LAMPING ELEMENTARY: A fitting tribute

School honors Columbia crew with new mural

Students at Lamping Elementary School, 2551 Summit Grove Drive, got a different kind of lesson Jan. 30. As the cap of a schoolwide science week, the students closed their textbooks and took a moment to reflect on what science can do. The school is the site of a local memorial to the crew of the Columbia Space Shuttle, which was destroyed as it re-entered the atmosphere on Feb. 1, 2003.

The more than 840 students at Lamping have grown accustomed to learning about space and science in many different capacities, from writing research papers in English class to using celestial examples for math equations. This is because school officials, led by principal Michael O'Dowd, are making a push to be the valley's first elementary science academy.

The goal gained momentum last fall when University of Nevada, Las Vegas, professors Audrey and Barry McCool -- parents of Columbia shuttle pilot William "Willie" McCool -- endorsed the principal's plans to name a proposed 4,300-square-foot, freestanding, on-site science center after their son.

For the past school year, Lamping teachers have been incorporating science into every aspect of education. This has included visits from Barry McCool to talk about the space shuttle, NASA and science.

So, as the one-year anniversary of the space shuttle tragedy approached, O'Dowd got the idea to create a memorial to the entire crew, not just McCool.

"(The McCools) were saying, 'It's so nice that you're doing this for Willie, but really there was a whole crew,' " O'Dowd said.

Soon the idea traveled to Southern Nevada native and artist Shawn Ealy, owner of Shawn Ealy Design in Henderson. Ealy, who paints motorcycles and pieces in schools, had done a mural inside Lamping when it opened and has a soft spot for the school because its namesake, Frank Lamping, was his principal in junior high.

Ealy was given creative control of a 4-foot by 8-foot mural in the school's central courtyard. He created a black and white detailed image of the entire Columbia crew with an American Flag and a shuttle taking off in the background. In front of the mural is a marble bench with the crew etched into it, based on an Ealy pencil drawing.

"I love it. In my career as an artist, anytime an opportunity like that comes along I know why I do what I do," Ealy said.

During the process of creating the memorial, Ealy had opportunities to interact with Lamping students. He said it was amazing to him that they are so familiar with the Columbia crew and can name each member.

"It draws them in," Ealy said. "I think it's really something they can relate to."

Ealy said this project ranks as one of his favorites in his career.

"A painting like that is permanent and it lives on forever," he said.


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