The magnet school, at 33rd Street and Washington Boulevard, has a distinctive design, with the front end of a life-size space shuttle, named Phoenix, jutting out over the front doors. Students in kindergarten through sixth grade are eligible to enroll.

Inside, the ground floor looks and feels like a typical elementary school (though the main hallway twists through the building much like the Milky Way). But upstairs is home to Astro Camp, complete with the rest of the shuttle, which holds the payload of a satellite, a space station simulator, a Newton chair and bunks for Astro Campers.

While the Astro Camp is funded separately, it's that aspect of the school that gets 11-year-old Joana Robles excited to start sixth grade at the school, which will focus on math, science and literacy.

"I love math, and I want to be an astronaut," said Robles, who has been to Astro Camp since kindergarten.

Fellow incoming sixth-grader Nicolas Ortega is excited to delve into the science-emphasized curriculum.

"I loved using chemicals and experimenting with lots of stuff in fifth grade," he said. "This school is going to be awesome."

The two students, along with former Utah Sen. Jake Garn, christened the school by breaking bottles filled with confetti on the nose of the shuttle.

"I am so jealous of young people and the things they can accomplish if they're educated," Garn said. "I'd like to be five again and do all of the amazing things they'll do."

He called the school "a great asset" not only for the students in Ogden but for students throughout the state.

Garn, who orbited the earth for a week in April of 1985, flew only eight months before Challenger, and he knew teacher Christa McAuliffe and the rest of the crew that died in the shuttle's explosion.

He said he was "so excited" to see another teacher, Barbara Morgan, make her way into space aboard the shuttle Endeavour.

"She will be a great value when she returns because of the practical experience," he said. "She will be able to give a lot when she gets back."

For now, Ogden Superintendent Noel Zabriskie is excited for Odyssey principal Charlotte Parry and her faculty to start giving to students.

"This is a dream for many people," he said. "An out-of-this-world dream."

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* SHEENA MCFARLAND can be contacted at smcfarland @sltrib.com or 801-257-8619.