Samuel's Proposal to Rejuvenate EEPs

Samuel's Proposal to Rejuvinate EEPs is a Proposal by Samuel Baltz, begun on January 13, 2010, outlining how OCESS would go about reformatting and restarting EEPs after their long absence from the club's agenda. The Proposal is addressed to former Education Commander Lyra Evans, and current Admiral and Teacher Advisor Dr. Jim Magwood. It is reprinted below in its entirety.

In May of the same year Baltz followed this proposal up with Samuel's Mandate to Rejuvenate EEPs.

History

This proposal was completed and presented to Dr. Jim Magwood on January 14, 2010. Copies currently reside on the Doctor's laptop, the Spacesim Network at Ottawa Tech and the network in the Spacesim Office, and the original copy is in the one remaining EEPs binder in the Spacesim Office for any member to review. Members are invited to give input directly to Samuel Baltz or on the Talk Page of this article.

Samuel Baltz promises to actually do something about the proposal after the end of exams for the first semester of 2009-10.

Reception Within the Club

On its very first day, the controversial proposal spawned a (not unusual) raging argument in the Spacesim Office between Samuel Baltz, Ian Martin, Arrian Amir-Rafiei, Lyra Evans,and later Ben Paul, causing Ian Martin to write on the chalkboard "Dear Lyra: EEPs. Also THE GAME. Sincerely, EVERYONE" Current opponents of the proposed changes are:

• Lyra Evans

Samuel’s Proposal to Rejuvenate EEPs

Samuel’s Proposal to Rejuvenate EEPs. Begun: January 13, 2010, Samuel Baltz

Introduction

For the majority of its existence, Spacesim was a club designed to promote two different goals: that of educating students within the club, and that of educating students without. In its current state the OCESS is a rewarding and enriching experience for those high school students within the OCDSB who belong, but it has lost focus in the area of external education. Our current Education Commander and Teacher Advisor do not by any means hold blame, and the goal of this proposal is in no way to assign blame. To our Teacher Advisor, Dr. Magwood, we extend our deepest gratitude for his innumerable contributions to the education of students within and without OCESS, and Lyra Evans, our Education Commander, we thank for the hard work on Missions and Planetariums that have made him an invaluable resource to OCESS. The problem does not lie with our hard-working commanders, nor does it lie with our Admiral to whom we are so indebted. The problem is best expressed by that position within Stefan’s Proposal to Change the Hierarchy that has been so quickly forgotten --- as of the formulation of this Proposal the position of EEPs Sub-Commander is not even listed on the 2009-10 page of the OCESS Wiki, and Amalissa Hum is instead termed “Planetarium Sub-Commander”, a position that does not even exist in Stefan’s Proposal as implemented by Spacesim. This is not an issue of poor editing or lazy implementation of facts; this is merely an example of the underlying attitude that causes this position to be defunct, that has morphed it into an artifact of a bygone age when OCESS members deigned to enlighten the OCESS members of the future. In the elementary students of the OCDSB lies to continuity of Spacesim --- they are our hope for longevity. The OCDSB removed our permission to hold EEPs at the Bronson Media Centre --- let us hold EEPs in elementary gymnasiums. Buses cost money --- let us walk, close schools are our feeder schools anyway. Our materials are heavy --- let us design experiments that use only light materials. Our EEPs binders are lost --- let us write new EEPs binders, or make do with those we have and with our combined knowledge. All the information presented in EEPs is on the internet --- people still attend school.

If we are to re-implement EEPs, the first of many steps is to redesign them so as to ensure that they contain only accurate, up-to-date information. The following Articles detail how this can be accomplished.

Articles Concerning the Pit Demo

Article 1: In 2006 Pluto was redefined by the International Astronomical Union by a majority of approximately 90% of voting astronomers, and it thereby lost planetary status. It is my suggestion that the station regarding Pluto be replaced with a station regarding exoplanets. This station could consist of the Create An Alien station originally intended for Galactic Tours.

Article 2: A script, or an approximation of one, must be written (or rewritten) not only so that the presenters will give concise and accurate information but so that they will remain approximately true to the time limit.

Article 3: The Mercury demonstration should be reworked. Having children circle one another seems boring, perhaps this could be replaced with a station wherein the demonstrators hold a sheet with a soccer ball in the middle of it and the children one by one roll an orange around it (as per Einstein’s analogy re: marbles). Be sure to explain that the orange only slows down because of friction, and that the fact that there is no friction where there is no atmosphere prevents the planets from crashing into the sun. This demonstration would also allow for a brief introduction to gravity wells, because it will be apparent that the orange too makes an impression on the fabric.

Article 4: The guide to the Pit Demo contains no mention of Jovian Planets vs. Terrestrial Planets. Why? The script (Article 2) should contain cool facts about the planets. These cool facts should allow the demonstrations to better relate to the body in question, as in the case of Mercury whose Pit Demo station has nothing to do with it.

Article 5: We should write a station for Uranus, even though it will make little children laugh. I will be willing to do this once I get my copy of Carl Sagan’s Cosmos back; Carl Sagan likes to mention cool facts.

Article 6: Other important bodies in the solar system are entirely ignored. The Asteroid Belt and the Oort Cloud, from the Plutoids to the Magellanic Clouds, have no mention whatsoever. I would propose an eighth station in the Pit Demo (this also serves to split the children up further which, according to Lyra Evans, is a good thing) dedicated to the miscellaneous objects of the solar system. This station could include one of the following: A re-use of Pluto’s old demonstration? A demonstration of the Doppler Effect? A demonstration involving red and blue shifts as seen through a prism?

Conclusion

This proposal has only dealt with a small piece of the work that must be done in order to successfully rejuveate EEPs. The Pit Demo is but one of many popular Spacesim demonstrations, and many of these other demonstrations have already been updated previous to the formulation of this proposal by various members of OCESS throuhout the years, and these updated versions should be consulted preferentially. Once they have been reviewed the formulation of other proposals or the amendment of this proposal with entire articles is likely.

Thanks for reading, ---Samuel Baltz. January 14, 2009.

Amendments

Amendment 1: Vice-Admiral Stefan De Young suggests that a student contact the OCDSB and ask to have EEPs pushed to the schools in light of their unique capacity for educating not only younger students but the presenters as well. In addition, the fact that students are teaching students is a situation that the OCDSB is admitedly fond of.