Where were you?

[duccarlos]

I was also sick at home 4th grade. I was watching it live and I remember going to my mom and telling her the shuttle had just exploded. She thought I was telling her that it had launched. I remember that the announcer did not quite understand what was happening. Then it was just silence.

[fastwin]

Having a hamburger for lunch at Chilli's with the mechanic that worked for our trucking company.

I also remember the bang in the sky when the space shuttle Columbia exploded over Texas. I was at my girlfriend's house (now wife) and she asked me what was that noise? At the time we had no idea. We had a birthday party for her son at a little kid's gym later that morning and were shocked to see all the coverage on the TVs at the gym. I'll never forget the sound of that explosion and what it meant.

[IZ]

Science class in 9th or 10th grade. We were watching live when it happened.

[dolci]

Was in a department store (playing hooky from work) and passed by the electronics section; everyone was standing there watching and then silence

[Slide Panda]

I was in the 3rd grade.  We watched the launch on TV.

I remember the explosion but I don't think I really understood what was happening.

Almost the same here. They had brought in a TV to our class room as a special thing to watch it live. The whole class was watching.

[Monster Dave]

They say that every generation experiences at least one major event which they will always remember where they were, what they were doing, etc...

This was certainly the first for me.

[fastwin]

Yep, you're right. I was in elementary school here in Dallas when JFK was shot. Remember it like it was yesterday. 9/11 too. Some things are burned into your memory. Some good, some not so good.

[DucMouse the Mighty]

I was 3 years old

[sbrguy]

was in science class in 7th grade, i think we were watching it on tv and when it happened it was more like "ok something went wrong, or did it? maybe that was just the rocket part shooting off".  nobody in the class was freaked out by it, the teacher was more than anyone else.

sad to say this wasn't as much of a "where were you" moment for me or my classmates at the time. 

I would say the where were you moment was more the Fall of the Berlin wall, since that was the end of the soviet union as we knew it, and at the time the cold war was still on, so that was more of a dramatic thing, not having to worry about WW3 the next day possibly.

[The Bacon Junkie]

I was in 7th grade as well.  I was right after lunch. Between lunch and 5th period, I had to go to the nurse's office everyday to take my "Chill Pill." (ADHD... Gee, ya think?!)

The rest of the class had been watching it live, and when I walked into class Elizabeth Slossberg told me that the shuttle had blown up.  I just blew her off with, "Yeah, whatever Lizard Breath..."  Usually she would call me some innapropriate name right back, so I knew she was serious when she just looked at me and said, "No, really.  Look."

Watching the reply over and over, I still couldn't wrap my head around what had just happened. 

[the_Journeyman]

My 5th/6th grade combination class had gathered in the Library to watch the challenger launch.  It didn't really "stick" at the time what had really happened.

JM

[Speedbag]

I would say the where were you moment was more the Fall of the Berlin wall, since that was the end of the soviet union as we knew it, and at the time the cold war was still on, so that was more of a dramatic thing, not having to worry about WW3 the next day possibly.

That too. 

[the_Journeyman]

I would say the where were you moment was more the Fall of the Berlin wall, since that was the end of the soviet union as we knew it, and at the time the cold war was still on, so that was more of a dramatic thing, not having to worry about WW3 the next day possibly.

I remember watching on TV the people beating the hell out of it with sledge hammers and the subsequent selling of pieces of it!

JM

[MendoDave]

Sophmore in social studies class. We watched shuttle going up live, and then I thought to myself, wait that's not supposed to happen is it?

Indeed it was not.

I remember after the explosion that nobody said anything for several seconds.

[Randimus Maximus]

I believe I was in drafting class in 9th grade or so when it happened.

I remember Columbia too.  Saw it on a TV in a store in Vail as I was headed to the slopes.