James Porter Welcomes Everyone to Honor's Night
On Thursday night, the Space Center gathered in the planetarium for our biannual Honors Night—a special tradition dedicated to celebrating a school year's worth of extraordinary accomplishments. Our staff and volunteers are the heartbeat of the center; they are the people who make the magic happen, expanding minds and inspiring visitors to look up at the universe and dream big.
We gathered to honor those who have masterfully honed their storytelling craft, pushed the boundaries of their technical skills in the simulators, and dedicated significant hours and years of service to our mission. More importantly, Honors Night gave us a chance to celebrate one another, celebrate our shared victories, and strengthen the bonds of camaraderie that will carry us into our busiest season yet: summer space camp.
James Porter, Space Center Director, opened the event by welcoming staff, volunteers, and families to the planetarium. He went over several housekeeping items regarding the summer camp schedule, locker use, appearance, and cleanliness... If you've attended past Honor's Nights, you are familiar with the "Necessaries," as I call them.
The Honories
Sam C
earned a Magellan Pin and a Starfighter Pin for 100 volunteer hours.
Alex J
earned a Cassini Pin
Andrew A
earned a Phoenix and Falcon Pin
Jonathan S.
earned a Magellan Pin and a Hitchhiker pin for 500 volunteer hours
Omar A
earned a Starfighter Pin for 100 Hours Volunteering, an Apprentice Pin for 1 year, and 100 volunteer hours.
Sarah W.
earned a Starfighter Pin for 100 volunteer hours.
Jacob R.
earned a Starfighter Pin for 100 volunteer hours, a Hitchhiker Pin for 500 volunteer hours, and an Apprentice Pin for 1 year as a volunteer and 100 volunteer hours.
Sarah, Sam, and Jacob
Sam, Who is that Old Codger, and Jonathan
Andrew A
Alex J
The next Honor's Night will be held at the end of August. Summer camp season is when we expect many of our 75 volunteers to earn simulator passes and years-of-service awards.
Congratulations to all those honored at May's Honors Night!
The Staff Meeting to Get Ready and Pumped Up for the Summer Camp Season
The staff meeting for the summer camp season launch was held immediately following Honor's Night on Thursday evening. The staff gathered outside the planetarium for a staff photo. The old saying, "A picture is worth a thousand words," couldn't be truer when you look at this photo. Look at those good-looking, energetic, enthusiastic employees ready to receive counsel and instructions from their fearless leader, the Grand Visionary himself, Mr. James Porter.
James Porter recorded individual videos for every member of the staff, thanking each for their contributions towards the Space Center. James is a director who shows appreciation, gives guidance, and leads by example - always.
The May Voyager Club Meeting
Saturday morning, right at the stroke of 8:00 A.M., the Space Center's Voyager Club (the volunteer organization) met for their monthly Bingo game, training meeting, astronomy, and space science lesson, and raffle.
Alex J called the Bingo with the assistance of Tyler Weight, the Club's Acting Department Head.
As always, many won, many lost, and a few won over and over again. I've got to figure out how they choose which bingo card to take from the stack. "Do the cards speak to you?" I asked one volunteer who won multiple times. If so, I was going to tap him for a few winning lottery numbers for the next big Powerball.
Club Presidents Eavie and Alex introduced the Club's newest members
New club members were introduced. These new inductees will make excellent volunteers. They are ready to hit the volunteering road with gusto!
The Club's Acting Department Head, Tyler Weight, did a workshop on
The major acting roles the volunteers will have to play for Cassini's new summer story
Jason Trump on the great Pluto Planetary Debate Should it, or shouldn't it?
Jason Trump is both the Voyager Club's astronomy and space science teacher and the director of education at Clark Planetarium. He delivered a thought-provoking, passion-sparking lesson on what happened to Pluto's planetary status and whether it should be restored as the solar system's 9th planet.
I had no idea that the topic would spark the fierce debate it did within the club's members. Once again, it highlighted the duality of our members: lovers of science fiction and real space science. These are people who've found the perfect home at the Space Center.
The final part of every monthly meeting is the raffle. Several gift cards from Amazon, Smith's, and Swig, along with a blanket, planetarium tickets, a Bluetooth speaker, a keyboard with wrist support, t-shirts, and 2026 Soccer World Cup banners and posters, were raffled. The meeting ended at 10:00 A.M.
Imaginarium Theater
The Week's Best Videos From Around the World, Edited for a Gentler Audience
