Christa McAuliffe & the Challenger Learning Centers

As a teacher, it's often difficult to impress a hardcore, too-cool-to-care, middle school student. If you're lucky enough to live near Kalamazoo, Michigan, you have the perfect opportunity not only to impress them, but also to help celebrate the life and work of the teacher/astronaut, Christa McAullife as well as the 6 other astronauts who lost their lives during the 1986 Challenger Space Shuttle Mission.

Kalamazoo is one of 47 cities in the US, Canada, and even South Korea to have a Challenger Learning Center. The creation of these Centers was a direct result of the tragedy that occurred 25 years ago on January 28th. Money donated to the families of the 7 astronauts was used to develop this educational simulation program, dedicated to encouraging students to continue the mission of exploration and discovery started by the crew of the Challenger.

Before attending a Challenger Learning Center, each of your students completes a job application and is assigned to a team on the crew. Using materials supplied to you as the mission facilitator, you train your teams. The real magic occurs when you and your students first enter the Challenger Learning Center. In the space of a few minutes, you see the transformation from student to astronaut begin. Your astronauts are briefed before the mission starts by the Mission Commander and the Flight Director. From then on, the mission is theirs. Each team has a specific task to complete and the success of the mission depends on their ability to work together.

The entire experience is a dream come true from an educator's perspective because the simulation is so real. The facilities are a re-creation not only of a space station, but also of mission control and state-of-the-art in terms of technology. The tasks assigned to the teams are based on educational goals and objectives for science, social studies, math and the materials given to you are well organized, easy to implement and fun.

Go to www.Challenger.org to learn more or to locate the center nearest you. Challenger Learning Centers provide the perfect opportunity for middle school students to explore, cooperate, discover, learn and have fun all at the same time. It gives them a very real sense of exactly who Christa McAuliffe and her fellow astronauts were and why they were so passionate about their work. If only every lesson was as easy to deliver.