The HabForum

Post your suggestions as to what you think would make the best Hall of Fame / Space Camp celebration to date!

What would make for an appropriate guest list? Should they try to get William Shatner back again, or should someone a little closer to Space Camp MC instead?

What sort of food should be served? Entertainment options?

Discuss!

Tom Hanks.

Here is a guy everyone likes, whom has a huge personal interest in the space program, and who starred in a great Apollo space movie some 15 years ago!

With his personal love of the space program, he would be thrilled to help out and would probably do it for peanuts just to be involved. It is the 15th anniversary of the Apollo 13 movie of which he was the star so maybe you could spin it that way. Ya may get Ron Howard to show up too.

As an alumni, I would come back to see Tom Hanks and the Apollo 13 gang. Alot of movies have reunions where the casts and crew to come back and remenisce, you could do both and have the Camp alumni thing at the same time!

Otherwise, you are going to be picking at ex-Campers or ex-Astronauts, all of whom you can get to come anytime for any event. Pull the strings and get Mr. Hanks and company.

I second Hotdog: Hanks and Howard would be a great draw. In addition to Mr. Hank's personal interest in space, he probably (hopefully) has fond memories of the USSRC from when they filmed the movie and when his kids attended camp.

I think what Space Camp is trying to do this year is do a more low-key event. I think having Tom Hanks, given what a space nut he is, at any Space & Rocket Center event would be most excellent, but Tom Hanks might be a little too high profile for the kind of event I think--and hope--they have in mind.

If you were able to meet back at Space Camp on July 11th with all of the friends you've met at Space Camp over your one visit or many visits, and you wanted to have a party while back at Camp to celebrate the occasion, what would you do? What would that evening look like?

Think about that, and then, I think the answers they're looking for (certainly the answers I'm interested in) are from a question such as this:

Having thought about that, now imagine that you're getting back together at Camp with five hundred of your Space Camp / Aviation Challenge buddies and everyone's willing to chip in twenty bucks. What does that evening look like?

Party under the shuttle with Max Q playing and a big BBQ. Sort of what they wanted to do during the 25th.

Think of it as a really big graduation party with a bit of an open house. Start with announcements and formalities under Pathfinder followed by a barbeque and then maybe a few open events around campus like opening up the sims in the bubble for an hour, having a bus to AC for a short tour and maybe a sim or two over there, having a behind-the-scenes type tour of the Centre, or even have Irene give a presentation. I love Irene!

Anyway, if I were able to go, that's the sort of party that would give me warm fuzzies. After all, that's what camp was all about, right?

Some type of specialized seating arrangements. Right-Stuff table, Multiple attendee tables, etc. It is an occasion to honor those in attendance after all.

I would want a party outdoors (weather permitting) under Pathfinder, with an open house of the USSRC and open sims on the training center floor. A barbecue sounds good to me, with plenty of food and beverages (special beverages for people of legal age), even if alcoholic beverages aren't included in the $20, a reasonable price for beverages or a ticket to the event that is slightly more expensive for those that wish to have alcohol.

Nothing big and fancy, with cloth napkins, those kinds of events turn me away...which is one of the reasons I would not have attended the alumni event last summer even if I had the money to do so. I would definitely want something space-related, not just a barbecue, so the museum's being open would be a necessary thing.

Of course, these are just some ideas that I'm throwing out there. There is no way that I can pay airfare just for a night of partying. But this is my ideal celebration Space Camp style!

- It would be interesting to have something that shows the history/evolution of Space Camp. A slide show with pictures of the sims, training center floor, etc would be a neat way to do that. Maybe have a talk/lecture on how and why changes were made to the program as well.
- Listing famous alumni (trainees and counselors) and what they're doing now or even just a listing of the current jobs that various trainees are now involved in (especially those working in aerospace related fields) might be interesting for people to see.
- An open house, especially for those who haven't been to camp in a long while, would be great as well. Give people a chance to see the Habs, the training center sims, the MOCRs, AC, Area 51. Have someone in the MAT, preferably with the bubble helmet rig, during that time. Always fun to watch people moving around in the tank (even better to be in there yourself!)
- Having as many of the sims, rides activities in the museum open for people to take part in would be great as well. Make it worth people's time and money, especially those who come from out of town.
- When I was there many years ago, they had some telescopes set-up one night to let the trainees get great views of the moon and stars/planets (I just remember the moon). Having something like that set-up, if the event is scheduled to go long enough into the evening would neat as well. Most of us don't get to look through big telescopes near often enough.

gt0163c wrote:- When I was there many years ago, they had some telescopes set-up one night to let the trainees get great views of the moon and stars/planets (I just remember the moon). Having something like that set-up, if the event is scheduled to go long enough into the evening would neat as well. Most of us don't get to look through big telescopes near often enough.

Wow! That just brought back a great forgotten memory of Space Camp. When I went to my first SC session in August of '89 we got to do the telescope thing. If i'm not mistaken, it was on the roof of the Hab. It was the 20th Anniversary of Apollo 11 celebration week and the USSRC was celebrating all things lunar, so I think the whole astronomy bit had to do with the moon more than any kind of special celestial event that was going on at that time.

Later trips in the summers of '91, '92 and '94 did not have any astronomy, other than a brief demonstration inside an inflatable planetarium somewhere in the training center...

I remember having the opportunity to look through the telescopes when I went one year, I'm thinking it was 1997.

We had astronomy scheduled (that I knew about) two of the three times I went to camp. Both were cancelled due to weather - so sad.

And, is anyone sharing our ideas with the event planners? I am sure our thoughts will be similar to those of the greater Space Camp alumni population.

Going back to the original subject...

