[rec.arts.startrek.info] AIAA Educational Video with narration by Wil Wheaton

ktk@capybara.nas.nasa.gov (Katy T. Kislitzin) (12/19/90)

On Friday December 14, the educational video "Fast Forward into the
Future" premiered at NASA/Ames.  The video is a project of the AIAA
and is aimed at junior high and high school audiences.  It features
Wil Wheaton doing narration and profiles several NASA scientists.
Wil narrates from the bridge of the STTNG ship in street clothes.
The video quality is not 100% professional, especially the titles.
There is some interesting NASA footage and the interviews are pretty
good.  Wil does a good job of narration.  It is about 23 minutes long
and was filmed at NASA/Ames.

Wil was on hand for the showing.  After the video, plaques were
presented to all the participants, including Wil.  Wil spoke for a
while upon receipt of his plaque.  He struck me as a pretty ordinary
teenager.  The movie had emphasised taking lots of math.  His comment
as best I remember it: "Math in high school sucks."  (He then
qualified that to refer only to his high school.)  To paraphrase: I
didn't take much math.  That's why I'm an actor now.  He said a bunch
of other stuff, but I don't remember all of it.  It struck me as
ironic that someone who just graduated from high school and appears to
have no college plans was advocating taking a lot of math and science
in high school.  But Wesley Crusher is a good role model so if people
identify with the character and not the actor...

To watch the video:  I don't know.  If you are a member of AIAA
(Association I? Aviation and Aeronautics), you should be able to find a
copy pretty easily.  It will probably be shown at the January meeting
in Reno.  I would expect it to be made available to jr and high school
teachers.  Perhaps if you called the right office at NASA/Ames they
could help you.  I can't.

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Katy Kislitzin, ktk@nas.nasa.gov

[Moffett Field is in Mt. View California.  I live in Skylonda.]

It is hard to soar when a compiler continually swats you to earth.
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asb@media-lab.media.mit.edu (Amy Bruckman) (12/20/90)

A correction to Katy Kislitzin's posting:

I heard Wil Wheaton interviewed on a talk show a few weeks ago, and he
said that he is quitting STNG to go to UCLA in the Fall.

-- asb

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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Edited by Jim "The Big Dweeb" Griffith - the official scapegoat for r.a.s.i.
Email submissions to trek-info@dweeb.fx.com, and questions to
						trek-info-request@dweeb.fx.com