Plans

We have plans going forward on several fronts. The first is to get the 501(c)3 paperwork finished, so we can then start applying for grants lots of places. The second is a presence at upcoming events put on by several other entities in the area. The third is the possibility of getting a site & possibly a building. Fourth, we are looking into the possibility of sponsoring a writing contest.

The 501(c)3 status: it's going forward, slowly. As usual. One of these days we'll actually get it finished. We got a letter from some legal company offering to help with it. They didn't say so in the letter, but I'm sure it would cost us some money, & we're already most of the way done as it is.

Upcoming events: I will be manning a booth for the local Renaissance Faire on May 22, 2010 at the Whittier Center. My booth will be making portable sundials. I did this last Saturday as a workshop for kids of the regional group of the Society for Creative Anachronism. It was a big hit. There is also Physics Day at Lagoon, sponsored by the USU Physics Department. We also decided that we should let the various schools know that we are available for & would like to participate in judging the Science Fairs. My task is to talk to some of the high school photo/multimedia teachers I know & see if they would be willing to have their classes work on some signage for us.

Site & Building: It's going to be years, yet, before we actually have a permanent building, but meanwhile, there is the Discovery simulator, which was built in a trailer home. The USU Trailer Park is slowly emptying out, but the university doesn't have current plans for that area. There also happens to be a community center in the Trailer Park. A woman from USU Housing will be at our next meeting in two weeks to discuss the possibility of us renting a pad for the trailer and using the community center as a classroom, so that we could run missions next school year. We also have a concept sketch for a building, & are looking into the possibility of having the CAD class at one of the local high schools make up some 3-D computer models for us.

Writing Contest: This would happen next year, students would be able to enter some form of technical writing, we would probably have several genre categories, as well as grade level categories. We would need to get the teachers behind this. From my experience with the RFF contests for CONduit, if the teacher is not encouraging the students to participate, then no students will enter.

So, there you have it. Progress is still slow, but it is happening. I'm going to get those building concept sketches up on the website this weekend.

missed meeting

I've missed the last couple of StarHouse Discovery Center meetings, going to math workshops & such to keep my teaching certificate current, so here's the report on the last meeting from Neil Dabb.

Here's what we did on the 2nd of April in our meeting.



We reviewed the current draft of the Business plan and brainstormed a few additional ideas for funding etc. We also reviewed the drawings of the building and lot layout I sent out.



Arno is going to get the final draft of the plan finished and will send it out to us a couple days before he sends it to the IRS so we can double check things. He is also going to invite Kimberly Lott from the education department at USU to our next meeting. She has experience setting up programs like ours, and should be able to help us with the class we hope to offer as well.



Our next meeting will be April 16 at 3:30 at the ERA office. Email me if there is anything we need to discuss or know about before then.



Thanks

Neil

I better remember to get to the next one.