October 6, 2009 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For more information:
Lynn Setzer, lsetzer@jeffco.k12.co.us, Jeffco Public Schools, 303-982-6810
Gary Napier, gary.p.napier@lmco.com, Lockheed Martin, 303-971-4012

SOLAR SYSTEM TOUR LAUNCHES

It’s taken billions of years to create the real thing but only a few years to replicate it.  Students at Jeffco’s Windy Peak and Mount Evans Outdoor Education Laboratory Schools (OELS) will now be able to take a walking tour of the solar system with the help of rocket scientists and engineers from Lockheed Martin.  At more than a half-mile long, the two outdoor education walking tours have been designed to help students visualize and understand the scale and planetary relationships of the solar system. 

Officials from both Lockheed Martin and Jeffco Public Schools and approximately 100 students from Mitchell Elementary and Pleasant View Elementary Schools will be at a dedication ceremony for the new facilities on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 12:15 p.m. at Mt. Evans Outdoor Lab School, 201 Evans Ranch Rd., Evergreen. Following the dedication, students will lead tours of the solar system walk.

Lockheed Martin engineers have spent hundreds of hours designing, building and installing the planet walk kiosks at both the Mt. Evans and Windy Peak sites. 

The display kiosks provide information on the planets and solar system bodies and were engineered to withstand the elements because both schools are located in high altitude areas with year-round use.  Every sixth grade student in Jeffco has the opportunity to spend a week at one of the Outdoor Lab schools.

                                                                               
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