McAuliffe Center at FSU receives $5 million funding boost from Legislature

FRAMINGHAM — The Christa Corrigan McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University has received a major chunk of state funding to upgrade and modernize the center and place a greater emphasis on McAuliffe’s legacy.

Since she's been director, Irene Porro said she’s been thinking about the next steps for the McAuliffe Center — and was grateful to everyone, from legislators to students, who are making the redesign possible.

“The focus is going to be to build a structure that will easily adapt to new technologies,” Porro said. “We will continue with our programs in the Challenger Learning Center — they will be better than ever before, and we will continue with our regular K-12 programs — we’re just going to do more.”

The McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University began in 1986 with a goal of fostering lifelong learning in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) with the help of a planetarium and roleplaying simulated space missions.

“The McAuliffe center is a fabulous place," Porro said. "I’ve heard people saying that this was a hidden jewel — I don’t want it to be. Yes, a jewel — but not hidden."

Thanks to $5 million from the Legislature and other sources — including $2 million from the American Rescue Plan Act and $250,000 from the Massachusetts Cultural Council — the center will be reimagined with multifunctional spaces that can be used for hands-on learning, simulations, as well as serving as a hub and meeting place.

By transforming the space, the center can offer different programs to different ages throughout the day — offering more programs and staying open longer, Porro said.

The center will continue to offer K-12 programming — but will also have an upgraded planetarium and mission control simulation center, virtual reality simulations and expanded programs with a focus on environmental education.

Porro said she would have found simulated labs and activities very useful herself — building confidence through simulations and offering the community programs to “understand what’s happening to our planet.”

She said researchers and residents could end up in the same room, considering environmental issues facing their communities — offering a space for different perspectives to come together and interact in a way that wouldn’t be possible otherwise.

“I’m a strong proponent of virtual learning as well, but I think we need both,” she said. “This is a place where we can come together and not only run the simulations but discuss the problems together.”

Honoring McAuliffe’s legacy

Christa McAuliffe was a Framingham State College — now Framingham State University — graduate, selected from among thousands of applicants to be the first teacher to go to space on the STS-51-L mission. The space shuttle Challenger broke apart less than two minutes after launch, killing all on board.

Porro said McAuliffe was looking forward to going to space to talk to the whole planet as “a village,” as one people. She said people who visit space often appreciate how fragile our planet is — and how much the planet needs to be taken care of. That’s part of the reason the new center will focus on climate change and environmental education.

Although McAuliffe was never able to speak to the world, “she understood there was something special by going to space and looking back at Earth,” Porro said. “I feel like in a way, this is what we can do to celebrate her legacy — we need to fully develop the potential of this place, and I think we can finally start doing that.”

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: McAuliffe center state money funding Framingham Massachusets JWST