Every once in awhile we need to be reminded that the Space Center's Field Trip Program has always been the primary purpose of the Space Center. Running field trips was the program that convinced the school board to support my idea of creating a space education center in the first place back in 1990 when it they had to make the critical decision on letting me run the space center full time, or make it an after school program only for Central Elementary School students.
Today's field trip program continues that legacy and is sometimes overlooked by the glamor of the private missions and camps. I want to take a moment to thank our daytime field trip staff for the work they do towards making the Space Center a valuable, contributing program for the students of Utah. It is the best field trip in the state. Speaking about field trips and their importance, this is something I wrote back in May of 2002. Please take a moment to read. The Space Center's Blog (Space EdVentures) May 2002 We are nearing the end of the school year. For this week's Journal I would like all our employees and volunteers to consider the Space Center's primary mission - the Daily Field Trips. The purpose of the Center is, and always will be, the daily field trip program. Private missions, Overnight camps, summer camps all play a major part in the funding of Center operations but our primary reason for existence is the daily field trip program. Without the finest daily program I've failed, the Center has failed, we all fail. The Center would be closed and the public money allocated to us yearly would be used more effectively elsewhere. All of us benefit from an outstanding educational field trip. It is how we are judged in the community. Look at the numbers. We see nearly 250 students and teachers weekly on the field trips. Compare that to 42 students on the overnight camp and approx. 125 in private missions. The daily field trips provide the motivation for students to return for these other programs. All employees and volunteers of the Center support the daily field trip program. This is done by: 1. Providing technical and programming support for the simulators. 2. Talking about the daily field trip program to family and friends. By letting people people understand the importance of the program we highlight our true purpose and validate our existence and the amount of public money spent. If someone were to ask about the Center, an employee or volunteer first discusses the education component of Center operations - the field trips, the Starlab Planetarium, the classes, the oceanography program, etc. 3. Volunteering, as you all do, for private missions and overnight camps. The private missions and overnight camps provide the lion share of our operating budget and exist to serve the Field Trips and educational programs. Our daily program is the pride of the Center. We deliver one of the finest field trips students can take anywhere in Utah. That is due to the fine work and dedication of many people. Please let those employees and volunteers that assist with that program know you appreciate their efforts. We are in May - and approaching the end of our season. The daily workers have been doing 4 and 5 missions and 2 classes including Starlab Planetarium presentations a day to between 40 and 70 students four times a week. It gets really hard to get yourself "up" to it day in and day out. The repetition can be mind numbing and there are days it takes everything you have to the very fiber of your gut to be happy, friendly, and warm to our visiting students and teachers. Thank you to our daily workers for everything you do. Keep your spirits up to the end. Keep smiling even on the days were you think if you have to do this once more you will loose your mind. I know, along with all the other employees and volunteers of the Center, that your success brings the kids back for all other programs. So a special pat on the back to: The Space Center that Never Was. Planning for the New Space Center in 2012
Around the year 2010, the School District purchased a section of land where the north end of Central School now stands with the purpose of putting a new Space Center on that land on a future bond election. I was asked to start imagineering designs for that new Center. I put that task to Alex DeBirk, current director of the American Heritage Space Center. After a great deal of thought, this was his proposed design for the new Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center. I'm not going to include all the rational behind each section because it the post would go on for quite some time. I only put this here out of historical interest.
What are your thoughts on this Space Center design? What kind of Space Center would this have been to work and volunteer in? By the way, the Guild Hall was the meeting room for the Acting, Programming, and Writing Departments of their day. The "Class" rooms are two full sized classrooms. The locker rooms were for the weekly overnight camps. The Assembly room would hold the Galileo and provide meeting areas to start and end camps (and cots for the overnight camps). Are You As Smart as an 8th Grader from 1912?
So, was school really more challenging back then? Would you have been able to graduate eighth grade 100 years ago? Try your hand at the exam, below, and check your answers at the Bullitt County Museum website to see if you passed.
Imaginarium Theater
|
AuthorMy name is Victor Williamson. I founded the Christa McAuliffe Space Center in 1990. I current teach 6th grade at Renaissance Academy and am the Space Center Outreach Coordinator (I take care of the volunteers). You can reach me by email: [email protected] Archives
April 2024
Categories |