American Dynasty

             And that's 40 years in education.  Left, my first class 1983. Right my students from this year. And with Renaissance Academy's 10:00 A.M. bell on Friday, I finished my 40th year in education.   Forty years...... wow that makes me sound and feel old, but it has been a rewarding career with many challenges. Reflecting on the Past: The year was 1983 when I stepped into the classroom for the very first time. It was a time when technology had not yet woven its way into the fabric of education. Chalkboards and textbooks were the primary teaching tools, and student research involved trips to the library and encyclopedias. Teachers relied heavily on their knowledge and creativity to deliver lessons. We didn't have a photocopy machine in the school but we did have the purple mimeograph machines and overhead projectors. School Technology 1983. What I Used at Central Elementary overhead projector and mimeograph machine Filmstrip P...

Jackson (left) as the ship's doctor. He volunteered whenever he could during his cancer treatment Jackson Miller passed away fifteen years ago on May 20, 2008.  Jackson loved the Space Center as a camper and then as a volunteer and Voyager.   I've seen hundreds and hundreds of young Space Center volunteers come and go over the last 32 years and am always grateful for their dedication to the program and its mission.  If you remember Jackson, then please take a moment to celebrate his life and the joy he gave to you. Mr. Williamson This was The Troubadour post on the week of his death.  Jackson (center) getting his sugar after a Magellan mission. My Thoughts and Thanks as the School Year Ends and the Summer Space Camp Season Starts Dear Staff and Volunteers of All Utah Valley's Space Centers, Our long school year journey is drawing to an end. It has been quite a trek. We worked many missions. We taught many classes. We can look back with satisfaction on a job well...

The Happy Perikoi About to Get Their First Science Lessons The tale of the Children of Perikoi is told often at the Christa McAuliffe Space Center in Pleasant Grove as part of the center's field trip program. This year, the mission was also flown on the Starship Discovery at American Heritage School in American Fork. The AHS students did the mission as an LDM (Long Duration Mission) covering half a school year. They visit their school's USS Discovery during the school day with their classmate and teachers. Alex DeBirk directs the flights and is assisted by the school's high school students. Alex ended their LDM recently. The students successfully drove the "gods" away from the planet and are now slowly and carefully introducing science to the population. Alex and team had a brilliant idea to integrate the end of the mission with the school's science fair. The younger students who did the mission, set up their science fair displays and invited the "child...

I got a short text from Alex DeBirk last week telling me of the launch of his new mission "Dual Edge" for his school's simulator Discovery.  With the paragraph came the photo below. Alex's message read:      These costumes go with the Martian bridge set. We told our new story Dual Edge today. This mission teaches about Native American wars of the 1800s. Here are two of the mysterious Gaians, dressed in special environment suits so they can survive in Discovery's atmosphere. The Gaians are our analogue of Native Americans, people who are forced to leave their land because of pressures outside of their control. Alex DeBirk's classroom at American Heritage converted to a Mars Base for their new mission Dual Edge.  The desks you see are from the old Starship Voyager's bridge at Central School    Utah Valley's Space EdVenture Centers are gearing up for the summer space camp season.  The Christa McAuliffe Space Center has several new missions in the fin...