CONCORD, NH — Decades after she was chosen as America’s first teacher in space, Krista McAuliffe is pioneering again — this time as the first woman to be celebrated on the grounds of the New Hampshire State House in the town where she taught high school.
McAuliffe was 37 when he was killed, one of seven crew members aboard Challenger when the space shuttle disintegrated on live television on January 28, 1986. He didn’t stand a chance lessons He had planned to teach from space. But people still learn from it.
“Krista was an extraordinary person. She liked to say she was ordinary, but in every important way in life, she was extraordinary. And this statue is amazing. The family is thrilled,” said Krista’s husband, Judge Stephen McAuliffe. “It was really nice to have so many people come out.”
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“Beyond the tragedy, his legacy is very positive,” said Benjamin Victor, a sculptor from Boise, Idaho, whose work was unveiled at a ceremony in Concord on Monday morning, McAuliffe’s 76th birthday. “And so this is something that can and should always be remembered.”
“I feel like she touched so many lives and that her spirit still lives on. And that other people are trying to follow in her footsteps, which is nice to know that people still care about her and things are still happening in her name,” said Christa’s daughter, Caroline McAuliffe. .
Statue of Christa McAuliffe
The 8-foot-tall (2.4-meter) bronze likeness atop a granite plinth is believed to be the first complete sculpture of McAuliffe, known for his openness to experimental teaching. His motto was: “I touch the future, I teach.”
“Obviously, it brings back old emotions, but on the other hand, it’s a great honor and I hope that classroom teachers everywhere will be honored like this,” Judge McAuliffe told reporters.
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“Seeing a hero like Krista McAuliffe is sure to inspire the next generation of students every time they visit the New Hampshire Statehouse,” Gov. Chris Sununu said in a statement. his executive order It allowed McAuliffe’s statue to join statues of leaders such as Daniel Webster, John Stark, and President Franklin Pierce.
“It’s not a statue. It’s all about a symbol of opportunity and hope that every child, every individual, when they cross these grounds, will be a little bit proud of the Great Granite State,” Governor Sununu. said at the opening.
“I know without hesitation and without reservation that Krista would be so proud and humbled by her country’s highest honor in her hometown. But he also thinks the honor would be both disproportionate and far-fetched. as a personal honor, separate and distinct from the representative role he assumed,” Judge McAuliffe said at the event.
“He wanted me to emphasize that this statue should be seen and appreciated as he hoped to be seen and appreciated as a classroom teacher, representing his profession as an aid to all teachers and all educators.”
McAuliffe was chosen from 11,000 candidates to become the first teacher and private citizen in space. On January 31, 1986, behind a public memorial on State House Square, the Concord school district and city of 44,500 have quietly celebrated Challenger’s anniversary for years, in part to respect his family’s privacy. Christa and Steven McAuliffe’s son and daughter were very young at the time of his death and were buried in the local cemetery. Stephen McAuliffe wanted children to grow up normally in society.
Krista McAuliffe Memorial
But there are other memorials, dozens of schools and libraries named after McAuliffe, as well as scholarships and commemorative coins. The Science Museum in Concord is dedicated to him and his native son, Alan Shepard, the first American in space. The auditorium bears her name at Concord High School, where she taught American history, law, economics and a self-developed course called “The American Woman.” Students follow the drawing of him in his astronaut uniform.
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In 2017-2018, two ISS teachers turned astronauts recorded several lessons McAuliffe planned to teach in Newton’s laws of motion, microgravity of liquids, boiling and chromatography. NASA then published “Christa McAuliffe’s Lost Lessons” online, a resource for students everywhere.
Victor comes from a family of teachers, including his mother, with whom he shared many discussions about McAuliffe while working on the statue—including a recollection of watching the Challenger disaster on television as a second-grader in Bakersfield, California.
“It was very sad, but I think after all these years, silver was the way his legacy went on,” he said.
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Victor sculpted four statues in the National Statue Hall of the US Capitol, the most of any living artist. To represent McAuliffe, he viewed many images and videos and met Barbara Morgan, who participated in the Teacher in Space program as McAuliffe’s backup for the Challenger mission. Morgan also lives in Boise and let him borrow his uniform, the same one McAuliffe wore.
“Talking to Barbara about Christa, just learning more, is just indispensable,” Victor said. “Just hearing his character. It’s just amazing.”
