Youngsters line the chain-link fence at Woodsboro Elementary chanting, “Blow it up, blow it up.” Their excitement is contagious.

The community and board members, teachers and school administrators watch in awe as a massive amount of air is pumped by fans into a gargantuan, heavy-duty, blue balloon that slowly inflates.

As onlookers and television news crews look on, the school’s new multi-purpose structure suddenly resembles what everyone came to see – Woodsboro’s own super-dome.

“This is just great,” said Coach Brad Vickers, athletic director. “This facility is something the students and community can be real proud of.”

Superintendent Steven Self said the cinder-block walls are ready to be sprayed with a special sealant to seal any cracks and then another mixture of Styrofoam and concrete will be sprayed onto the inflated ceiling. The dome will be so strong, it can bear a ton of weight every four feet and withstand winds of up to 300 miles per hour.

“The ceiling will be painted black and it will virtually disappear,” Self said. “You won’t even know it’s a dome. It will look like you’re sitting outdoors.”

Before the project got underway, the superintendent traveled to Italy, Texas, to see a monolithic dome which was purported to be the strongest and most efficient building currently engineered.

“We were looking to build an air-conditioned gymnasium but the problem was, if we built it, the district couldn’t afford to run it,” Self said.

The superintendent went in the middle of the hot summer, the air conditioning was turned off, but “the building was cool,” he said. “It was like being in a Styrofoam cooler.”

School board member Henry Fierova traveled to Oklahoma to see another one. The board was quickly sold by the building’s efficiency. The Oklahoma dome, which is twice the size of Woodsboro’s, costs $500 to $600 per month to heat and cool, so the superintendent is convinced the heating and cooling costs will be even less.

“The best salesmen were the other superintendents,” Self said.

Barring any surprises, the dome will be ready for use well before the end of the school year, and the 2011 graduating seniors may have a cool, indoor place for graduation.