Fallen astronaut’s name lives on at elementary school

Friday, Oct. 14, 2005 | 7:35 a.m.

IF YOU GO

The William McCool Science Center at Lamping Elementary School is to be unveiled on Saturday at 2551 Summit Grove Drive in Henderson, one block off Eastern Avenue. The morning's activities are open to the public. The schedule includes:

Visitors to the new William McCool Science Center at Lamping Elementary School in Henderson will find seven stone benches flanking the entrance, each bearing the name and likeness of a crew member of the space shuttle Columbia.

The shuttle disintegrated upon re-entering the Earth's atmosphere in 2003, killing all on board including pilot William McCool, whose parents live in Las Vegas.

"(They were) glad we were honoring their son, it was their wish that we wouldn't forget the whole crew," Lamping Principal Michael O'Dowd said of Audrey and Barry McCool.

Audrey McCool, a professor of food and beverage management at UNLV, said her son would have been "thrilled" with the newly finished center. William McCool often spoke of his desire to teach science after his NASA career, she said.

"He loved going out to talk to the schools and the Scouting troops," she said. "He really enjoyed being around students."

The 4,300-square-foot center, built with nearly $600,000 in community donations, will be officially unveiled Saturday at the Summit Grove Avenue campus. The festivities will include a pancake breakfast, 5-kilometer race and a flyover by the Navy Prowlers Squadron. McCool was a member of the unit before joining NASA.

"The pilots are actually coming all the way down from Washington (state) to honor one of their own," O'Dowd said.

Constructed out of six modular buildings, the center includes a flight simulation lab where the school's upper grades get to steer a video version of the space shuttle. There's also an activity lab, hummingbird garden, paleontology exhibit and gift shop.

Frank Lamping, who retired from the Clark County School District after 32 years as an educator, said he was honored to have his name connected with McCool's.

"The students have a real hero to look up to and learn from," Lamping said. "He'll be a part of the school as long as the school stands."

Lamping said having a science component at the school has been a dream of his ever since he learned a campus would be named after him.

"I always knew there had to be a better way to turn kids on to science, and I believe we've really found it," Lamping said. "This center is a model for all other schools."

Some schools, particularly those in less affluent areas, might struggle to raise funds to build centers of their own, he acknowledged. But even if projects can only be managed on a smaller scale, it will be worth the investment.

Another Henderson campus, Vanderburg Elementary School in Green Valley, also relied on private donations to fund its rain-forest habitat exhibit.

Judy Machabee, one of the central organizers of the McCool Science Center, said the school's address was initially more of a hindrance than a help.

"Grant application after grant application, they turned us down," Machabee said. "They all said, 'Sorry, you're not an at-risk school.' "

The organizing committee shifted its focus to the community, looking for individuals and organizations willing to give cash and in-kind donations. The major donors were Marnell-Corrao & Associates, Pardee Homes and Welles-Pugsley Architects.

One element of Lamping's science program couldn't fit inside the new center. The inflatable planetarium, an oversized silver bubble, resides in the cafeteria and can be quickly blown up or collapsed. Students crawl inside the pitch-black dome and images of the night sky are projected on its curved ceiling.

Lamping fourth grader Jordan Gardner was concise when asked her opinion of the science center: "Cool."

She paused and then decided she hadn't been emphatic enough.

"Very, very cool," she said.

Emily Richmond can be reached at 259-8829 or emily@lasvegassun.com.