Decades after she was picked to be America's first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe is still a pioneer—this time as the first woman to be memorialized on the grounds of New Hampshire's Statehouse in Concord, the city where she taught high school. McAuliffe was 37 when she was killed, one of the seven crew members aboard the Challenger when the space shuttle broke apart on live TV on Jan. 28, 1986. Benjamin Victor, the sculptor from Boise, Idaho, whose work was unveiled on Monday on what would have been McAuliffe's 76th birthday, said McAuliffe's "inspiration hasn't been lost in the disaster and her memory will go on forever," per the AP.
The 8-foot-tall bronze sculpture, depicting McAuliffe walking in stride in a NASA flight suit, is believed to be the first full statue of McAuliffe, known for her openness to experimental learning. Her motto was: "I touch the future, I teach." Steven McAuliffe, her former husband, said Christa McAuliffe was proud to represent teachers and would be enthusiastic about being honored "as long as it was shared with all teachers and educators. ... I hope teachers everywhere will come and see it. I hope they take pride in their noble work. I hope that students will come and see. And I hope that they will be inspired to pursue their dreams," he said.
McAuliffe was picked from among 11,000 candidates to be the first teacher and private citizen in space. Beyond a public memorial at the Statehouse plaza on Jan. 31, 1986, the Concord school district and the city, population 44,500, have observed the Challenger anniversary quietly through the years, partly to respect the privacy of her family. Christa and Steven McAuliffe's son and daughter were very young at the time she died and was buried in a local cemetery.
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