Airport sponsors education day for students

Approximately 145 Douglas County third-graders from Pinon and Minden elementary schools will participate in a journey of exploration from the Minden-Tahoe Airport to space and beyond.

The program is sponsored by the Minden-Tahoe Airport as part of a new partnership with the Douglas County School District. The airport and the district plan to make the program an annual event that is coordinated with the science curriculum of the students.

"This program is aimed at inspiring and educating young people in our community about the world of aviation and aerospace science," said Steve Mokrohisky, assistant county manager for Douglas County. "We are truly excited about our partnership with the school district and the opportunity to highlight the educational value of aviation."

"Everything being offered at the Aviation Education Day is in line with our third-grade science curriculum, and it provides such a great way to add hands-on relevance and rigor for our students," said Kerry Pope, the district's director of curriculum and instruction.

The program begins at 9 a.m. on Wednesday at the Minden-Tahoe Airport. Groups of approximately 30 students each will rotate through the Challenge Learning Center of Northern Nevada dome where they will learn about aviation, earth science, space science, space travel and exploration, and geography.

The program allows students to view a full-dome show of "Earth's Wild Ride" where students take a journey to a lunar colony, ride a river, encounter dinosaurs and experience a volcano and asteroid impact up close.

"The shortage of students in the aerospace pipeline, as well as in the fields of medicine, science and engineering has reached a crisis stage in our state and nation," said Paul McFarlane, lead flight director and instructor of the Challenger Learning Center of Northern Nevada. "Our goal is to inspire and educate our future scientists, doctors, engineers, educators, community leaders and aerospace personnel."