My Letter to Glasgow....

Dear Friends in Glasgow,

Words can hardly express how wonderful my time was in Glasgow a handful of months ago. I enjoyed seeing this wonderful city but even more importantly I loved meeting such amazing people. I enjoyed getting to chat with many of you and have enjoyed continued "chats" over Twitter etc. I love to see the excitement and passion so many of your bring to your respective fields.

I write this blog "to you" from my personal blog (as opposed to my ISSET blog) because I want you to know that this is personal to me not just business. I write this letter because I need your help. I really really really want to bring Mission Discovery to Glasgow for your students. What I LOVE about Mission Discovery is that it's inclusive not elitist like some other programs. It's the kind of program that encourages all kids to come and participate. (We do target high school and University age but have taken younger students and adults as students.) It's the kind of program that students have literally said has changed their lives. I want the youngsters of Glasgow to have an opportunity to partake in such an incredible event. (One I might mention that I sure wish existed when I was their age!) But I can't do this without your help....

If you aren't sure exactly what Mission Discovery is check out this website...
http://isset.org/mission_discovery.html
It truly is an incredibly unique event given the range of topics we cover including team building, leadership, various science, communication skills and of course space! Plus where else do you know that students can have an astronaut available for mentorship for an entire week? (Most people are happy to get to spend 1 hour listening to an astronaut and maybe get 1 question asked - attendees of Mission Discovery have access to an astronaut - and other great mentors! - for the entire program!) The program culminates with a team project where they design an experiment within given parameters which could fly into space. (And with the proper support/funding it will! Can you imagine having YOUR work sent into space?!)

I'll be honest most of the work falls to us to make it happen but the very basics I need help with right away. What are the basics? So glad you asked.... We need a place to hold Mission Discovery. Details for that....

• Ideally a University (Frankly it's a great thing for the University overall!)
• Certainly it is preferred that they donate the space but we can work on an agreement on that or some amount of payment if necessary
• Options other than a University could certainly work as well... would need to evaluate 
• We need an auditorium that could hold at least 200 students (that's the number we would target)
• Need classrooms or other space close to the auditorium that we can use for "break-out" sessions for the students to work
• We would need these spaces for a week during the summer (Monday-Friday 9-5)

Truly I can't even begin to make a Mission Discovery happen without a location (for obvious reasons!) but once I have a location I can promise you that I will work like crazy to make sure it is the most amazing Mission Discovery to date!!

Once we get a venue selected there is more you can do to help... help spread the word, sponsorship at various levels.... but for now... Please help me find a venue :)

Here's to making Mission Discovery Glasgow happen in 2013! Happy New Year everyone!!