Educator Professional Development Workshop

At least four weeks prior to a class's scheduled mission date, the primary educator will attend a certified professional development workshop. At this workshop, the educator will run a simulated space mission and will be provided with the necessary classroom preparation curriculum.

The Challenger Learning Center of Southeastern Connecticut is currently raising fund for construction of a facility. Upon completion of the building all of the services included in this site will be offered.
A Challenger Learning Center school mission is the culmination of four to six weeks of intense classroom preparation. Through the Challenger Learning Center experience, students will develop leadership, communication, problem-solving and critical thinking skills while supporting state and national standards of improving science, math and technology education.

Pre-Mission Activities
Students will spend four to six weeks in of classroom time preparing for their mission using the provided CLC curriculum. The curriculum, developed by teachers and for teachers, features ready-to-use classroom lessons and activities. This curriculum is aligned with the national science and math Standards and helps to satisfy over 60 Illinois Learning Standards in science, mathematics, language arts and social studies.

The Mission
After a briefing session, students will be split into two groups. Half will work as astronauts in the Space Station simulator while the others work as support crew in the Mission Control simulator. Midway through the mission, students will switch places so that everyone experiences both environments.

Post-Mission Activities
Upon returning to the classroom, students will spend an additional one to two weeks analyzing mission data, drawing conclusions and reflecting upon the experience. Classes may extend the CLC experience by visiting a planetarium, observatory or aviation museum in their home area.