Inspire and Motivate: “Best School Field Trip” – Colorado Springs Gazette
Are you looking for new ways to encourage academic achievement and inspire vision in your students? Using the intrigue and excitement of space exploration, the Challenger Learning Center of Colorado (CLCC) makes inspiration happen. Engaging sequences of grade-level activities and space mission simulations are specially designed to build upon and complement one another. These unique K-12 learning experiences help students build their confidence and develop a richer under- standing of the diverse skills necessary for success in tomorrow’s academic and professional world. And they have a blast while they learn!
If failure is not an option for your students, help them discover what it takes to have the “right stuff.” Help them reach for the stars and be as successful as they can be. Call CLCC to schedule a paradigm-shifting, life-changing mission for your students.
Learning Launched by Outstanding Content
Space, the compelling “final frontier,” is the setting for educational enrichment and excellence through age-appropriate on-site and distance-delivered interactive programs aligned with national and state STEM education standards and promoting educational excellence.
Educator Training: With a full day on-site of training and up to six weeks of classroom resource materials and lesson plans, teachers for on-site simulations are ready to prepare their students for their missions. Teachers for distance-delivered “e-Mission” scenarios receive their training and relevant materials online via interactive, synchronous, two-way audio and video broadband.
Integrated Learning: Students become crews of astronauts and mission controllers as the learning becomes “real-world” in exciting simulated space adventures that integrate the application of a broad spectrum of subject matter curricula, including:
* Science and Mathematics
* Communication and Technology
* Geography and Art
What seem to be routine simulator missions of exploration are sprinkled with surprises and emergencies, giving crew members thrilling opportunities for teamwork and problem-solving.
High School Missions: To Planets and to the Rescue!
Critical thinking, listening, leadership, technical issues and workplace skills are vital elements as high school students prepare for the future. Simulated space missions engage students’ curiosity and spirit of exploration as well as their academic and career interests.
Students work together to solve tough problems in a real-world environment while experiencing 100% engagement and 100% participation. This foundation provides an excellent opportunity for educators and students to dialog about successes and struggles in the workplace as well as potential career placement in high-tech scientific fields such as aerospace, energy, communication and medicine.
Two high school mission simulations are available, one in CLCC simulators and one delivered online over broadband from “Mission Control.”
These scenarios are:
Voyage to Mars (Grade 8 and up, on-site): In 2076 the latest human crew enters Martian orbit, arriving on a transport vehicle from Earth. The new crew is specially trained to continue explorations of Mars’ two moons while overcoming emergencies and environmental variables.
Space Station Alpha (Grade 9 and up, distance-delivered): Applying the physics, biology and chemistry of solar radiation, students protect the International Space Station from the dangers of a major solar flare eruption. Two elective physics credits are available through University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS).
Middle School Missions: Earth and Space Science
Middle school is a critical age for engaging students in studies related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Challenger programs will launch their love for learning through missions tailored to their cognitive levels, skills and interests.
With all programs aligned to national and Colorado State education standards, this is a great way to promote CSAP skills in reading, math, science and geography! Students engage in technology applications, experimentation, data collection and analysis, critical thinking and problem solving. And they must work collaboratively to identify and solve crises.
Every student has a critical job to do—no time for daydreaming. With every student engaged and on-task, middle school learners at all levels and abilities get a glance into their futures, reasons to continue in school and a purpose for learning.
In on-site simulators or over broadband Internet from “Mission Control,” three middle school programs are ready for launch, including:
Rendezvous with a Comet (Grade 6 and up, on-site): Scientists and engineers take on a daring exploration of comets, plotting a rendezvous course, launching a probe, collecting scientific data and surviving surprises and emergencies.
Operation Montserrat (Grade 6 and up, distance-delivered): Earth science experts use computers, the Internet and satellite imaging to determine how a simultaneous hurricane and volcanic eruption will impact the environment and the safety of the inhabitants of a small Caribbean island.
Voyage to Mars (Grade 8 and up, on-site): It’s 2076. The latest human crew arrives on a transport vehicle from Earth and enters Martian orbit. The new crew is specially trained to continue explorations of Mars’ two moons while overcoming emergencies and environmental variables.
Elementary Programs: Hands-On Learning
More than introducing students to our solar system and to basic science concepts, these programs develop listening skills and a love for learning.
In programs aligned to national and Colorado State education standards and building basic science and math skills, students work in small groups of six or fewer so that every child enjoys the opportunity to learn while using all senses. Elementary students have a blast in this series of programs that build progressively!
K-3 learning center opportunities include:
Gemini Adventure (Kindergarten, on-site stations): discoveries about day and night, the Sun, the Moon and its phases.
Voyager I (Grade 1, on-site stations): various hands-on discoveries as well as calculations expanding understanding of the Solar System.
Voyager II (Grade 2, on-site stations): “right stuff” astronaut exercises, the propulsion of flight and math wizardry.
Voyager III (Grade 3, on-site stations): states of matter, carbon dioxide testing, 3-D constellation models, pixels, distant objects.
Grades 3 and up “fly” on-site and distance-delivered space adventures, such as:
Moon, Mars and Beyond (Grades 3–5, distance-delivered simulation): A research vessel exploring the outer regions of our solar system may be lost. A rescue ship is being launched from the Lunar Base. Students in Mars Control must determine the amount of cargo required, locate the missing astronauts, and safely return all crews to Mars.
Return to the Moon (Grade 4 and up, on-site simulation): The year is 2025. For the first time since the final Apollo mission in 1972, humanity returns to the Moon. The crew has come to establish a permanent lunar base that will be used for making cosmic observations, studying the feasibility of developing a self-sustaining off-planet settlement, and creating a stepping stone for human planetary exploration.
Satellite Tool Kit for Your Classroom
Have you admired the AGI Satellite Tool Kit (STK) that we use in our onsite simulator missions to show the paths of objects traveling through space? Would you like to have that capability at your school, in your classroom? You may be able to get your own copy -- for free! Click on the AGI logo below.
