Cassini Gets Ready for the Summer Camp Season. The Space Place to Host a Princess Ball. A Few Things in Passing. Lion's Gate Center Working on New Controls. Imaginairum Theater

The Cassini Gets Ready for the Summer Camp Season

     

     Hyrum gathered several of the Space Center's Voyager Club volunteers yesterday to film scenes for Cassini's new summer camp mission.  His new mission calls for a disturbing "away mission" into the dark hallways of a long-dead ship.  Not having a long-dead ship at his disposal, Hyrum did what flight directors have done for the last 34 years, film in Central School's hallways.  

     Hyrum found interlocking foam panels on Amazon from which physical props could be created. They are lightweight and quickly snap together to form boxes or wall panels, as seen in the photo above.  Crew, staff, and volunteer safety is another good thing about foam panels.  You won't injure yourself if you trip and fall into one, or if you run into one because you're running away from the Borg and not looking where you are going. Nobody wants to be assimilated, right?  

      Just when you thought the hallway was safe for exploration, what (or who) creeps out from behind a damaged starship hallway door to cause a rapid retreat to the safety of Cassini's bridge?  Why, it is a kindly Space Center volunteer transformed into a ravenous spacething bent on destroying anything and anyone who ventures down its hallway.  

Hyrum's "Away Mission" Inspiration comes from his favorite childhood Story
The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

  

     It was a fun afternoon for all. That night, the volunteers and staff went home, snuggled into their beds, and dreamt of all the space campers soon to experience the horror of their creation.  It is such a satisfying and rewarding work.  Volunteering at the Space Center is more fun than is allowed by law, so mums the word.  Let's keep that fact between ourselves.   

The Space Place Hosting a Princess Ball Fund Raiser.  

  Bracken Funk, Director of The Space Place at Renaissance Academy, surprised me a couple weeks ago when he came into my classroom and asked that I hang the poster (above) outside my door.  "What's this?" I asked after seeing the words "Princess Ball". 

     "It's a fundraiser for the Space Place," he replied, with a voice that dared me to question his masculinity. 

     I rephrased the question I was about to ask.  "A Princess Ball?" I asked with less of a sarcastic voice.  

     He set the poster on my desk. "Just hang it up. Now, are we going to have a problem with this?" 

     I stood up, collected a few thumbtacks for the door-side bulletin board, and followed him out.  "Bracken, we are NOT going to have a problem with this....... except for one thing?"  

     He stopped midstep out the door. "And what is that, may I ask?"

     "Do they make ball gowns your size?"  With that said, I ran for the outside door and to the safety of my parked car.  

Bracken coaching Renaissance Academy's Basketball Team.

      Yes, friends, The Space Place is hosting a Princess Ball for Renaissance students, with the proceeds going to The Space Place as it prepares for the summer camp season. 

A Few Things in Passing...

      It is not often something surprises me after 42 years of teaching school.  I appreciate it when something does - it breaks the day-to-day of the job.  On Valentine's Day, something surprised me.  My 6th-grade co-teacher, Heather Booth, received a dozen eggs as a Valentine's gift. Because of the bird flu, millions of chickens have been culled to contain the spread.  That has led to widespread egg shortages.  Egg prices have shot through the grocery store roofs. A year ago, receiving a dozen eggs would have brought a chuckle and a quizzical worry about the gift's reason. Today, the gift of a dozen eggs is much appreciated because of the cost and thoughtfulness of the giver.   

The Lion's Gate Space Center and New Simulator Controls

     Dan Kirkpatrick and the Lions Gate Space Center team are constantly finding ways to improve the Artemis and Apollo simulators. This never-ending quest to improve the spaceship simulators is true of all five of Utah Valley's Space Centers.  Starship controls are one area receiving attention at Lakeview Academy's Lion's Gate Space Center.  Take a look at the Reel below.  Exciting stuff, so say we all.     

Links To The Historical Troubadour Blogs

The Troubadour.  March 2008 to March 2024

The Troubadour.  March 2024 - February 2025

The Imaginairum Theater

The Week's Best Videos From Around the World, Edited for a Gentler Audience.