School plans space program to honor Columbia astronaut

Thursday, Aug. 28, 2003 | 8:57 a.m.

Students at Frank Lamping Elementary School in Henderson are working to honor astronaut William "Willie" McCool, who died in February when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated.

The school is working to bring the only Space Explorers Program in the Western United States to Southern Nevada, Principal Michael O'Dowd said.

The program introduces the concept of being a space explorer through school-wide, space-related activities throughout the year. Plans for simulations of shuttle flights are included in the program.

Plans are also under way to build a free-standing building to be named the William McCool Science Center to house the Space Explorers Program at the school.

The astronaut's parents, Las Vegas residents Audrey and Barry McCool, are working closely with Lamping faculty to bring the program to Nevada.

Before his death, McCool frequently spoke to schoolchildren about the space program.

To raise funds for the comprehensive program -- including installing simulators, software systems, video monitoring and audio systems, computers and teacher training -- the school has scheduled a "Reaching for the Stars" benefit to honor McCool Oct. 10 at Green Valley Ranch Station.

Similar space simulation and mission control centers at schools are operating in Washington, D.C., and in Pennsylvania, said Kerry Joels of the Total Learning Research Institute, a nonprofit organization which developed the Space Explorers Program.

Teachers at Lamping will undergo training in October, anticipating a January installation of the simulation center.

Lamping Elementary is also home to the Christa McAuliffe Observatory, with high-powered telescopes that the school uses to host star-and planet-gazing events.

A planet-gazing event to view Mars, in one of its closest encounters to Earth in thousands of years, is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Friday. The observatory is named after McAuliffe, a teacher who, in 1986, stepped from the classroom into history as the first civilian on the ill-fated space shuttle Challenger.

Those interested in contributing to the William McCool Space Center at Lamping can do so by calling O'Dowd at 799-1330 or by contacting the Clark County Public Education Foundation, 3360 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 160, or at 799-1042.