Columbia memory will live on in school’s mural, garden

Heather Rawlyk

Friday, Jan. 30, 2004 | 3:23 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

Jan. 31 - Feb. 1, 2004

Capt. William McCool and the six other members of the Space Shuttle Columbia crew will have a presence at a Henderson elementary school for years to come.

A mural of the crew and a garden in the courtyard of Frank Lamping Elementary School, 2551 Summit Grove Drive, were dedicated Friday in memory of the astronauts whose spacecraft disintegrated while re-entering Earth's atmosphere one year ago Sunday.

The garden includes seven rose bushes, "one in memory of every astronaut," Principal Michael O'Dowd said.

The rose bushes were planted behind and around a granite bench etched with a picture of the seven crew members, their names and the phrase "In Memory of the Columbia Crew, February 1, 2003."

The mural, by local artist Shawn Ealy, features the crew in black and white, standing in front of a full-color American flag. To the right of the crew members is the Columbia taking off.

"We wanted the crew's picture and also part of the American flag because they were a patriotic team," O'Dowd said. "The stars and space represent their mission and we also wanted the Columbia Shuttle taking off."

The mural also features the Columbia "mission patch," placed in the middle of the canvas. The mission patch, a shuttle-shaped badge that includes the last names of the seven astronauts, was created by McCool, whose parents teach at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Just before the Columbia tragedy, teachers at Lamping were trying to get funding together for a science and space program for the school's students.

After the shuttle was lost, the faculty learned that McCool's parents, Barry and Audrey McCool, live in Las Vegas.

"The mission of the Columbia was just so science-related, I think that's why educators are so interested in it," O'Dowd said. "When we found out McCool's parents live in Las Vegas, it brought it even closer to home. We wanted to get them involved."

It prompted O'Dowd to ask Lamping students' parents if they wanted to help form a Space Explorers Program. It should be in place later this year and should continue next school year.

The school has been assisted by the McCools, who hope to help the faculty and students achieve their goal of building a science center on the campus, according to O'Dowd.

The plan is to construct a free-standing William McCool Science Center, which would house the Space Explorers Program as well as other Lamping science programs, O'Dowd said.

So far, $100,000 has been raised for the center.

A golf tournament fund-raiser is planned for June, O'Dowd said. Proceeds from the tournament will go toward an inflatable planetarium, which can fit 80 children inside.

O'Dowd said the Lamping campus plans to host Friday night camps, where students can come and visit the inflatable planetarium and have a supervised overnight stay.

Anyone interested in contributing to the William McCool Science Center can contact Principal Michael O'Dowd at 799-1330.