Sonja Alexander
Headquarters, Washington, DC						June 27, 2000
(Phone:  202/358-1761)

Lori Rachul
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH
(Phone:  216/433-2901)

Sean P. Nichols
Congresswoman McKinney's Office, Washington, DC
(Phone:  202/225-1605)

MEDIA ADVISORY:  m00-128

NASA AND REPRESENTATIVE MCKINNEY DEDICATE AERONAUTICS CLASSROOM

     Science and technology introduced themselves to the Dekalb School System as NASA 
and Representative Cynthia McKinney dedicated a new Aeronautics Education Laboratory 
(AEL) at the Fernbank Science Center, Atlanta, GA.

     NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin and Representative McKinney, along with Astronaut 
Joan Higgenbotham, other NASA officials, and staff from the Dekalb School System opened 
the lab doors at a dedication ceremony yesterday morning.

     "When I was your age," McKinney told the group of young students in the audience, 
"there weren't programs like this.  Today is a different story -- today there is a world of 
opportunity out there for each of you.  Just believe in yourself."

     The AEL moves beyond traditional classroom boundaries and offers a state-of-the-art, 
electronically enhanced, computerized environment that puts cutting-edge technology in the 
hands of students in grades 7 to 12.  At the various workstations, students will strengthen 
math and science skills as they examine elements of satellite global positioning, remote 
sensing, amateur radio and aircraft design.

     "Science and technology are essential to our nationšs future prosperity.  Our students 
need every opportunity to develop the skills they need to succeed.  The AEL labs give 
students the chance to explore the fascinating world of aeronautics and learn of the endless 
opportunities education can provide," said Goldin.

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     NASA's Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, Washington, D.C., provided a grant for 
the partnership to establish the laboratory.  NASA's Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, 
Cleveland, OH, is responsible for the design and implementation of the AEL.

     A vision of former Ohio Congressman Louis Stokes, the program was established in 
1993 by Glenn and Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland, OH, to help foster 
understanding and enthusiasm in school-age children for science, math and technology 
fields.  Since its inception, the Science, Engineering and Mathematics and Aerospace 
Academy and its laboratories have grown from a single location to a multiple-site 
organization.