What makes it worthwhile?

I know that I have touched upon this subject in different ways, but it needs reviewing. As we work to try and develop our own education program here in the valley as well as make it possible for others through the Proteus project it is important to understand why. There is a lot of free time that goes into a project like this and I should emphasize free. The only success that has ever been achieved in this sort of program has been made possible by the countless hours of volunteers and unpaid time by employees. These are individuals who have decided that it is worthwhile to spend time programming, redesigning computer stations, or adding a new plot twist to a story because they want to improve the experience for students. Why aren't they at home enjoying some leisure time instead?

I believe one of the main reasons is because they have been affected by the program in some way and they want to pass it on. For some it might be that the space center sparked their interest in science and they are currently pursuing a career in that field because they found out just how much fun discovering can be. There are many who have participated and passed it on because for them they were able to live out a fantasy that helped them escape their difficult lives if only for a few hours. During those hours they were part of a team that went out and accomplished something good. For many volunteers this was the place where they felt comfortable as they were surrounded by other nerds. Yes that is right. We space center folk are a bunch of nerds. There is a little bit of nerd in all of us even if we don't admit it. The reason I know this is because there are cameras and microphones in the ships and some of the things I have heard and seen are explained only as nerdy.

Back to my point rather than justifying my social status. I don't believe there is any singular reason for why people volunteer at the space center. There are many different ways in which the program has enhanced peoples lives and many have decided to help others get something as well by volunteering. I'm so glad that even before this program has fully started I have had people contacting me about wanting to volunteer. I appreciate the support and as soon as I have a way for you to help I will let you know. The space center is a powerful instrument that has affected the lives of thousands if only in a small way. If this were not true the program would have failed years ago. So thank you for your support and hopefully we can make a difference with the students in our area soon.


Proteus Progress
Thanks to Landon, a former employee of the space center in Pleasant Grove, we are moving closer to figuring out the different elements that will go into getting this project underway. Landon works with the USU radio station (I'd give you a plug but I can't find the link to your program) and has helped us understand how they stream their broadcasts over the internet. This will be vital since the sound aspect is essential for creating an effective atmosphere in the simulator.

Proteus Ship Design

Ship Design
For this project I have decided to work on a small ship design to reduce the number of stations that need to be redesigned and developed. For all intents and purposes you could consider this a remake of the 5 crew member ship Galileo. I would like to operate mostly in our own universe so I figured I would throw out the challenge of designing the ship to anyone interested. Post a link to your design in the comments.

Lighting Concept
One aspect of this project is to figure out the lighting. Flashing lights, sirens, and other impressive electrical work can really help make those intense moments just a bit more exciting. If this ship is to be available in a classroom setting they are more than likely going to be in a florescent lit room. This means that to make some sort of ambiance the lights will have to be off. Working from the glow of the computers is not the best environment so some supplementary lights would be good. What would be nice is if there was a way to install USB lights that could be controlled externally.

Another part of lighting might be assisted by having all of the stations change colors uniformly. When the ship is at red alert, a significant portion of the screen will change colors. Since we are working with a mostly blackened screen the general color displayed should be red. I've yet to test whether 4 computers all changing colors will significantly affect the lighting of a room.

Damaged Stations
As the mission progresses it would be nice to have some lasting appearance of damage to the ship. Perhaps a meter in the control room would allow you to set different levels of damage. On low damage a small crack might appear in the corner of their console. During battles screens could get static interference or have their screens skewed with wavy lines. If the ship has taken heavy damage some of these effects would linger until damage has been repaired. This would make running their stations actually more difficult to operate when the ship is in disrepair and hopefully add to the experience. "Finally, my screen is working again. Thanks damage control."

Project Proteus

Getting a simulator started up is no simple task and there are many different hurdles to overcome. Yet, when considering all of the different resources that go into such a project the items are not all that unique. Basically you need some computers and plenty of imagination. All the rest are just details to help make the experience more realistic. The question I have been considering the last couple of weeks is whether it would be possible to make a simulator that could potentially go into any classroom.

What do I mean by getting into any classroom? Well, that would be a bit grand, but for now I want to be able to at least setup a few computers in a room that has internet access and poof now it is a simulator. Is this even possible? I believe it is very possible because the technology limitations of the past have been removed and there is no reason we can't do it. We just have to find the way.

The first phase of the project is to figure out if you can get computers to communicate with each other when they are not all on the same network hub. I'm no computer scientist so I don't know for sure, but I don't see why not. I'm going to try this with Hypercard (because it is available and the only language I am familiar with) and if I can't figure it out I will move on to something else. The programs we use for the space center can remain basically the same we just need to change the way they transfer information back and forth. If this can be done then I imagine that the "control room" where the staff of the space center would normally be located could potentially be anywhere.

The second and probably more difficult phase is making the experience comparable to the current ones. Without the glamor of the simulator sets with their impressive audio/video systems and futuristic decor it is difficult to imagine people getting immersed in the experience. That being said I know of plenty of people who spend hours enveloped in computer games where they forget that they are at home surrounded by empty Cheetos bags. I think with a more intense focus on the control environments rather than the surrounding ones we could divert enough attention so as to pull them into our created realm.

That is the start of what I shall be referring to as Project Proteus. I will post any updates on this project as they come. If you would like to be involved on a greater level than just getting updates let me know and we'll see how we can put your abilities to work.

Update on the Discovery: The TECS Governing Board has decided to address the consideration of developing a space education program by assigning it to a subcommittee. While they deliberate I figure there are other things we can be doing.

