This lapel pin represents the International Space Station. It is a souvenir of a major space program being developed at the time of Magellan T. Bear's 1995 flight on the space shuttle. The teddy bear flew into space and made other journeys as part of an ambitious elementary school educational project to stimulate interest in geography, science, and social studies.
Magellan T. Bear became the first official teddy bear in space, flying as the "education specialist" aboard Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-63 mission in February 1995. Students and faculty of Elk Creek Elementary School in Pine, Colorado, worked with NASA and Spacehab to have the teddy bear certified for spaceflight. The school also arranged for the bear to fly around the world, visit the South Pole, fly on United Airlines' first Boeing 777 flight, and attend U.S. Space Camp.
Magellan T. Bear was presented to the National Air and Space Museum in May 1998 by librarian Penny Wiedeke and principal Jerry Williams.
