Today I'm posting pictures showcasing our good friend and long time Space Center alumni Alex DeBirk. Alex, along with his high school students, is building the new space center at American Heritage School in American Fork, Utah. This new Utah County space center will have two simulators: the Galileo from the Christa McAuliffe Space Center and an all new ship yet to be named. This new simulator will be one for the books: designed and built by American Heritage students and their awesome teacher - Alex. The set designs are phenomenal! I hope to stop by this week to see it all in person. Until then, we will have to let our imagination soar with the photos Alex has supplied.
The Imaginarium Theater
The Best Videos From Around the World Edited for a Gentler Audience
Congratulations to Tyler Gotcher (holding the clipboard), the Space Center's newest flight director. Tyler did his first solo flight as a new Magellan flight director yesterday. As a matter of fact, Sara Glad was on that mission. Lissa joined the flight remotely in case Tyler needed someone to symbolically hold his hand if things went south. Lissa was home due to strep throat. You see, sick days are unheard of at the Space Center.
Working with Tyler were Hayden and Nolan. Nolan was on loan from the Cassini and Odyssey.
Here's a picture of Tyler working toward his flight director pass on August 4 during one of the summer camps. Lissa is sporting a blanket to keep the chill away. Poor girl seems to be rather sickly lately :)
Congratulations Tyler and Welcome to the Flight Director Family.
Photos of My Saturday Adventures at the Space Center
If it's Saturday, then I'm at the Christa McAuliffe Space Center helping Jon run the Cassini. Actually Jon is helping me as I try to remember my training from the summer camps. It's amazing how much you forget if you're not in the flight director's chair on a regular basis. I've got my 5 hour pass for Greenpeace, now I'm working to learn my daytime field trip flights (Cry in the Dark, Perikoi, Intolerance, Midnight Rescue) as they're told in the Cassini. There are some changes to the orthodox telling of the missions as I told them in the original Voyager back in the day, mainly in the number and organization of cards and the use of Thorium for each flight, but I'm getting there one Saturday at a time.
Needless to say, wearing that Alpine School District badge and working once more in the mother Space Center of them all is fantastic. My "retirement" is the best. I work weekdays with 80 wonderful 6th graders at Renaissance Academy teaching math and history, then after school I work alongside Bracken Funk at the Renaissance Academy's space center "The Space Place" where we run a Young Astronaut and Voyager Club for nearly 160 students in grades 3 through 9. To top it all off, I get to fly the school's beautiful Starship Voyager.
Then on weekends I'm at the CMSC working alongside some of the finest people I know and feeling that spirit of adventure in the simulators and in the planetarium. Disney hasn't got much on us except a huge bank account!
Every Saturday I find the staff and volunteers enjoying the campers and each other's company. Often I snap a photo or two to share with you. Here are a few.....
This is Nolan. Nolan is happy. A camper left $1.00 for him wrapped over his pet mouse.
In Greenpeace, Nolan's pirate character has a pet mouse. The mouse got away from him and was captured by a camper. The camper felt sorry for Nolan and returned the mouse to Nolan, who was at the time being held in the brig. The mouse was wrapped in the dollar, clearly a gift from the camper hoping the pirate could use it to purchase better pirate clothes or perhaps enjoy an extra glass of rum when next in port.
Jon Parker striking a Victor Williamson pose when delivering that "Children of Perikoi" monolog. You know the one, "This is Perikoi....................."
Andy Heaton, Bryce Redd, and Craig Wilson are members of the Retired Space Center Staff and Volunteers Community. They stopped by the new Space Center out of curiosity wondering how the new CMSC compared to the old CMSEC. I happened to be at the Space Center at the time working in the Cassini and we met up again. I showed them the ships. They were mightily impressed. And as usual our conversation morphed into talk of the good old days. I took them out to the parking lot and showed them the exact spot where the old Voyager's Captain's chair stood.
Jon Parker, Master of Disaster on the Cassini, knew I'd be interested in a recent purchase of his. Yes, those are the Space Center's new Slime Devil eggs. Do you veterans of the old Voyager remember the original wooden slime devil eggs we use to plant around the ship? They were a blast, especially on the overnight camps. You can thank Admiral Bill Schuler for the original concept of the Slime Devil and the eggs bit. I was happy to bring the slime devil back to the Space Center this summer during my tellings of Greenpeace. Jon has gone the extra mile to get the eggs necessary to strike terror in the hearts of the young Cassinites.
Orion Bowers is back flying the Galileo!
This is Kayden, a devoted Phoenix simulator volunteer. Apparently he did something wrong during one of Jordan Smith's missions and experienced the Wrath of Jordan, something you wouldn't wish upon your worst enemy. The damage to his clothing wasn't caused by the laying on of hands. It was caused by the verbal telling off Kayden received for missing an incoming call from the bridge communications officer. The force of wind and the hurricane speed of spittal did the damage to the shirt.
Actually, Kayden was getting ready to play a role in Saturday's Phoenix 5 hour mission. Scott helped the realism by adding a bit of makeup to garner crew sympathy.
Speaking of the Phoenix, I need to give a shout out to Mason Perry and his staff for getting the one and only Phoenix top mission score of the last summer camp. Well done Mason and staff! We knew the Phoenix could do it.
Finally, how about that Magellan staff! They must have a hidden camera in the staff break room because they are always the first to get to the goodies I bring on Saturdays - sometimes leaving nothing for the other ships. Their motto: "The Best for the Best!"
Imaginarium Theater
The Best Videos From Around the World Edited for a Gentler Audience. This One From 4 Years Ago! Enjoy
