The ERAU Vocational trip went very well. We started with a truly brisk winter morning (23 degrees or so) followed by a nice breakfast at Earhards dining hall where we received a free "Tax Seminar" courtesy of Art and Sharon Harrington who had just completed a webinar on the new tax codes. Hold on to your hats! It was noted that the term "congressional tax simplification" is an oxymoron of the first degree.
A student Assistant from the planetarium came in and greeted us and then escorted the group to the S.T.E.M building and into the Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium where we Eric Edelman, Director provided a brief overview and answered questions. Very impressive with it's 47 Ft. dome and great seats. Maybe a little too comfortable once it went dark. We viewed a brief demo of the capabilities of the program. It is centered on the sky as seen from the ERAU campus so it was as if we were outside and looking up at night, only warmer. This was followed by a show entitled "Back to the Moon" "For Good" narrated by Tim "The Toolman" Taylor. The program rounded out with the current show of the "Prescott Winter Sky" narrated by Eric who also answered our man questions after seeing the shows. It was a great time and very informative. Then we had a great tour of the S.T.E.M. building conducted by Noah Lima a student assistant, sophomore, AFROTC member from near Fresno Calif. He was both informative and entertaining. When looking at the 3-D printer lab, he noted that the very first thing they produced were door stops for the whole building! Some were on display. However there was a great deal more from drone technology, biology, forensics, and much more. Great Job Noah!