Upon further review, I am thinking that this year's hall of fame celebration should be more like a tailgate party. Let me give you an example:

A few years ago, the people organizing my High School reunion thought it would be a good idea to go all out and have our reunion at the nicest hotel in town, with all kinds of food and entertainment, etc and charge $75 a head. When I got the phone call about this, I told the organizer that for half of that price I could hold a tailgate party in the parking lot of this hotel and get twice as many people to show up. I was right. No one wanted to pay the outrageous $75 and the turnout for the official version of my high school reunion was a disaster.

The bottom line was, if you really want to get back together with some old friends who have paid out of pocket to be there, you can do it for alot cheaper than $75 a person. And you can have just as much fun, or more.

Space Camp need not plan any kind of huge party with expensive guests or lavish entertainment. Open up the doors to the museum and training center and have a tailgate-style barbeque outside under the Pathfinder with cheap hotdogs and hamburgers. Shoot some fireworks off in the Rocket Park. Have the awards ceremony in the SpaceDome with cool presentations shown on the big screen. Have a scavenger hunt inside the new Davidson Center to promote familiarity as well as fun. I can go on and on... but not only are these ideas alot cheaper to execute than the events of years past, but I think they also appeal to everyone. Keep in mind that Campers come from all backgrounds and grow up to be more than just scientists and engineers. Campers leave Space Camp and go into all walks of life and are successful. Appeal to the Common Camper and you got a winning event that all Campers can be happy with. Charge no more than $25 per head. It doesn't have to be an over-the-top event.

WOW if the USSRC did run a SC/AC reunion I would want setup that would allow all those in attendance to see what Space camp is like behind the scenes, This being for those of us who have only since the public side of the space center. Maybe run a couple of one hour sim seasons. I would enjoy a good southern style meal and just being back at a place where I here had so many great memories. I agree Path Finder has to be involved I KNOW I am at the Center thanks to Path Finder! I would love to attend but I can’t justify the airfare and admission cost, however I LOVE that Place.
Sweet Home Alabama.

How about setting up web cam links to museums and planetariums around the country so that space campers that can't attend can have two-way conversations with those in attendance at the USSRC?

bnaivar wrote:How about setting up web cam links to museums and planetariums around the country so that space campers that can't attend can have two-way conversations with those in attendance at the USSRC?

The idea of setting up links to locations around the country sounds like an awesome idea! It's a way to promote technology and the like associated with the Space Program. Maybe even set up robots are remote controlled cars in some locations and have them controlled from another. And, possibly for a small fee, even have the chance to launch a rocket from the Space Camp Rocket Launch area through a remote connection. (Now I'm probably getting carried away...)

I like all the suggestions so far especially the outdoor party under pathfinder and if Max Q could be there all the better. Obviously there need t be tours of the training center and museum and have it open to alumni to see.

My main suggestions though have to deal with the Alumni in general. If this program is to be successful Alumni relations need to be stepped up to atleast where they were in 2007. I know this was during the 25th anniversary so alot of effort was made that year to get alumni back. The alumni Andi myspace page was always active, there were frequent updates regular news letters 2 alumni camps, and the camps were a day lobger than the normal weekend camps. Alumni were kept informed and were realy made excited about the eents.

Last year however alumni andi's site just went quiet. I never saw anything posted about alumni camp except here and the main camp website even the many facebook space camp groups were quiet on the subject. The hall of fame i hate to say it dragged on forever and even the alumni who were ther were board. 2007 they mostly filled both camps. Last year they had trouble filling one. Alumni were not kept up to date on things and because of it attendance and participation suffered. The camp was also shortened to a regular weekend camp. I know this has alot to d with camps and not the hall of fame but it all ties in together. If more effort isnt made to reach out to alumni this year than was last year the same problems will pop up. If you want to get alumni back for the hall of fame,and if there is an alumni camp that too then you hae to make more effort to promote this through not just hab 1 and the space camp home page but through facebook and myspace as well and any other sources available. If there is a camp again this year take it back to atleast 4 days especialy if the hall of fame and or saturn reunion is part of it those cut out alot of stuff last year in only a regular weekend camp. Make an effort this year and it will be a success don't and it will continue to go down hill.

The 2007 alumni weekend was a blast and we had a great turnout. I was unable to enroll into any of the Alumni Camp programs but I still made it down for a visit and did the tourist thing, staying in the Marriott, touring the museum by day, and hanging out at Otters by night and catching up with the rest of the Alumni. The die-hard Hab 1'ers showed up in force, and the 25th anniversary was a success in my opinion.

I plan on doing the same thing this year. I am coming down for the weekend. It will be disappointing if other alumni are not present, if there are no special events, no astronauts like Hoot Gibson on hand, no special exhibits, just business as usual. Again, no black tie affair with William Shatner is needed, but a festive and welcoming reunion atmosphere of some type is definately in order. It should be simple, but something everyone on this bulletin board should want to be a part of, to make us want to come back.

Alumni Family!!!

Progress on the HOF planning is coming along nicely. We are talking to Max Q and looking at great astronaut guest. One idea throw out is a silent auction with proceeds going to the Space Camp Scholarship Fund. What would y'all like to see on the auction list. If you have any vintage Space Camp or AC stuff you would like to donate. We are looking for a few good items to be signed by Astronauts and VIPs.

I am very excited about where the HOF is going!!!!

A silent auction is a good idea (but I doubt any of us die-hards would give up any of our space camp stuff).

As for astronaut guests it would be cool to have someone from the early days of mercury/gemini/apollo/skylab as well as a shuttle era astronaut and someone who has spent an extended time on the station. Although any astronaut guest would be awesome, I think it would be fun to have the chance to hear about the different eras firsthand from someone that was there.