New Statehouse Statue for Christa McAuliffe at Concord, New Hampshire

 

On Christa McAuliffe's birthday, September 2, 2024, a new statue of her was dedicated on the grounds of the New Hampshire State Capitol building.  There are many statues on these grounds, but this is the first one of a woman.  

Christa had been a teacher at Concord High School, as well as teaching for a short time in Maryland and Bow, New Hampshire.  She applied for the Teacher in Space program in 1984, and was chosen out of over 11,000 applicants. On January 28, 1986 she died aboard the Challenger when it exploded 73 seconds after liftoff, along with six other crew members.   

A dedicated teacher in Concord,

New Hampshire, Christa McAuliffe was selected

to be NASA's first educator astronaut.

McAuliffe and her six crewmates on the

space shuttle Challenger were tragically

lost 73 seconds after launch.  She is 

remembered for her bravery and 

enthusiasm for life and for learning. 

September 2, 1948

January 28, 1986

"I touch the future. I teach"

This new statue is the first statue of a woman and a private citizen on the state house lawn.  It is also the first new statue to be added to the capitol property in over 100 years. The statue is 8 feet tall on a granite pedestal, and is believed to be the first full statue of Christa McAuliffe. The sculptor of this statue was Benjamin Victor, of Idaho.  He has also made four other statues in the US Capitol.  He borrowed an astronaut uniform for the statue from Barbara Morgan, who was Christa McAuliffe's back up for the Challenger mission. 

Nearby is the Christa McAuliffe/ Alan Shepard Planetarium across the Merrimack River near the Community College.  She is buried nearby, too, at the Blossom Hill Cemetery in Concord.  

For the truly curious:

Wikipedia article for Christa McAuliffe -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christa_McAuliffe  

A previous blog post about Christa McAuliffe's tombstone in Concord, NH:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2020/01/christa-mcauliffe-tombstone-tuesday.html

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "New Statehouse Statue for Christa McAuliffe at Concord, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted October 22, 2024, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2024/10/new-statehouse-statue-for-christa.html: accessed [access date]).