5th - 8th Grade School Programs
A Challenger Learning Center simulated space mission is the opportunity for your students to apply classroom science and mathematics concepts in the context of a space mission.
| The Mission Teams |
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| You can assign each of your students to one of eight teams (Communication, Data, Navigation, Probe, Remote, Isolation, Medical, and Life Support), according to their strengths and interests. Each team highlights a different area of science, mathematics, or communication. | |
| Teacher Professional Development |
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| If you plan to bring your class to the CLC, you must attend a CLC professional development workshop. At the professional development workshop, you will participate in a simulated space mission and then receive the curriculum materials that you will need to prepare your students for a CLC mission. | |
| Classroom Preparation |
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| After attending a professional development workshop, you will spend approximately 4-6 weeks using the CLC-provided curriculum in your classroom. NOTE: This Challenger Learning Center curriculum is not 4-6 weeks of extra material. The curriculum is aligned with over 70 Illinois Learning Standards in Science, Mathematics, Language Arts, Social Studies, and Technology. | |
| The Mission at a Glance |
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| When the students come to the Challenger Learning Center, they start their mission out in the CLC Briefing Room. After a short pre-brief session, half of the students will go to Mission Control while the other half launch to the Space Station. After about 45 minutes, the entire crew will return to the Briefing Room for a mid-brief session before switching places (students from Mission Control launch to the Space Station and students from the Space Station go to Mission Control). The whole mission lasts approximately 2 hours, 45 minutes. | |
| 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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