Purpose

The primary goal of the Challenger Learning Center of San Antonio (CLC SA) is to inspire enthusiasm for math, science, and technology among all ages, particulary 6th to 8th grade students, by experiencing an interactive space flight simulation.

Background

The Brooks Aerospace Foundation, established for the sole purpose of bringing a Challenger Learning Center to San Antonio, raised over $1.2 million to renovate and equip the current facility. The Center is one of four located in Texas. The other three are located in the Houston area (2) and one in San Benito. The facility is one of more than 45 Challenger Learning Centers in the United States, and the first to be located on an active miltary installation. Since opening in September of 2000, the CLC SA has given over 70,000 students from schools throughout the San Antonio area the chance to see themselves as scientists, engineers, and astronauts.


Methodology

The Challenger Learning Center of San Antonio program is active, not passive. It is a hands-on and minds-on experience. Once students pass through the portal of the CLC SA, they encounter an interactive computerized simulator with a Mission Control patterned after the NASA Johnson Space Center, and an orbiting Space Station. As students participate in a CLC SA program, they use the study of science as a spring board to understanding essential life skills such as teamwork, communications, and decision-making. The CLC SA mission scenario meets or exceeds National Science Education Standards and has an 85% or higher correlation with TEKS.
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