SCHOOL AND GROUP PROGRAMS
Hi! Please check back frequently or stay up to date with our Facebook Page, as our team is continuously developing new virtual, state, and local Challenger programs to further assist teachers, parents, and homeschoolers in teaching STEM.
For details feel free to call us! 907-283-2000
Sponsored by Marathon Petroleum
2022-23 Marathon Petroleum is Sponsoring 25 In-house Missions for 5th and 6th grade classes in the KPBSD. Look under our In-House Simulated Missions Tab to see programs.
Download Scholarship Request Form HERE
Imagination + Education = Innovation
The Challenger Learning Center of Alaska is a vital and valuable educational resource for our state and is recognized as a strong component of our state educational system. Our center provides a highly successful on-site and distance learning environment unlike any other in Alaska. We inspire students to study science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through a medium of space and earth sciences education. Students are encouraged to pursue higher educational goals and opportunities that will better prepare them for success in a global 21st-century workplace. This highly developed and technologically advanced facility provides educational opportunities tailor-made to the geographical diversity of our state while meeting the statewide academic standards.
“My class had a great time with the Challenger Center staff during our Bionics and Solar System 1 day virtual workshops! Madi, our instructor was knowledgeable and fun, and the curricular content was just the right amount of interest and challenge for my 4-6 grade learners. The lab kits that went with the programs were engaging and my students were amazed at their creations. A trip to the Challenger Center of Alaska is sure to be educational, interactive, and fun!”
-Jason Daniels, K-Beach Elementary, Kenai AK
Programs
Select from the tab menu below of program options best suited for teachers’ classes or groups, such as scouts, parties, or corporate teams. Challenger strives to deliver many of your educational needs, so if you don’t see what you need, please contact us to see what we can build. If you are out of town, we also have dorms and a kitchen for rent!
If you are a parent looking for extracurricular activities for your child or you homeschool, check our open enrollment programs for individual students.
Pick a Program to see details:
In-House Workshops
Limited to 32 students per workshop. Workshops are 2 1/2 hours.
All workshops can be set up to be performed on location, at your school, or facility. Inquire for additional costs.
Each workshop is $525/class
Stability & Navigation Engineering
Stability & Navigation Alaska State, NGSS, and Common Core Standards Alignment
Geared toward 6th-8th graders
Students will explore vessels that travel by air, land, and water and brainstorm the properties that allow these vessels to move. Students will be introduced to a series of challenges that will test and grow their knowledge of mathematics, scientific explanations, and engineering designs. Finally, students will build, test, and revise their prototype models according to their own calculations and creativity. This workshop is designed for maximum flexibility from one grade to the next!
NanoTechnology in Space
Geared toward 5th graders and up
During this workshop, your students will learn what the big deal is about nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is technology at the nano-scale – one BILLIONTH of a meter! This field of science is exploding with new opportunities and applications in nearly every field of science. Through hands-on exploration, students learn about size and scale, risks and benefits of technology, forms of carbon, and changing chemical and physical properties.
Climate Change
Climate Change Alaska State, NGSS, and Common Core Standards Alignment
Geared toward 5th graders and up
In this workshop, your students will use scientific data to explore signs that changes are occurring in our climate. Students will explore climate change by defining climate, weather, and what change means. Using the iGlobe, students will explore changes in sea ice extent and migration patterns of Alaskan animals. Radiation experiments, mystery surfaces, trans-Neptunian objects, and satellite images of Alaska will provide opportunities for students to investigate climate phenomena.
Thermal Engineering
Thermal Engineering Alaska State, NGSS, and Common Core Standards
Geared toward 4th graders and up
Your students will be immersed in the engineering design process to develop a thermal protection system for a model spacecraft. Students will design, build, test, and revise their own solutions to problems that share fundamental science and engineering issues with the challenges facing NASA engineers. These activities are designed to achieve national standards in science, math, and critical thinking skills; while exploring heat, heat transfer, and engineering principles.
Ice Cream Matters
Geared toward K-2nd grade, but all ages enjoy!
Students will explore matter and investigate three of its fundamental states: liquids, solids, and gases, and their properties. Using what they have learned, students will then design, mix, test, and revise their own ice cream creations that share fundamental science and states of matter that food scientists experience. (In the event a child has a dairy allergy, the teacher/parent is responsible for providing alternative supplies.)
