Students from Buchanan Elementary School expressed their appreciation to community members who provided support for their trip to the Kennedy Space Center. On Monday, December 17, 2007, a reception was held at the school to thank all of the sponsors of the trip.  23 students traveled to Cape Canaveral, Florida in October to watch the lift-off of space shuttle Discovery.  The shuttle’s mission was to bring the Node 2 module to the International Space Station. 

LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe, Rebecca Rubins of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and Dr. Jeffery Littleton were each presented with autographed pictures from the students as a thank you gift. They were among the many community members who provided funds for the trip.

Students showed off pictures from the trip and talked about their once in a life-time opportunity. Among the memories of their experience was feeling the ground shake under their feet as the space shuttle left the launch pad.

The students made history when they won a NASA competition to name a piece of the International Space Station. They competed against 2,200 students in Kindergarten through 12th grade from 32 states. Buchanan Elementary was among six schools to choose the name “Harmony” for the Node 2 module. Their winning entry made them among the first people outside of NASA to name a U.S. piece of the space station.