By Eva Potter
Now that the Dresser-Rand Challenger Learning Center has been open for a year, the center is holding its opening celebration dinner on Thursday, Sept. 16 at the Premier Banquet Center in Olean, N.Y. This event kicks off the fundraising season for the upcoming year and will update attendees on the newest happenings at the center.
Special keynote speaker will be Col. Pamela Melroy, USAF (Ret.), who is a former NASA astronaut and has flown three space shuttle missions. She was the commander of the STS-120 mission in 2007, and currently serves as Deputy Program Manager, Space Exploration Initiatives for Lockheed Martin in Texas.
Tom Moser, the center’s executive director, said, “On the last mission she (Melroy) flew, she was the commander of that flight. In that particular mission, STS-120, she was the first female commander who met with another female commander who was on the space shuttle at that time. That was the first time there were two female commanders, one running the space station and one running the space shuttle.”
Former congressman Randy Kuhl, who helped the center acquire the initial $500,000 in startup funding, will also be at the dinner “We’ve had major donations to help us get started, and many of the major corporations and individuals in the area have donated, but in order to stay open, we still have to generate operating funds. Most centers need about 30 to 40 percent help from donations, even the ones that have been in business for years,” commented Moser.
“It’s just like running the hospital or the YMCA or any of those things. They always need to have those additional donations in order to do capital projects and to keep their centers moving along, and it’s going to be the same for us for a while, too.”
The center is scheduled to receive $4,000 from Jamestown Community College through a grant program to run missions for students that have not had a chance, or may get the chance, to come to the center because of funding losses by school districts. Moser said, “If we can raise funds that will help students here, that’s another reason we need to raise donations to bridge that gap.”
The center also plans to hold a Media Day on Friday, Sept. 17, at which Moser anticipates having Melroy available in the morning for a question-and-answer session. If there is enough interest, media participants may even be able to fly a space mission. On Saturday, Sept. 18, the public will be invited to an open house featuring tours and fun activities. More details will follow in future press releases.
Those who decide to visit the center are guaranteed to be impressed with additions and upgrades. A new mural, donated by Dal-Tile of Olean, has been installed on the outside of the Challenger Center building. The tile mural was designed by Emily Hurlburt and measures 23 feet wide by 13 feet high. Moser said, “It’s beautiful. We truly appreciate what they (Dal-Tile) did.”
Intern AJ Kaluza has been heavily instrumental in the remodeling of the Transporter Room inside the center. Moser explained that participants are briefed before the start of each mission and divided into two groups—Space Station and Mission Control. Halfway through the mission, the groups switch places via the Transporter Room, where they are seated in custom-designed seats with five-point harnesses to prepare passengers for transfer. A computer program will control the lift-off experience complete with realistic sound and effects, and pseudo-weightless sensation.
“We don’t know of any other center that has done this (Transporter Room design). We’re designing this all in-house. My intern, AJ Kaluza, has actually designed the seats and built them,” said Moser. The Transporter Room will be outfitted with three 47-inch monitors across the front of the room and four (two on each side) 22-inch monitors all relaying data, pictures and so on. Realistic design features enhance the space “travel” experience.
“When you walk out to go down the airlock (once you’ve arrived at the space station), there will be a ramp with accordioned walls similar to the gangway leading to an airplane’s doors. It’s going to be a lot different than what we’ve had over the past year,” Moser said. “The Transporter Room is being worked on as we speak. We’re hoping it will be ready to roll when we have the open house.”
New signage along South Union Street and leading into the parking lot of the center has also been designed by Kaluza, using materials that change color when headlights illuminate them at night. A new backlit sign will be installed over the center’s doorway. Information about an exciting new mission will be sent to regional school districts in the next few weeks.
Kaluza will be ending his internship at the center soon in order to student teach. Dan Kula, a retired teacher from the Friendship Central School District, has been hired to replace Kaluza.
Moser said the center still has 5,000 square feet they want to develop. He said, “We eventually want to do something like a planetarium or some other idea in that region. We want to eventually have programs for kindergarten through college. We’re working on some programs that have worked at a few other centers, and we’re going to try those here.”
Over the summer, the center ran a camp for fifth and sixth graders, which was attended by 19 children from regional schools who had previously participated in missions. The campers learned about rocketry and propulsion, built and raced CO2 rocket cars, and built and flew two-stage rockets. “Every single one of them (students), including the parents, said, ‘We will be back next year. Come up with another one (camp theme),’” said Moser. “We’ve already got another one in mind.”
The dinner at the Premier Banquet Center on Sept. 16 will begin with a cocktail hour at 5:30 p.m. and a stuffed chicken dinner at 6:30 p.m. Ticket are $40 per person, $50 for patron level, and $500 for corporate tables of 8. Vegetarian meals are available. For reservations, please call the center at (716) 379-8686 by Sept. 7. The center is located at 182 E. Union St., Suite 2, Allegany, N.Y.
