Each year, roughly 10,000 students visit the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord.
When the anniversary of the Challenger disaster comes around each year, the center’s Executive Director Jeanne Gerulskis, you typically won't see a lot of fanfare.
“We celebrate Christa’s passion for education every day,” she said. “So generally we let Jan. 28 pass as if it’s any other day.”
But with this being the 30th anniversary, Gerulskis says they chose to honor the date with a reception that evening. Teachers were invited from across the state to celebrate McAuliffe’s legacy and passion for education.
“We’ll also have a person from NASA Skyping in to talk to educators about the resources that NASA has available for them,” she said.
The center will also hold screenings this weekend of the documentary “Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars” in the planetarium theater.
The documentary can be seen at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Asked about McAuliffe’s legacy, Gerulskis says it lives on.
“She really believed it experiential education, and so I think a lot of teachers who want to get their kids out the McAuliffe-Shepard Discover Center or the Currier Museum or the Seacoast Science Center or the Squam Lakes Science Center, it’s partly Christa’s inspiration,” she said. “And with a lot of the new charter schools being very focused on experiential education, that’s part of Christa’s legacy, too. That drive to get kids to know and experience the world.”
The discovery center opened 26 years ago, but has had its struggles financially.
It’s been four years since the state and center severed ties, with the center venturing out onto its own as a private, nonprofit organization.
“It’s been quite a challenge because ordinarily, if you’re going to start up a new museum, you’d raise enough money for your first two years of operation, so you’d be able to handle the peaks and troughs of visitation when your funds come in.
“We didn’t have that luxury,” she said. “We had six months from when the legislation was signed for our independence and our launch. We were never able to accumulate that bank account that would make you feel comfortable. So when you’re at home, living paycheck to paycheck, some days it’s like that. But we are able to do pretty amazing things with a small amount of resources.”
The center has launched a “Reach for the Stars” campaign to raise an additional $250,000 a year over the next three years.
