Spaceship Earth visits Meneley Elementary

Students of Christine Cooley's fourth-grade class at Meneley Elementary School traveled to far-off, fantastic destinations on Thursday, but all from within the safety of their own gym.

The students spent the day inside Spaceship Earth, a large inflatable dome, much like a small planetarium, where they watched three separate films: "Night of the Titanic," "Microcosm" and "Earth's Wild Ride."

The mobile science theater was provided by the Challenger Learning Center of Northern Nevada in conjunction with the Nell J. Redfield Foundation and the Reno Air Racing Foundation.

Spaceship Earth's stop at the school wasn't by chance. It was the prize for fourth-grader Ben Hallinan, who won the RARF's gold award at the Western Nevada Regional Science Fair in Reno on March 26-28. He won for his project on rocket engine thrust.

"I'm very proud of him," said mother Sharon Hallinan. "He's wanted to be an astronaut since he was three years old."

Hallinan said her husband was in the Air Force, and that Ben wants follow in his father's footsteps to the U.S. Air Force Academy.

"He and his dad are always building and launching model rockets and remote-controlled airplanes," she said. "He's working towards his goal, slowly but surely."

Lined up outside the dome, students donned dark-blue vests displaying the words, "Spaceship Earth: Official Crew Member." They then filed inside and were seated as images played across the spherical roof of the theater.

"This is our first year doing this," said Paul McFarlane, lead flight director for the Challenger Learning Center. "We'd love to do it in the future. I think schools would love to have this."

The star of the day, Ben himself, summed up the collective enthusiasm of his classmates.

"It's just awesome," he said.