The Final Push

The blog has been void of almost all activity. This is mainly attributed to the school year starting and the flurry of work that comes with it. With all that has been going on I have been able to do very little in relation to the space center and getting things moving. Luckily I am not the only one who has been involved. Volunteers such as Mr. Wall and Mr. Gee have been helping us to gather together the information and materials we need to make a presentation to the governing board of Thomas Edison. With bids gathered from moving and electric companies we are able to present the initial costs it would take to get the simulator moved and powered up.
As a part of the presentation we will be making to the governing board I would love to hear what you have to say. Many of you who read this blog have experienced this kind of program before and have valuable insight into what can be accomplished. If there is anything that you would like to share with the governing board about experiences you have had or how the space center has touched your life, please leave a comment. Thank you for the support of everyone who has been involved.

Who hasn't heard of the space center?

Everywhere I go someone seems to be talking about the space center. While down in Provo, I enjoyed a lunch with my mother and I was surprised to hear the table next to us talking about their recent visit to the CMSEC. It got me thinking of just how often this sort of thing happens. Whether it be people talking about a simulation they just went on or seeing a young boy wearing their summer space camp shirt. People all around have been influenced by the center in some way.

When asked what my employment was or what I liked to do for fun my answer was, "I work at the space center." I was always surprised that whenever I brought up this point there was always someone who spoke up, "You work at the space center?" Followed by, "I love that place. My 6th grade class went there and I was the engineer. If our pilot hadn't steered us into the sun we would have succeeded." It has always been enjoyable to then have a chat about what they liked about the experience and the details they could remember. This sort of situation happened from the time I started working in the eighth grade to having conversations in my college dorm at Utah State University. There always seemed to be someone who had gone there, and they never forgot the experience.

Why such a long name?

I thought I would take a moment and explain why our program is called the Cache Valley Space Education Center. You'll notice that much of it has been adapted from the original space center, the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center. The Pleasant Grove space center was helped in their development by a grant from The Christa McAuliffe Fellowship in 1990. Since their goals are hand in hand with ours there was no real reason to come up with something new when the title carries so much meaning already.

So why Cache Valley? I'm sure we could rearrange the name should a sizable donation come along. I don't have any problems being the Steve Jobs Society for Space Explorers. Joking aside, naming it after the valley describes several things about it. For one, even though we aren't getting started with a grant, we will be supported by the volunteers who put in their time to develop the program. These volunteers are going to be parents, teachers, and students from the valley. The second part answers who we are serving - the students of our amazing community.

Cache Valley also describes where our program is located. So why not call it the Nibley or Thomas Edison space center? Well, no one knows where Nibley is unless you are from the valley. Thomas Edison is doing a lot to help this program get started, and without the work that the administrators and volunteers have put in we wouldn't have a chance to start this program. That being said we get back to those whom we hope to serve. We want to have all of the students in the area enjoy this experience and Thomas Edison has caught the vision and is allowing us to work with them and use their facilities to make this possible.

Now for the rest of the title, I think it is a bit more obvious. The platform in which we teach science, social studies, the arts, and all other subject matter is done in a simulated space ship. So if you have a central location in which to educate students using the wonderment of space, you end up with Space Education Center. Put all of that together and you end up with our working title, the Cache Valley Space Education Center.

A quick note when mentioning putting things together. Truly this is a community project and will become a community resource. Nobody personally gains from a program like this. The hours go uncounted as far as payment or any sort of financial gratification is concerned. Our non-profit organization is here to provide a service to the community and will only survive with the help of caring individuals who want to build for our students an amazing program. Thank you for everyone who has voiced their support and already started putting in hours of service to get this program started. A special thanks goes to Mr. Williamson and the outstanding volunteers who have built up an unique program in Pleasant Grove and for supporting our efforts to create one to enjoy in our community.

Creating the Experience

How exactly does a small converted classroom or trailer get turned into a star ship? If you are going to understand how that works we'll have to give you a peek into how the simulators work.

As explained before, each of the students on a flight are given a position on the ship. Almost all of them have a computer station except for a few positions like the Captain and the Ambassador. On their station they will have the controls to different parts of the ship. Some control the engines and steer the ship while others repair any damages that occur to the ship. This is very unlikely when all you are doing is investigating a spacial anomaly near a suspected black hole on the other side of an unnavigable asteroid belt. These stations they control their ship as they try to accomplish their mission.

On the other side of the curtain is where the magic happens. Separated from the bridge of the ship is a small control room. In this control room is the Flight Director and staff which is generally made up of volunteers. They also have computers that allow them to see what is going on inside the ship and what the students are doing. Now, without giving away too much about what goes on to destroy the illusion, I'll tell you that the story is developed and the students are able to interact with endless possibilities from the control room . This is unlike any computer game. The result of what happens in a computer game is somewhat fixed and once it has been programmed, it will respond the same every time. In the control room, the students decisions are processed into lighting, sound, and visual effects.

In order for a classroom to be changed into a star ship you will need some computers, the programs for the stations, a sound system, a tv or projector (so the students can see where they are going and what's happening around them), a separate control room, and some trained employees & volunteers with lots of imagination. Of course to help out the visiting students imaginations, we do all we can to make the classroom look like a space ship. That way when they step into the ship they're instantly transported into another world and they can immediately begin enjoying the experience. It is no small task to create this kind of experience which is why we are reaching out to build this as a community and need any help you have to offer.