| Wheeling
Jesuit's CLC Remembers Challenger Crew on 16th Anniversary
of Disaster |
In
a time when American heroes are often being recognized,
Wheeling Jesuit's Challenger Learning Center (CLC) staff,
along with students from Buckeye Local Middle School,
honored the memory of the crew aboard the ill-fated Challenger
Space Shuttle Monday - the 16th anniversary of the disaster.
With Aaron Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man"
as a musical backdrop, seven CLC flight directors launched
a small rocket into the air one at a time and recited
the name of a Challenger crew member who died on that
day in 1986. The students from Buckeye Local Middle School,
who participated in a CLC mission after the memorial ceremony,
released red, white and blue balloons following the rocket
launch. Each student also received a t-shirt depicting
the Challenger crew mission patch. The t-shirts were compliments
of Shirts-n-More in Wheeling. Courtney Basich, a student
at Wheeling Central Catholic High School closed the event
with a patriotic song.
CLC Assistant Director Patti Kota said it was important
that the younger generations know about and understand
the importance of the Challenger mission. "The majority
of the students coming to the Challenger Center weren't
even born when this disaster took place. It's the responsibility
of the CLC to keep the memory of the crew alive. It is
also important for the students to know the impact that
mission and Christa McAuliffe were going to have on education
since she was going to teach from space," Kota said.
"When the families of the crew founded Challenger
Center for Space Science Education it was with a vision
of continuing the crew's educational mission. It was a
mission to inspire, explore and learn."
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