American Dynasty

     May 7, 2020 was the Magellan's last stand against Time and Progress which move us forward into the future. What a fine ship it was as it voyaged through that universe of imagination so many of us craftily created over these many years.  With the Magellan went the Discovery Room.       We said a form of goodbye to the Magellan once before when it was remodeled into the ship many of you knew.  This was my "Farewell" video to the Magellan at that time.  The Original Magellan's Last Mission      My first mission as director of the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center was on the Voyager. My Last Mission was on the Magellan; Friday, May 25, 2013.  The Children of Perikoi with my students - children from Central Elementary School   Now a Short Farewell. The End of the Magellan.  The Mighty Ship Meets its End. Farewell to the Magellan from SpaceCampUtah's Imaginarium on Vime...

       And just like that it was no more......10,778 days.  Even closed for the past 2,835 of those days it stood as a monument of imagination and imagineering, an inspiration for the many simulators that followed.      The 5th of May will be one of those days to remember.  Tomorrow it will be the Odyssey and Phoenix.  The last ship to go will be the Magellan.                 People ask if I'm sad to see them go. Of course, but I'm finding more joy in seeing what has come from that first ship Voyager and what is yet to come.  The ship served its purpose well and deserves to live on our memories.      Think of all the stories you already tell when you get together with former shipmates.  Good times, yes?  And that's the way it should be.      And far into the future, there may be a story told of a crazy project that boldly went ...

The Mother Ship. Simulator 1. The USS Voyager. Launched November 8, 1990. Decommissioned: July 31, 2012.  The Final Closing. May 2, 2020.      This last week has seen a flurry of a activity at the CMSC. The school received notification that the building would be demolished beginning May 4th.  With little time to say goodbye, Mr. Porter arranged a time for current and former staff including long time volunteers past and present to come by and take their final pictures on Saturday, April 25.  Their numbers were restricted due to Covid 19 virus constraints.        James Porter has done an excellent job handling the closing of the current Center.  Last week was spent demolishing salvageable items from the simulators. Much of the Phoenix was salvaged by Nathan Young who plans on using it as a filming stage for his webcast sci-fi series. I was pleased about that. The entire Galileo and much of the Voyager's furniture was salv...

This is Central Elementary School and the Original Space Center's Last Week            In all our sadness at seeing the end and demolition of the original Space Center, let's not forget to say a fond farewell to the school which housed the program for all these years.  The Central Elementary School we know has one more week of life before it is closed and demolition begins.  The new Central Elementary School and Christa McAuliffe Space Center is going up right behind the current building.  It will open in August.        The current Central School is actually the third building. The first Central School was built in 1893 and sat directly north of the current school.  That building was sold to the LDS Church when the second Central Elementary School was built. The second school was a three story building. The current and third Central School was built in 1956.        I s...

           The Galileo will be the only surviving ship of the Christa McAuliffe Space Center fleet.  While the other simulators will be demolished by the wrecking ball, the Galileo will dock at American Heritage School in American Fork.  It will be one of two simulators in the new American Heritage Space Center (AHSC) under the direction of Alex Debirk.  Alex is a long time Space Center and Renaissance Space Academy volunteer and employee.  Alex's daytime job is high school physics teacher at American Heritage.  The upcoming AHSC will be his other full time job.        I'm happy that one of the six simulators will transition into this next generation of simulators.  May the Galileo have many many more light years to come with thousands of happy crewmembers in its new home.    James Porter, Director of the Christa McAuliffe Space Center, Recognized with the Alpine District Shine Award. ...

The Starship Voyager at Renaissance Space Academy, Lehi, Utah   Hello Troops,      Take a minute from your battle with boredom during this Corona virus lockdown and shelter in place order and let me share a thought. The Starship Voyager: Renaissance Space Academy      Many times throughout the years we've heard many children say, "That was better than Disneyland!" when they leave one of our simulators. Years ago I'd hear that and wonder how it could possibly be that one of our simulators could be better than Disneyland. Think about it, Disneyland has everything from expensive, imaginative rides to restaurants and shopping. Disney parks are squeaky clean; the sets effectively transport you from the daily grind to the world of imagination.  On the surface you'd think Disney had us beat multiple times over.  The Starship Magellan. Christa McAuliffe Space Center, Pleasant Grove, Utah.      Having been ...