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In the spring of 1996, former Hazard High School Home Economics teacher Alice
Noble visited a Challenger Learning Center in Brownsburg, Indiana, just outside
of Indianapolis. She immediately knew that the progressive leaders in her
hometown would love the Challenger Learning Center concept to get kids excited
about learning science, mathematics, and technology and would jump at the
opportunity to locate one in Hazard. She was right! By September of 1996,
Hazard, Kentucky was the first rural site ever to be approved by the Challenger
Center for Space Science Education for a Challenger Learning Center. The
Challenger Center for Space Science Education was created in response to the
grief and tragedy of the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion in which seven
Americans lost their lives, including Christa McAuliffe, who was to be the
first "teacher in space". The Challenger Crew had set out on a
mission to broaden educational horizons and promote the advancement of
scientific knowledge. So, the family members of these astronauts decided to do
something positive that would continue their mission. They resolved to create a
living memorial to the Challenger crew-the world’s first interactive space
science education center where teachers and their students could use
state-of-the-art technology and space-life simulators to explore space
themselves. The first Challenger Learning Center opened a few months later in
Houston, Texas. Since then, approximately 50 other Challenger Learning Centers
have opened across the United States, Canada, and England. The Challenger
Learning Center of Kentucky in Hazard opened in 1999 and was the 34th Center in
operation. Challenger Learning Centers use space exploration as a tool to
excite and inspire students to learn science, mathematics, and technology. They
become participants in a NASA team of scientists, engineers and technicians,
all critical components of completing a successful space mission. A one-day
teacher professional development session and a 5-6 week "mission
prep" classroom component, which is aligned with KY and National science
and mathematics standards, are key to a successful mission. The culminating
event occurs when the students visit the Challenger Learning Center where they
apply the skills they have learned in the classroom in either our "Mission
Control" simulator or in our "Space Station simulator. These
simulators look and feel like NASA machinery and are equipped with research
computers, robots, remote glove boxes, NASA star charts, video cameras and
monitors. Student astronauts and mission controllers have to communicate and
work together as a team to successfully complete their 2.5-hour mission.
Challenger Learning Centers goals are:
- To increase student interest in and enthusiasm for the sciences,
mathematics, and technology;
- To improve students’ knowledge and problem-solving skills in these
fields; and
- To teach students to work in teams and think critically.
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