In Your Backyard: Visit neighboring Ohio to go out of this world – Meadville Tribune

Since our existence onEarth, humans have watched birds in flight during the day and gazedwith wonder at the jewels twinkling overhead in the dark.

The very first time mankind soaredwith the birds was in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina (one of my most favorite areas on this planet).Ohio brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright took to the sky for one glorious and brief moment intime. The beginning to modern aviation, and the gateway for another young Ohio boy, who just33 years later at the age of 6, took his first flight with his father and ignited the spark and lovefor flying.

Neil Armstrong lived with his family for a while in Warren,Ohio, when he was young. His fathertook him to an airfield located at 2553 ParkmanRoad, Warren, where he was treated to hisfirst ride in an airplane. Currently the location of the former airstrip is located beneath a stripmall with an old Kmart building built over the prior runway. This was the launching point (dontmind the pun) for the young Neils fascination with flying. He later went on to get his pilot'slicense and 33 years after his first flight became the first man to step onto the moon.Locatedin a memorial near the McDonalds is a one half scale model of the lunar lander from the Apollo11 mission. It is an amazing tribute to mark a proud American moment in time.

There is a rich history in our area for space exploration that many of our young people may notrealize. So with the new excitement being generated by the Mars exploration currentlyhappening, why not take the opportunity to let your kids know just how much NASAs history isentwined within our neighboring state of Ohio.

In addition to the First Flight Memorial in Warren, you can also visit the boyhood home of JohnGlenn, former U.S.senator from Ohio and also the first American to orbit theEarth inspace. This home is located in New Concord, Ohio. There is also the Armstrong Air and SpaceMuseum in Wapakoneta, Ohio, that includes many exhibits including a moon rock.

Judy Resnik from Akron, Ohio, was one ofsix women accepted into the space program and thesecond American woman to go to space on the space shuttle Discovery. Tragedy followed,however, as she was also on board the space shuttle Challenger during its explosion. I, alongwith thousands of students across the United States, watched this event live in a classroombecause that was also the flight that the first teacher Christa McAuliffe was on.Horrified gaspsand then silence filled the classroom until the teacher quickly turned off the TV.

Aside from the disasters and disappointments, I am sure the initial space race was an excitingtime to be alive and watch the events unfold. The Cold War era is something spoken about soinfrequently that the young people of today probably have little idea what was on the line forthe United States and space exploration. The disappointment of losing the race of getting thefirst man into space to the Soviets, the joy of the words Thats one small step for man, onegiant leap for mankind the deadly accidents of the Apollo 1 capsule and the shuttlesChallenger and Columbia are just a few of the ups and downs our nation has endured in therace to the heavens.

Kids today learn about the International Space Station and how the counties work together fora common goal and may not realize just how new of a concept this truly is. In fact, even thephrase Houston, we have had a problem is notorious because it was changed to Houston, we have a problem in the "Apollo 13" movie staring Tom Hanks and is often quoted byyoungsters who dont know said it or what it is actually referring to. Thespaceshuttle programended in 2011, so many kids under the age of 15 do not have a first-hand account of some ofthe most exciting and dangerous events of the the20th century. In fact, I was even a bitshocked to learn that Ohio alone has had 25 natives become astronauts that have flown closeto 80 space missions.

So take a moment to wander over to Warren, where the man who stepped on the moon firstlearned his love of aviation and then get lost in the history of some of mans most exceptionalaccomplishments. Why did they go? the kids might ask, Because it was there, we cananswer.

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In Your Backyard: Visit neighboring Ohio to go out of this world - Meadville Tribune