SPECIAL NASA GRANT FOR 4th GRADE e-MISSIONS
Challenger Reach 2 U Program
Imagine a class of students embarking on an exciting simulated space mission without ever leaving the school!
The Challenger Learning Center of Colorado (CLCC) is partnering with NASA to reach fourth-grade students from underserved communities throughout southwest Colorado and northwestern New Mexico, including primarily rural, lower socio-economic status, Hispanic and Native American districts.
This Internet-based educational program allows students to participate in Challenger-style hands-on, exciting simulated space missions and provides educators with the support they need to add creative, career-focused lessons and activities to their classrooms. (Traveling mission technology kits can be available for loan to districts that do not have the necessary technology requirements.)
How to participate--Participating school districts must be located in Southern Colorado or Northern New Mexico and must be predominantly historically underserved, low socio-economic status or Native American. Participating classes must be 4th grade or 3rd-4th or 4th-5th combinations. Please click here for more information. Program and related questions may be directed to our Registrar, Christa Penn, at 719-598-9755 or CPenn@clccs.org. However, actual program requests and registration will be handled through our online system.
It’s free!--Challenger Reach 2 U is free to eligible school districts! NASA and the Challenger Learning Center of Colorado are covering the costs.
What are e-Missions?
e-Missions are simulated, problem-based, learning adventures delivered right into the classroom via distance learning technology. They are student-centered, team-based, interactive educational experiences that use scientifically accurate data to solve problems. Classes assemble as emergency response teams and then connect via technology to the Flight Director at Mission Control. With the use of the internet and video conferencing equipment, these live scenarios are conducted in your classroom by a Flight Director at Mission Control from the Challenger Learning Center at the Challenger Learning Center of Colorado. Teams work together with Mission Control to handle the problem situation as the scenario unfolds. Every few minutes, new data is received in the classroom and teams perform calculations, create graphs, and assess the updated situation. The teams then make recommendations to Mission Control based on their analyses.
e-Missions are great tools to motivate students to learn math and science while meeting standards and objectives in the classroom. On mission day, classrooms turn into hubs of activity as students use team work, communication, and problem solving skills to avoid disasters and save lives. Research indicates that this kind of fast-paced, engaged learning environment leads to improved critical-thinking skills and helps create life-long learners.
The Moon, Mars and Beyond Experience
Students in Mars Mission Control (their school’s classroom or computer lab) are anxiously awaiting the arrival of a space ship that is launching from the lunar base. The space ship is on a rescue mission. It has been five days since a research vessel exploring the outer regions of our solar system checked in with the Mars base. They are thought to be lost or having communication problems. The rescue ship just launched from the Moon will hopefully bring the two-astronaut crew back to the Mars station safely. The rescue ship will have to stop at the Mars base to pick up the supplies needed for the rescue of the astronauts and for the trip back to Mars.
They are divided into three teams to work more efficiently on the rescue: navigation, transmission, and cargo. The navigation team is responsible for understanding, plotting, and interpreting coordinates on a grid. The transmission team is responsible for receiving and decoding “garbled” messages from the lost ship. The cargo team must perform complex multi-step mathematics motivated by graphical data to ensure the rescue ship has the right amounts of oxygen, water, and food to save the lost ship once it is found.
Would you like to see an e-Mission in action? You can see a TV news video clip of an actual Moon, Mars, and Beyond mission at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKQEYO8Bcj0.
Educator Resources
Mission materials for Moon, Mars and Beyond:
Teacher Instructions
Teacher's Checklist
Classroom Setup
Technology Setup
Student Mission Overview
Lesson Plan Overview
NASA Websites
NASA’s general Website for educators: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/index.html
NASA's learning technologies Website: http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/ltp/home/index.html
Digital Learning Network -- To request live interactive educational Expeditions, Design Challenges, and virtual visits by NASA employees through videoconference, call 281-244-7325 or visit http://dln.nasa.gov.
Teaching From Space – Incorporate unique STEM experiences in the classroom through a variety of NASA mission-related activities, including Space Station downlinks, Earth geology images from the ISS and ARISS (Amateur Radio on the ISS): www.nasa.gov/education/tfs.
EarthKAM – A program that provides stunning, high quality photographs of our planet taken from the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. Students have taken thousands of photographs of Earth by using the internet to direct a digital camera on selected shuttle flights and currently on the International Space Station. See http://www.earthkam.ucsd.edu/.
Starchild – Site for K-8 students with information on the solar system and space travel. Information, games and activities are found at http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov.
Spacesuits and Spacewalks – Learn space history and explore the interactive “clickable” suit at http://www.nasa.gov./education/spacesuits.
NASA Role Model for Students
You can introduce your students to someone who has actually worked for NASA. Click here for a brief bio on Joe Fuller, Founder and President of Futron Corporation. Perhaps Mr. Fuller's story may inspire some of your students to STEM careers.
Who's Already Participated In Challenger Reach 2 U?
| SCHOOL |
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SCHOOL DISTRICT |
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Aguilar ES
Bernalillo ES
Custer County ES
Edison ES
Gallina ES
LaVeta ES
Manzanola ES
Odyssey ES
Pleasant View ES
Pojoaque Valley Intermediate School
Roosevelt Edison Charter School
Sierra Grande School
Talbott ES
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Aguilar RE-6
Bernalillo Public Schools
Custer C-1
Edison SD 54JT
Jemez Mtn
LaVeta Dist.RE-2
Manzanola SD 3J
D49
Cortez RE-1
Pojoaque Valley SD
D11
Sierra Grande
D3
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(Note: This web page is based upon work supported by NASA under Grant Number NNX10AD92G. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of CCESSE and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.)