Published February 1996 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Reviving the Dream of the Challenger
Ten years ago, seven courageous Americans, including teacher Christa McAuliffe, boarded NASA's Challenger space shuttle, embarking on a mission designed to draw upon the wonders of space travel to inspire our nation's youth to strive for excellence. Just 73 seconds into that flight, the Challenger mission ended in tragedy, taking the lives of those seven astronauts and suspending the Challenger's dream of helping young Americans to "reach for the stars." In the years since that disaster, however, NASA and the families of the Challenger crew have worked together to bring renewed life to the aspirations of the Challenger astronauts. Their efforts have resulted in the establishment across the country of more than two dozen Challenger Learning Centers (CLC), state-of-the-art facilities that combine cutting-edge technologies with the thrill of space exploration to spark students' interests in the study of math and science. One of those Challenger Centers -- initiated by Congressman Alan B. Mollohan and housed in the Center for Educational Technologies, which was constructed and equipped with $10 million I added to federal appropriations bills --began operating at Wheeling Jesuit College in November of 1994. The Wheeling Center gives young people and their teachers hands-on experiences that supplement classroom work and provide them with access to a wealth of NASA technology. Like the other CLC's scattered around the country, the Wheeling facility contains replicas of a space station and of NASA's mission control center that allow teachers and students to "fly" simulated space missions. In its first year of operation, Wheeling Jesuit's Challenger Learning Center flew approximately 10,000 young Ohio Valley residents on mock NASA missions. Another 15,000 students have already made reservations for 1996. In addition, the Wheeling staff is actively pursuing ways to take the Learning Center concept to new levels, experimenting with innovations that can make all CLC's more accessible to physically challenged students. For example, the Wheeling Center staff, working cooperatively with the West Virginia Schools for the Deaf and the Blind in Romney, Hampshire County, recently modified the facility to enable blind and hearing-impaired students to take CLC flights. West Virginians can be proud of their Challenger Learning Center and its endeavors to keep the dream of the Challenger alive. In reaching out to West Virginia teachers and students, and in pursuing methods to extend the CLC experience to physically impaired youth, the Wheeling CLC epitomizes the kind of impact that the Challenger crew had hoped to make on young Americans. February 21, 1996