The HabForum

Being a librarian, I thought I should start a new thread for next year's registration, since it is being discussed in the 2014 thread. So, Street, is there any plan for a 6-day or longer Adult program? I am sure that a lot of us alumni would be interested.

Conan wrote:So, Street, is there any plan for a 6-day or longer Adult program? I am sure that a lot of us alumni would be interested.

Darn right. This year, I originally was planning on begging my way into a well-known corportate program, but they decided to bag on 2014 (a few of them will be on the same team I'm on this Fall for the normal adult program).
While I'm hoping for either the same corporate program to get rolling in 2015 and to allow me to come along, I'd love to do the original week-long adult program.
That said, next year is my 15th wedding anniversary and my wife and I have plans for a trip we've been planning for a while. I'm not 100% sure I'll be able to do SC next year for that reason and the fact it's almost impossible to take any time off where I work. I'm not ruling anything out and am planning on doing whatever I can to make Huntsville yet again.

ME!!! ME!! ME!!! First time ever at space camp will be Jan 16-18! As you guys have probably figured out by now, I am SO excited. Got my plane tickets and arrangements already made with a friend who is going to pick me up from the airport and let me crash at his place for a night, then take me to camp the next day. Woohoo!!

wxnerdjenn wrote:ME!!! ME!! ME!!! First time ever at space camp will be Jan 16-18! As you guys have probably figured out by now, I am SO excited. Got my plane tickets and arrangements already made with a friend who is going to pick me up from the airport and let me crash at his place for a night, then take me to camp the next day. Woohoo!!

You're going to have to let us know all about a cold weather experience, most people never get to go to SC when it's not boiling outside...

That said, next year is my 15th wedding anniversary and my wife and I have plans for a trip we've been planning for a while. I'm not 100% sure I'll be able to do SC next year for that reason and the fact it's almost impossible to take any time off where I work. I'm not ruling anything out and am planning on doing whatever I can to make Huntsville yet again.

Actually, 2016 would probably be better for me, as well, but if there is a week-long program in 2015, I will do what I can to be there.

There is nothing on the books for a 6 day adult camp. I know that's a disappointment for several of you. As always, if you want to organize a 'corporate' group and customize your experience, you're welcome to do so!

street wrote:There is nothing on the books for a 6 day adult camp. I know that's a disappointment for several of you.

Big understatement there, but I can't say I'm all that shocked to hear this.

street wrote:As always, if you want to organize a 'corporate' group and customize your experience, you're welcome to do so!

That's far easier said than done. I know someone who looked into it once and got nothing to show for it, and a well-established corporate program group bowed out this year as well. Hopefully they missed their week-long Huntsville experience this year and will be doing it in 2015 (but that's assuming I could get in with them and have the time off to make it happen, all huge assumptions).
Man, I was so hoping the 4-day programs this year were leading to a few week-long adult programs in 2015...

I wish there were more 4 days offered, but I'd give a kidney for a 6 day like the kids get. Alas, I will just sit here bouncing off the walls and obsessively checking my confirmation pages for my first 3 day I'm still paranoid that there won't be enough attendance and January will get cancelled, but was assured on twitter that that rarely, if ever, happens. I guess I'll know for sure in November when I get the email about filling out my forms.

street wrote:As always, if you want to organize a 'corporate' group and customize your experience, you're welcome to do so!

Easier said that done...

Someone has to front the cost for everyone, say $25,000 with no refunds if people drop out. That is a lot of trust to place in your 15 new "friends" from the Internet. Conversely, if you collect the money first before paying USSRC, that is a lot of trust to place in the front person. In addition, USSRC is not very helpful in trying to customize a schedule and arriving at a cost so you have something to show people to recruit them.

majtom7 wrote:Someone has to front the cost for everyone, say $25,000 with no refunds if people drop out. That is a lot of trust to place in your 15 new "friends" from the Internet. Conversely, if you collect the money first before paying USSRC, that is a lot of trust to place in the front person. In addition, USSRC is not very helpful in trying to customize a schedule and arriving at a cost so you have something to show people to recruit them.

