NH Space Camp Scholarships In Memory Of Local Boy

CONCORD, NH — A group of New Hampshire students will be selected to attend space camp this year as part of a scholarship program in memory of an 8-year-old Bedford boy. Alex Higgins, who dreamed of becoming an astronaut, died in an accident at his home in 1998. His legacy has lived on with the Alex Higgins Memorial Space Camp Scholarship, which his family established in 2001.

Since then, 56 New Hampshire students have been selected for the scholarship, which helps pay for space camp at the U.S. Space and Rocketry Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Three students will be selected this year.

"The program offers a potentially life-changing opportunity for young Granite Staters," officials with the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, which organizes the scholarship program, said in a statement.

The scholarships are open to New Hampshire residents age 9 to 18 and they cover tuition and room and board. Transportation is not covered.

Applications can be found here. The winners will be notified April 5 and honored at Aerospacefest at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center May 4.

Photo: Alex Higgins. (Credit: McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center)