Christa McAuliffe Space Center facts for kids
The Christa McAuliffe Space Center (also called the McAuliffe Space Center or CMSC) is located in Pleasant Grove, Utah. It's a special place where students learn all about space. Kids from many places visit to experience its exciting space flight simulators.
The center is named after Christa McAuliffe, a teacher who was part of the Challenger space shuttle crew. She sadly passed away in 1986. Victor Williamson, a teacher from Alpine School District, started the center in 1990. It's a large building, about 4,000 square feet (370 square meters), connected to Central Elementary School.
The goal of the center is to teach astronomy and social studies using fun simulators. The first simulator, called Voyager, was very popular. Over the years, more ships were added as more students wanted to visit. In 2020, a new planetarium was built.
The space center was closed for a short time in 2012 for updates. It reopened in 2013. The original building and simulators were taken down on May 5, 2020. A brand new space center was built behind the old one. This new center has the second-largest planetarium in Utah. It started showing programs in November 2020. In 2018, the center changed its name slightly and got a new logo.
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Amazing Space Simulators
The Christa McAuliffe Space Center has many exciting space simulators. These simulators let you feel like you're really flying a spaceship! Here are some of them:
- The USS Voyager (Original 1990, New 2018): This ship looked like the USS Enterprise-D from Star Trek. It could hold 9 to 11 people. The new Voyager is now at a different space center in Utah.
- The USS Odyssey (Original 1995, New 2013, Cutter: 2021): The Odyssey looks like a Banzai-class fighter ship. It can hold 6 to 8 people.
- The Galileo (Original Mark-5: 1998, New Mark-6: 2009, Experimental Stealth Craft 2021): This is a smaller shuttle craft. It often goes on secret missions. It can hold 5 to 6 people.
- The USS Magellan (Original Space Station: 1998, Renovated: 2006, Starship: 2012, Carrier: 2021): The Magellan first looked like the Deep Space 9 station. In 2012, it became a starship, like a Daedalus-class ship from Stargate. In 2021, it was updated again to an "Atlas Class Carrier" with a special "Slipstream Drive" for fast space travel. It can have 10 to 12 crew members.
- The USS Phoenix (Original 2005, Destroyer: 2021): The Phoenix used to be a Defiant-class escort. It's the center's only battleship. It could hold 5 to 6 people. Now, it's an "Astrea Class Destroyer" and can hold 6 to 7 people.
- The IMS Falcon (Cargo Ship: 2021): This Falcon is a cargo ship. It's the only ship in the fleet that isn't part of the United Federation of Planets. It holds 6 to 8 crew members.
- The USS Cassini (Explorer: 2021): The Cassini is a ship made for exploring deep space. It holds 9 to 11 crew members.
Each simulator often has a special plaque. This plaque shows the ship's name and other interesting facts about it. Many missions are inspired by the Star Trek universe. However, the center also has its own unique alien species and groups.
In 2005, the center celebrated its 15th year. Many important people, including Gary Herbert, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Utah at the time, honored the center and its founder. Back then, with five simulators, it was teaching 16,000 students each year!
How Students Learn at the Center
The space center uses its simulators to create exciting, interactive stories. These stories often connect to real historical events. Since November 2020, they also use their new planetarium for learning.
Students get to learn about many cool things in astronomy and science. They explore topics like black holes, nebulae (giant clouds of gas and dust), asteroids, planets, planetary systems, and moons.
Many students who visited the center years ago are now working in science, technology, space exploration, programming, and electrical engineering. Students from Brigham Young University even help build equipment for the center. They create things like Tricorders, touch screens, and control systems to make the experience feel more real.
The people who work at the center hope that today's visitors will become tomorrow's scientists!
Technology Behind the Simulations
The space center uses lots of technology to make the simulations feel real.
Sound Systems
Each ship has a powerful sound system. This includes strong bass to make you feel the ship's "reactor core." A special mixing board combines sounds from different sources. You'll hear sound effects, music, and voices from microphones. There's even a voice distorter for alien characters!
Video Systems
The video system is also very advanced. In the past, missions used DVDs with video clips for scenes. Now, the center uses software called "Thorium" to manage all the visuals. The space center also creates its own "tactical screens." These are like complex presentations that show real-time information about the ship. They might display ship systems, maps, or other mission details.
Lighting Systems
Each simulator has a special lighting system. This allows different colored lights to be shown. For example, red lights might flash during an alert, and blue lights during normal times. The lights can also change manually to show things like a torpedo hitting the ship or a power failure.
Computer Systems
The most complex part of each simulator is the computer systems. Even the smallest ship, the Galileo, has five computers. The largest, the Magellan, has 13! Most of these computers are connected in a network. This allows them to talk to each other. The control room can monitor the simulation, and computers on the ship's bridge can get updates.
The space center relies on many volunteers and part-time staff to run the simulators. Private donations help pay for the simulators, and the school district pays the director's salary.
Who Works at the Space Center
The space center has a director who works full-time. Other staff members, like flight directors, set directors, and supervisors, work part-time.
- Flight Directors (dark-blue shirts): These are the people who "run" the missions. They give cues to actors and tell staff what to do. A Flight Director is also the voice of the ship's main computer and the unseen engineer.
- Set Directors (grey shirts): There's one set director for each simulator. They make big decisions for their ship and are usually the main Flight Director for that ship.
- Supervisors (bright-blue shirts): Supervisors help the Flight Director during a mission. They relay orders and help keep the story moving. They also coordinate volunteers. Supervisors are usually on the Magellan and Cassini missions.
- Navigators (maroon shirts): Navigators are in charge of running the space center's planetarium shows.
- Volunteers (black shirts): Volunteers are super important! They help the flight directors with many tasks. A volunteer might play the ship's doctor, an alien character, or help with sensor scans and messages.
Programs and Camps
The space center offers different programs and camps. They all aim to teach about science, space, and teamwork.
- Field Trip Programs: These are for school classes. They offer educational missions on the simulators.
- Private Missions: The public can book private missions. These can be 2.5 hours or 5 hours long. This time includes training before the mission starts.
- Summer Camps: These camps usually happen in one day. They include missions, classroom activities, and planetarium shows.
- Leadership Camp: This camp is for older teens (ages 15–17). It's a longer camp where every mission is part of a bigger story. It's not held every summer because it takes a lot of planning.
The space center used to have overnight camps and Super Saturday camps, but these are no longer available.
The Oven Ghost Story
There are some fun rumors about a "ghost" at the space center! In the old building, if something unexplained happened, staff would jokingly "pray" to "The Victor, the Lorraine, and the Magellan Ghost."
When the new space center was being built, an old oven was found deep under the playground. After the new center opened, strange things sometimes happened. Lights might flicker, or doors would suddenly close. People started saying these things were caused by the "Oven Ghost"!
Images for kids
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Logo used for the Christa McAuliffe Space Center
