World Horror Convention

The 2008 World Horror Convention has selected these charities to support with its charity auction.

RFF Utah

Reading for the Future is an international organization of volunteers dedicated to making speculative fiction available to young readers.

RFF Utah co-sponsors an educators conference and education panels at two local conventions, workshops for educators, and a "box of books" program that gives books to school libraries and teachers throughout Utah. The books go to school and classroom libraries and into the hands of kids. RFF Utah also promotes using speculative fiction in K-12 classrooms.

Also, extra copies of the souvenir anthology will be sold at WHC2008 and the money split between RFF Utah and Utah WHC.

Money will go toward purchasing books, postage for shipping the books, and getting information on using speculative fiction in the K-12 classroom into the hands of UtahÕs teachers, librarians and media specialists.

The Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center

Link may not be work safe - makes noise on entry.

Founded in 1990, the Christa McAuliffe Space Education Center (SEC) combines the fun of exploration and learning with a simulated futuristic adventure story.

Five simulators allow children to crew a starship, a shuttle, or a space station as they learn to solve problems, work together, and use future technology while learning about space, science, and social studies. The SEC experience is a magical blending of education and fun.

The heart of the space center is its field trip program. Each year, thousands of 5th and 6th grade children from across the country go through the center. Each group is sent on the same mission, but the outcome depends on the groupÕs choices. Teachers are encouraged to sit back and let the students handle everything. The students learn self-confidence, speaking up, and being an active part of the group, and they learn that they can make a difference. As part of the field trip, each class also participates in a cutting-edge science lesson on various astronomy topics.

Using the latest information available and the best in multimedia presentation tools, the lessons are informative and fun, waking the children to a sense of wonder and imagination. The children also spend 30 minutes in a planetarium learning constellations and the mythology associated with them.

Summer camps are for students, but the after school and Saturday programs are for everyone. Adults, too, are able to schedule evening missions.

Because the SEC is located in a school, children from all over the country can come with their classes and enjoy a field trip. Any child who is on a fee waiver gets in free. The SEC runs on donations and sponsorship, and most of those running the SEC are volunteers. However, when school groups come through, the SEC often operates at a loss.

The charity auction will raise money for the SECÕs scholarship fund for disadvantaged children. This fund covers the gap when schools come through the center. It will also go to help build a new planetarium for the pre-mission science and astronomy classes.