Joining their fellow Americans, Broward's students were saddened by the
loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the crew of STS-107.
For students at Crystal Lake Middle School in Pompano Beach, the loss
was a bit closer as they study space exploration and NASA as part of
the school's Science/Pre-Engineering Magnet Program. They've turned their
classroom into a mini Mission Control and have items from past NASA Space
Programs, such as the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo missions.
Many of the students were following the Columbia mission very closely,
even compiling reports on crew members and the scientific experiments
being conducted during the 16-day voyage. While they didn't know the
crew members, having spent so much time studying and learning about each
astronaut made the tragedy personal.
While they are saddened, the students have learned that taking risks
go hand-in-hand with space exploration. They know that the seven members
of Columbia's crew join the other heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice
in the name of science and research.
