Capsule Has Been School Fixture Since 1969

While as kids we may have had to imagine a tire swing was really a Gemini capsule to send us to the stars, students at Ophir Elementary School in California can play and dream in an authentic Gemini-type space capsule that has been on the school grounds since 1969.

According to the Auburn Journal, that’s when then-principal Vernon Barnett used his military connections to have the capsule moved to the school. The capsule -- a boilerplate model that never carried astronauts into orbit -- was purchased directly from NASA, and placed at the school in hopes it would be restored as a valuable part of the school's science department.

Alas, that never happened... but in a way, the flights of imagination the capsule has given students as a playground fixture may have done more to promote space travel than any exhibit could have. 

In fact, the capsule was even retained even as the school's original playground equipment was replaced about 15 years ago -- although it was moved to a different area of the playground.

"I thought it was a unique piece of playground equipment for the kids," said former Ophir School District superintendent John Bliss.

Now that school is once again looking to upgrade its playground, however, rumors that the capsule -- seen as relatively unsafe due to its attractiveness to spiders and snakes --  would be jettisoned has spread throughout the Ophir school district.

The rumor, fortunately, is unfounded.

"It's a false rumor that we're trying to get rid of it," said parent group vice president Jennifer Mallery-Parino.

So it looks like the bright blue space capsule will stay at the school. While it never did fly in space -- more likely it flew unmanned in drop tests, or was used in a wind tunnel to determine aerodynamics -- that doesn't matter to the students, past and present, who enjoy playing and dreaming aboard this piece of space history.

FMI: www.boeing.com/history/mdc/gemini.htm