Legacy of Christa McAuliffe Focus of NH Outlook Special Friday at 6 p.m.

(DURHAM – January 26, 2011) – Where were you on January 28, 1986? Perhaps you, too, were watching the Space Shuttle Challenger launch with the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe, on board. NH OUTLOOK looks at the life and legacy of Christa McAuliffe in a special airing January 28 at 6 p.m., on the 25th anniversary of the Challenger disaster. The program will also be shown at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center as part of a tribute to the New Hampshire educator on Friday evening, which New Hampshire Public Television will participate in.For this special on McAuliffe and the Challenger, NH OUTLOOK host Richard Ager interviews several people who were inspired by McAuliffe and her dedication to teaching, including Phil Browne, one of six NH finalists for the NASA Teacher in Space. With help from Barry Rock, formerly of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Browne created Forest Watch, a project that uses satellite images to measure the health of the earth’s forests, including the white pine forests of New England and the Mid Atlantic States. “She (McAuliffe) wanted to get students involved in space,” explains Browne. “Not everyone can go up.”Ager also speaks with Dan St. Hillaire, a former student of McAuliffe’s, now a member of the Executive Council and president of Touch the Future, which raised funds for the Christa McAuliffe-Alan Shepard Discovery Center. Christina Cheli talks to Ager about getting her teaching degree from Framingham State College, the same school that McAuliffe attended, and her experience as a flight director at the McAuliffe Challenger Center in Framingham. “I think it’s really important to love your job and to pass that on to people that you’re working with, and she did that,” says Cheli. Mary Liscombe, director of the McAuliffe Challenger Center and Dave McDonald, education director of the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center speak about how they continue her legacy at their respective centers.After the broadcast, watch the LIVING LEGACY OF CHRISTA MCAULIFFE: A NH OUTLOOK SPECIAL online: https://nhpbs.org/outlook/

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