I agree fully with this, the center really doesn't make it easy at all. If they offered a way for a split in the total cost across a fixed number of members and allowed them to pay the center directly, depositing that money so the people going feel solid about where the money has gone, I think they'd get more groups of alumni like Team Phoenix.

p51 wrote: I agree fully with this, the center really doesn't make it easy at all. If they offered a way for a split in the total cost across a fixed number of members and allowed them to pay the center directly, depositing that money so the people going feel solid about where the money has gone, I think they'd get more groups of alumni like Team Phoenix.

They may have done this in the past and been burned. I do not know the details but at one week long camp that I went to, USSRC called us a couple of weeks beforehand to see if we wanted to do the camp with 8 people as a corporate group of 10 had dropped out.

Besides, allowing members of a corporate group to pay USSRC directly is essentially the same as putting a weeklong camp on the schedule with one important difference. The difference is that USSRC is taking the risk that everyone in the group will pay as agreed and if not, that the others would pay more to cover the total cost. I believe that USSRC has enough experience with people dropping out not to want to do that. I would guess that is why USSRC has a no refund policy.

One could always sign up for the 6 or 13 day AC.

majtom7 wrote:One could always sign up for the 6 or 13 day AC.

Again, not offered to adults.

Conan wrote:Being a librarian, I thought I should start a new thread for next year's registration, since it is being discussed in the 2014 thread. So, Street, is there any plan for a 6-day or longer Adult program? I am sure that a lot of us alumni would be interested.

I'd be interested in a 6-day program (or an 8 day...13 day like they're doing for AC for the kids wouldn't be out of the question). Bummer that they don't have any on the schedule for next year. But if anyone is getting a corporate camp together, I'd be interested in getting onboard.

SpaceCanada wrote:

majtom7 wrote:One could always sign up for the 6 or 13 day AC.

Again, not offered to adults.

Maybe I should have read that since deleted email a little slower...
although, since they take 18 year olds, they are accepting legal adults.

majtom7 wrote:

SpaceCanada wrote:

majtom7 wrote:One could always sign up for the 6 or 13 day AC.

Again, not offered to adults.

although, if they allow 18 year olds, they are technically allowing legal adults.

If only they let the big kids (adults over 18) go to the kids' programs. I find teenagers more fun and interesting than a lot of adults and would have no problem being on a team where I'm twice the age (or more) of the rest of the campers.

gt0163c wrote:If only they let the big kids (adults over 18) go to the kids' programs. I find teenagers more fun and interesting than a lot of adults and would have no problem being on a team where I'm twice the age (or more) of the rest of the campers.

No, it's good they don't do that. You'd never know which adults were there for, shall we say, frightening reasons...

I thought about telling them that I had flunked my senior year 30 times, but I didn't think they would buy it!

p51 wrote: No, it's good they don't do that. You'd never know which adults were there for, shall we say, frightening reasons...

Yeah, it's probably a good practice, to keep the creepies away!

I would feel way more at home with the idea of coming back to Space Camp with a bunch of people my age (or older). I remember how intense and competitive it was as a teenager! I would enjoy a more laid-back, adult mentality.

That being said, I can envision a "Billy Madison" type of situation where one of us older folks have to go back to Space Camp and compete on a team at the teenage level. Hmmm, might I have the idea for the next Space Camp movie?

p51 wrote:

gt0163c wrote:If only they let the big kids (adults over 18) go to the kids' programs. I find teenagers more fun and interesting than a lot of adults and would have no problem being on a team where I'm twice the age (or more) of the rest of the campers.

No, it's good they don't do that. You'd never know which adults were there for, shall we say, frightening reasons...

I completely understand why they don't let adults do the kids' programs (although I think society is way too overprotective of kids, but that's a rant that's well off-topic). But, as a veteran youth volunteer (15+ years volunteering with teenagers and still loving it), and an adult jealous of what the kids get to do, I think it would be a blast.