star Wars music plays while the words "LONG AGO IN A GALAXY FAR FAR AWAY" roll across the screen. The words continue " WAIT, HOW LONG AGO? HOW FAR WAY? WHAT ARE GALAXIES? WHERE DO THEY COME FROM? DO WE LIVE IN A GALAXY? The last question asked is,"WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT GALAXY FAR FAR WAY, ANYWAY? 

      I can always tell by their reaction what kind of class they will be. Once in a great while the class will respond by laughing and be ready to learn all about galaxies.

     One day last week I had a class really enjoy the lesson, they were asking questions and participating. Their expressions of awe where gratifying, the way you flight directors feel when you have a crew that listens, learns and screams at the right time. At the end of the lesson the teacher had the students give me a round of applause, a standing ovation. It happened with two classes on the same day, it was an unprecedented first. The classroom has begun to rise in competition with the simulators! Maybe I did exaggerate just a bit. I had the students standing ready to leave when the teacher had them clap. Still, It was a standing ovation! The awesome teachers and classroom lessons are beginning to compete with the simulators!

Galileo News

Kyle 'The Fish' Herring

Greetings readers!

This is Mr. Herring, not Mr. W.

Many comments have come in for Mr. W. to stop his endless stream of crazy rants about loons in Rapid City, South Dakota and to start talking more about the awesome projects we are working on at the Space Center, especially the new Galileo, Mark VI.

The Galileo, Mark V was built over 12 years ago in the Provo School District as an experimental "portable" simulator. The Galileo history is a long story for another time but the short version is 10 years ago the Space Center bought the simulator and renamed it the Galileo.

I built the Galileo and I was the first and only flight director for the Galileo for over 4 years, until Mr. Billings arrived on the scene. Now the Galileo has had over 10 Flight Directors and countless thousands of flights!

If you take the approximate cost for the Galileo the Space Center has spent over 10 years, about $10,000.00. Divide it by 10 getting = $1000.00 per year. Running Approximately 200 + Missions per year. Costing the center about $5.00 or less per mission to run. The Galileo has been a whale of a deal in my opinion.

Six years ago Alex Debirk and I began working on designing the new Galileo, we affectionately named the "Mark VI". We had a grand vision for the new ship, one that would require a lot more expertise then both of us has.

Two years ago I discovered the BYU Capstone Projects and the possibilities for our design to come to life with their help. For the next year I worked at getting the monies and permissions to begin the Fall of 08'.

The Capstone Team has taken our design and polished it, worked it to fit within budget constraints, made it much more portable and put it through simulations testing. Next week they will start construction with a scheduled completion of the structure, shell and doors by April 1^st were then it will be on display at BYU and then transported to Scenic Service Specialists for painting, completion of the interior and electrical.

The new Mark VI in my opinion is awesome! It has an aluminum exterior, steel bulkheads, sleeping for 4, Torpedo launching tube (yes you will have to manually put in the accessories for your probe or torpedo in the casing, place it in a tube and lock it in, to be fired!), has a crew of 6, custom designed chairs, interior like a jet aircraft except for the diamond plate aluminum floor, sliding interior door, drawbridge exit aft door, emergency escape hatch in the front, and touch screen controls! I think that is most of the key features…

Some of the builders of the new Galileo will be visiting the Space Center for the upcoming Voyager Club Meeting with blue prints and first hand accounts of their efforts! If you can't come to the meeting, keep you Internet browser on this blog as we will be posting pictures of some of the construction efforts.

All the Best!

Mr. Herring