Woodstock Science Center Honors 30th Anniversary Of Challenger Disaster
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Thirty years ago, Space Shuttle Challenger exploded shortly after launching on what was supposed to be a historic mission. On Thursday, a science and technology center named in honor of the shuttle, teachers and students released balloons in the air in memory of the seven astronauts who were killed in the Challenger disaster.
Cheryl Cox, the lead programs teacher at the Challenger Learning Center in Woodstock, was a senior in high school in 1986, and was in her social studies class, watching the Challenger on live TV as New Hampshire teacher Christa McAuliffe was about to become the first teacher in space before the shuttle exploded less than two minutes into its flight.
"It was a big deal. This was a teacher in space and that made it an extra special mission," Cox said.
At Challenger Learning Center, 5th graders get to carry out missions in Space Station and Mission Control simulators.
Lead Flight Director Rebecca Dolman said there's a message to take away from the Challenger disaster.
"We want to keep exploring. We want to keep pushing the frontier. Right now, we actually tell the kids who come to us that they are the perfect age to be one of the first people to step on Mars," she said.
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Dolman was born years after the Challenger disaster, but she remembers the Space Shuttle Columbia accident in 2003, when all seven astronauts died as the shuttle disintegrated upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere.
Cox said young people still have an interest in space, and keep up with it on social media, for the most part.
The Challenger Learning Center does have one notable success story. Chris Dobbins, who works on the life support team in the real Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston went through CLC as a 5th grader many years ago.
Besides the Challenger Learning Center in Woodstock, there's also one in Hammond, Indiana.
Dolman said approximately 9,000 – mostly 5th graders – participate in programs and field trips each year at the center in Woodstock.
