Hutchinson ? Visitors to the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center huddled around a television Saturday watching footage of space shuttle Columbia break apart over Texas.

In another part of the Hutchinson space museum, a group attending a camp for adults sat in stunned silence as an instructor discussed the dangers posed when a shuttle re-enters the earth’s atmosphere. Shuttle simulations and other activities were delayed while the group spent about two hours asking questions about the shuttle’s history and what might have happened.

Outside the Cosmosphere, a troop of Boy Scouts from Harrisonville, Mo., watched as the space center’s flag was lowered to half staff. The troop leaders decided to continue with the field trip after learning of the disaster while they were driving to Hutchinson.

“I think it became a trip that will have more significance in the future,” said Charles Hight, 64, of Harrisonville, one of the leaders of the troop.

The Cosmosphere is home to one of the more significant collections of American and Russian space artifacts in the world.

The stars of the collection — the Apollo 13 space module and Liberty Bell 7 — returned to the museum Saturday morning after touring the country.

The day was difficult for the museum’s staff. The center organizes several trips each year with youth and adult campers to Johnson Space Center in Houston. Some Cosmosphere staff members have gone on to work for NASA.