Framingham State Hosts McAuliffe Center Reopening Celebrations This Weekend

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Call it special timing or great planning, but Framingham State University's Christa McAuliffe Center will host grand reopening celebrations this weekend, coinciding with the 38th anniversary of the Challenger disaster.

That timing weighs heavily on the mind of those at Framingham State, as they reopen one of 35 Challenger Learning Centers.

The McAuliffe Center was created in 1994 as a way to honor FSU’s beloved alumna Christa Corrigan McAuliffe, the "First Teacher in Space", who died in the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger accident.

Collectively reaching hundreds of thousands of students each year, Challenger Center and its Challenger Learning Centers carry on the legacy of the Challenger STS 51-L Crew.

This weekend, the center will play host to three days of reopening celebrations, starting on Friday, when a private event will welcome state and local officials, McAuliffe Center staff, FSU administrators, and the Challenger Center President and CEO Lance Bush.

The center welcomes the community into the center on Saturday during an open house, scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A day of remembrance is scheduled for Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., which will focus on McAuliffe and the crew of the challenger. A moment of silence will be held at 11:39 a.m., which is the exact time of the accident.

Massachusetts provided nearly $5 million to redesign and modernize the aging facility. The University also received federal funding, and grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Massachusetts Skills Grant program to pay for the project, which cost nearly $8 million in total.

Students from around Massachusetts will resume taking field trips to the McAuliffe Center in February and FSU faculty have already begun exploring new ways to use the facility.