5th - 8th Grade School Programs
Choose between sending your students on a mission to RENDEZVOUS WITH A COMET or a VOYAGE TO MARS! After a short pre-mission briefing, students will take their places in the simulators to assume control of an exciting mission:
| 1. Mission Control |
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| In Mission Control, students will take charge of their space mission when they become the flight control technicians responsible for guiding the astronauts through their mission. | |
| 2. Space Station |
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| In the Space Station, students become astronauts responsible for navigating through space, conducting experiments, monitoring crew health and safety, and building a probe to launch into space. | |
| 3. Crew Exchange |
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| Halfway through the mission, students will switch places, so that each participant has the chance to experience BOTH Mission Control and the Space Station. | |
| Teacher Professional Development |
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| Professional development workshops will equip classroom teachers with knowledge, skills, and resources necessary to prepare students for a CLC Space Mission. | |
| High-Quality Curriculum Materials |
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| Aligned with Illinois Learning Standards, the CLC hands-on curriculum provides lessons for a 4-6 week integrated curriculum. The CLC curriculum helps to satisfy over 60 Illinois Learning Standards in science, mathematics, language arts, & social studies. | |
| Simulated Space Mission |
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| The mission is the culminating activity and assessment tool for the Challenger Learning Center educational experience. | |
| Package Options |
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| Package Options are a way for you to extend your educational experience by visiting the Prairie Aviation Museum and the Illinois State University Planetarium. | |
| Educational Benefits | |
| • In addition to satisfying over 70 Illinois Learning Standards, the Challenger Learning Center experience provides your students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills:Problem solvingCommunicationTechnologeTeamworkInterdisciplinary connections
• Help teachers become better educators by prompting them to use teaching strategies consistent with the National Science Education Standards, thereby moving teacher-centered instruction to student-centered instruction • Provide professional development opportunities for teachers to give them the confidence and competence to facilitate science and mathematics learning for today’s technology-driven world • Furnish teaching resources that are interactive and interdisciplinary as well as offer programs that are scientifically accurate, fun, and inspiring • Present opportunities for the development of community-based learning that includes teachers, students, and parents • Raises public awareness of the importance of and need for a scientifically literate populace |
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