Kerry Joels, president of Total Learning Research Institute, explains Friday how the space shuttle flight simulator works to students at the William McCool Science Center at Lamping Elementary School in Henderson. The center is named after William McCool, one of the astronauts killed in the 2003 Columbia disaster. Seated in the simulator are "pilot" Christopher Whitson, 9, and "captain" Jessica Reinholm, 10. Photos by Jeff Scheid.
Students handle the controls of the space shuttle flight simulator on Friday.
Lab coats made for kids hang in the mission control section of the space shuttle flight simulator at the William McCool Science Center at Lamping Elementary School in Henderson.
Minutes before take-off Friday, self-proclaimed "girly girl" Jessica Reinholm didn't know whether she would enjoy blasting off in the space shuttle as much as her male counterparts in the cockpit.
As about 20 Lamping Elementary School fourth-graders counted down from 10 to zero, the control panel began shaking and speakers simulated the sounds of rocket propulsion.
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"I'm freaked out," she said as she pulled back on a throttle.
But by the time her simulated shuttle mission was complete, Reinholm was ready for another mission.
"It felt real," she said afterward.
"I so want to do it again."
Lamping students have been learning about space exploration since mid-September at the newly constructed William McCool Science Center on the school's campus. The 4,300-square-foot facility was built with about $450,000 in private donations and has about an additional $450,000 invested into the facility in donated supplies.
The center contains a space shuttle simulator, which is three-quarters the size of the cockpits in NASA's spaces shuttles. The control panel has the same levers and switches found in the real cockpits.
The center also has a control room from which students communicate with students in the cockpit as they negotiate launching and landing their simulated shuttle.
The center honors the late astronaut William McCool, pilot of the space shuttle Columbia, which exploded upon re-entry during its 2003 mission.
McCool's parents, Audrey and Barry McCool of Las Vegas, have agreed to partner with the school to help bring science alive for students.
"People are going overseas to get scientists," Principal Michael O'Dowd said.
"We need to start rearing our scientists again. That was our whole goal, to get students interested and give them an advantage for future careers in science."
The center at the Henderson school, located near Eastern Avenue and Horizon Ridge Parkway, will open officially today.
Ceremonies will include a Navy Prowler squadron flying over the school. McCool was a former member of the squadron.
The center will be utilized for more than aeronautic studies.
The facility contains a laboratory equipped with work stations and microscopes. O'Dowd said the laboratory will be used to study a range sciences, from geology to biology.
There is also a sand pit outside of the center, where students will learn how to carry out archaeological digs.
The school's cafeteria contains an inflatable structure that serves as a planetarium.
Kerry Joels, president of Total Learning Research Institute, a nonprofit research organization based in McLean, Va., said his company built the simulated shuttle and control room. The educational concept behind the simulators, he said, is to help students learn to work together in order to be better prepared for the job market.
"Any student coming out of school has to know how to work effectively with others," Joels said.
"It doesn't matter whether they work at Wal-Mart or are a professor at UNLV."
Fourth-grader Christopher Whitson, who was at the helm of the shuttle Friday, said he was nervous during his first-time in the cockpit. But, he said, he has aspirations to lift off into orbit in a real shuttle someday.
