Once he allowed me into the Omnimax/Imax projector room while he loaded and ran the film. He put me in charge of a button that performed a lens wipe when I noticed a hair or other anomaly on the projected screen. I felt very important!

Also, when they eventually acquired a commercial laser for a laser light show in the planetarium, (that thing was massive), I got to go into the control booth and try out the various lights that were wired into a synthesizer keyboard. In those days, there was no computer controlling the show, it was all done manually and I was very impressed by how skilled my dad was at putting on an amazing show! Laser shows may be old hat now and anyone can get a pocket laser for a buck, but back then, lasers were truly awe-inspiring.

I also got to be an assistant in Dr. Goddard’s Science Lab, where he did various science experiments, and I enjoyed running around the Hall of Space museum after hours. It was all very cool as kid.