Astronomy
Astronomy Alaska State, NGSS, and Common Core Standards Alignment
Geared toward K-8th grade
Students will explore the Milky Way and its constellations, as well as a brief history of Roman and Greek mythology pertaining to these constellations. Your students will explore both the diversity and vastness of the cosmos in this workshop; from topics of “close proximity” such as the Aurora Borealis and celestial bodies of our Solar System, to stars and galaxies that are thousands to billions of light-years away. The Astronomy workshop includes an informative presentation, and a team-based team-teaching student activity. For another hour you can add an optional StarLab planetarium presentation.
StarLab Planetarium (1 hour), Often added onto Astronomy
StarLab Alaska State, NGSS, and Common Core Standards Alignment
Stand-alone workshop $315, When added to another workshop $160
Geared toward K-8th grade
Portable planetarium dome that lets students experience the night sky in a unique format. Students explore the Milky Way Galaxy, our solar system, constellations (Greek, & H. A. Rey formats), and the Alaska-based starfield.
Light and Energy
Light & Energy Alaska State, NGSS, and Common Core Standards Alignment
Geared toward 4th – 8th grade
Students learn what light is, where it comes from, and how spectroscopes help scientists study the universe. Your students will learn about light and how it relates to energy, waves, composition of matter, and temperature. Each student will construct their own spectroscope and test it on various light sources. They will learn how astronomers determine what makes up a star, a comet, and other astronomical phenomena when we can’t touch it but can see the light it emits. The students will discuss waves and how waves travel, using a jump rope as a model.
Living in Space
Living in Space Alaska State, NGSS, and Common Core Standards Alignment
Geared toward 2nd-8th grade
How does life change when living in space? That is the fundamental question students study during this workshop. Students learn about the living conditions of astronauts, and what effects Microgravity has on the human body…sleep, exercise, time, spatial orientation, nutrition, and more!
Rocketry
Rocketry Alaska State, NGSS, and Common Core Standards
Geared toward 2nd-8th grade
Students will learn the history, development, and mechanics behind rockets! Students will observe Newton’s Three Laws of Motion in action. Students will use these laws as they work in small groups to build a balloon rocket. They will demonstrate a basic understanding of the laws by experimenting with lifting a payload. Additionally, they build and launch paper rockets from our air-powered PVC Rocket LaunchPad.
Simple Machines
Simple Machines Alaska State, NGSS, and Common Core Standards Alignment
Geared toward 3rd-5th grade
Simple machines and compound machines are the foundation of many modern conveniences. Engineers use the six simple machines, wheel and axle, wedges, screws, levers, pulleys, and inclined planes to develop simple tools we use every day, such as bikes and skateboards. They also create and design compound machines that are created for specified functions. In this workshop, students will gain a better understanding of what a simple and compound machine is, and design four of the six simple machines. In the end, students will be provided with a scenario, and in teams will build a prototype of the catapult to launch their “grapes.” Students will also integrate math by measuring and averaging their three launch distances to see who gets the “job” as a lead mechanical engineer. Hot glue gun use required.
Robotics
Geared toward 3rd-6th grade
Students will learn the history of robotics along with how they’re being used in the present day. There is a discussion of the different industries that use robots and how they will be used in the future. Students will also design and test their own robots to perform a series of tasks.
Mission Simulations
Sponsored by Marathon Petroleum
2022 Marathon Petroleum is Sponsoring 25 In-house Missions or Virtual programs for 5th and 6th-grade classes in the KPBSD.
Download Scholarship Request Form HERE
The Challenger Learning Center of Alaska offers students the next best thing to an actual space flight with a Mission Control room designed after NASA Johnson Space Center and an orbiting space station. The Missions Commander and Flight Director direct our mission specialists in the orientation room where they are given an overview of the mission as well as their crew assignments. A minimum of 14 and up to 32 students will be divided between Mission Control and Space Craft. Following mid-brief, crew members will switch so each student experiences both Mission Control and the Space Craft.
