Tulsa students watch launch of space shuttle

Tuesday, July 26th 2005, 10:53 am

By: News On 6

Tuesdayâ€™s launch of the space shuttle caught the attention of some amateur astronauts in Tulsa. A group of 5th through 9th graders are learning how to build rockets at Tulsa's Air and Space Museum at 7130 East Apache, but took a break Tuesday morning to watch the launch.

Very few students are old enough to remember other shuttle missions, making Discovery a milestone in their young lives. Air and Space Museum executive director Katheryn Pennington: "this will be a significant event, certainly for grade school and high school students that don't remember when the Columbia disaster happened and now it makes everyone more interested in understanding and asking some questions."

Tulsa's Air and Space Museum has several exhibits on the impact of Oklahomans in space, as well as scale models of the Discovery shuttle and its robotic arm.

Volunteers say having a hands-on experience makes a bigger impact on students than just watching the shuttle launch on TV.