Wondering what it’s like to spend a day at SpaceUp?  If you’ve never been to one, you’re in for quite a treat!

Arriving at SpaceUp

SpaceUp LA will officially start at 11:00 AM on Saturday, August 6th.  Upon arrival, you will receive your specially-designed SpaceUp LA t-shirt, badge, agenda, and other fancy gifts.  After a few snacks, a quick intro, and a chance to get to know you and the other participants, you will be confronted with an empty Session Grid:

It won’t be empty for long, however!  SpaceUp participants will start filling the board with sticky notes.  The notes contain discussion topics about, well, anything you want!  Itching to talk about your new idea for space travel?  Have a video or computer demo you want to share?  Maybe you just met some other space enthusiasts at another discussion and want to bring your discussion to a bigger group.  At SpaceUp, you can do it all, because YOU, the attendees, are the participants!  You are the ones who can make things happen and we’d love to hear what you want to say!

SpaceUp Sessions

For most of the afternoon, you will be hopping around to several “Pods” that are 30 minutes in length.  These pods may be set up any way you like.  For example, round-table discussions are one of the most popular Session formats:

Other popular session formats include demos (we have projectors available in most pods), a panel of experts, or a Q&A session with other attendees who may have something very special to share.  If you have an extra-indulging topic, participants have scheduled 2 consecutive Sessions in a row to keep the conversation going!

Sessions at SpaceUp are conversations, just like every conversation you’ve had (or wanted to have) at any other conference.

Special Sessions

A few pre-planned sessions will be scheduled during various parts of the unconference.  One of these, unique to SpaceUp LA, is Show and Tell.  Have a really cool space gadget to show off?  SpaceUp San Diego participants brought in pretty nifty things to show, such as working rocket engines:

Another Special Session planned is the Mission Control simulator!  The Columbia Memorial Space Center has a special feature for its guests — a cooperative space station and mission control room where you get to run a (simulated) space mission.  Employees at the museum will organize this for us on Saturday and Sunday at various times in between Pod sessions.

The Law Of Two Feet

There are lots of sessions going on at once, so you won’t be bored.  Every session has an opportunity for you to learn something or contribute.  If you find yourself not interested in the topics on the board, this is a great opportunity for you to start a topic you’re interested in — and others will be sure to follow you to your discussion!  If all else fails, go get a snack and listen in on the conversations there.

Meals, Snacks, and Socializing

At SpaceUp LA, food is very important!   There will be plenty of it, and it’ll be available at all times.  Participants are encouraged to get up and grab snacks and drinks whenever they like — feel free to bring it to Sessions, or just enjoy a quick snack during breaks.

All participants will be provided with four (4) meals:  lunch and dinner on Saturday, breakfast and lunch on Sunday.  Think casual, buffet-style meals (no catered banquet hall format here) — meals you can grab and walk and talk with other participants.

T-5 Talks

If you’re itching to give a presentation with slides, we have just the format for you: it’s called Ignite. Each speaker gets 5 minutes to talk, with 20 slides that rotate automatically every 15 seconds.

At SpaceUp, we call our Ignite-format talks T minus 5. These are the only talks that are scheduled beforehand, because they take a bit more preparation and planning than most unconference sessions. They’re definitely worth the effort.

Here is a great example of a T-5 talk made at SpaceUp San Diego in February, 2011.

Kiko Donchev T-5 Talk

If you’re interested in giving a T-5 talk at SpaceUp LA, please contact the Organizers.

How (and What) To Prepare Beforehand

This may sound like a lot to take in, but you’ll get used to it in no time at all. There will be plenty of unconference veterans on hand to help out, and we’ll have a whole group of volunteers to help keep things moving smoothly.

If you don’t have time to prepare anything before you go to SpaceUp, don’t worry. Just be there in time for the opening session and you’ll have plenty to do and contribute. If you want to prepare a talk beforehand—and it isn’t a T-5 talk (see above)—write it up as a set of notes or questions, or even bring a PowerPoint presentation if you’d like. Do bring props, posters, diagrams, or demonstration equipment if you have it!

Questions/Comments?

Feel free to post comments below.  If you have any questions about the event, don’t hesitate to contact the Organizers.

Photos courtesy Kevin Baird and Eric Gever.

Video courtesy Spacevidcast.