“Today I learned I’d make a great scientist!” -Sixth Grader
Missions: 2 1/2 hours long
Subsidized School/Class Rate: $895
Team Building add-on: 30 Minutes $160, 1 Hour $260
To schedule your out-of-this-world mission, call 855-477-7926.
Choose Your Simulated Mission
Expedition Mars
The year is 2076. Humans have solved some of the larger problems associated with a long term Mars mission, including radiation exposure and landing large payloads safely on the surface. A handful of facilities have been established on the Martian surface including a Greenhouse, a mobile geo survey base, and a centralized research habitat. The primary human habitat within the Mars system is not on Mars itself, but located approximately 9376 km away on its moon, Phobos. This tiny moon provides an excellent location for a permanent base to continue studying Mars.
A large shuttle regularly ferries astronauts and scientists between the base on Phobos and the surface of Mars. This shuttle, or Mars Transport Vehicle (MTV), serves as the spacecraft for the mission. The MTV carries parts to build a ROV for hydrological exploration and it also carries one unmanned drone aircraft which can carry the ROV to a survey destination. However, when crew members discover a threat to their MTV base, they must act quickly to save their crew and their station.
The two groups will have to work together to accomplish their mission goals: to search for evidence of life on Mars, whether fossil or living, to search for evidence of water, and to keep everyone safe. Using teamwork and creative problem solving, the crew will be able to continue their research on our neighbor planet.
*minimum of 14 and up to 32 students
Expedition Mars Pre-Mission Curriculum
Expedition Mars Job Description PowerPoint
Expedition Mars NGSS and Common Core Standards Alignment
Lunar Quest
Two teams set out for the moon to help with the expansion of Moonbase Alpha. Together they must navigate through space, to the moon and choose a suitable location for mining resources needed for the expansion of lunar research. However, scouting locations is dangerous and the choices the crews will need to make impact not only the success of their mission, but also the health and safety of each other.
*minimum of 14 and up to 32 students
Lunar Quest Teacher Crew Manifest
Lunar Quest Job Posting
Lunar Quest Teaching Guide
Lunar Quest NGSS and Common Core Standards Alignment
Earth Odyssey
A recent coronal mass ejection has destroyed a vital space satellite responsible for gathering key Earth science information. Working together, the team at Mission Control and another aboard the Space Station, must build a new micro satellite to replace the one lost. However, traveling into orbit during this time of increased solar activity poses risks of its own.
*Ideal for 6th graders
*minimum of 14 and up to 32 students
Earth Crew Manifest
Earth Odyssey Pre-Mission Content
Earth Odyssey NGSS and Common Core Standards Alignment
This material is based in part upon work supported by NASA through the Alaska Space Grant program (80NSSC20M0070).
Additional dates may be added through out the school year and themes are subject to change. Please contact us if you need further information.
Return to Admin, cooper.kelley@akchallenger.org, 855-477-7926
Virtual Workshop
Challenger Learning Center of Alaska continues to develop programs that help teachers meet the needs of their students in an ever-changing world. We have put together a series of virtual programs, based on our award-winning Alaska Meets Bermuda program. This program brings a CLCA Flight Director virtually into your in-person or virtual classroom for a day, 1 1/2 hours. Through teamwork and collaboration, students explore a variety of topics and work together to brainstorm solutions and solve challenges using the materials we send.
These sessions are meant for up to 16 students per group to provide for the highest level of student interaction and engagement but can be expanded somewhat for a whole class with a participating instructor. There are several developed themes to choose from. If you’d like a custom experience we can build a program to best fit your needs! Custom programs will vary in price.
All workshops include hands-on activities and materials that explore the engineering design process.
Topics
Oil Spill Clean Up – Examine the environmental impact of an oil spill, and the challenges of recovering. Students team up as Environmental Engineers to develop a containment and recovery system.
Aeronautics– Using an old favorite of kids and adults everywhere, explore the forces that affect flight.
Stability– Explore the forces that affect stability in the water. Use your math skills to calculate a route across a body of water, determine weight requirements, and build a vessel that will carry you precious cargo to its new home.
Our Solar System– Explore our planetary neighbors through hands-on activities that show the incredible beauty and scale of our solar system.
Navigating By the Stars– Learn about navigation on land and sea, using vector navigation, StarCharts, and the old reliable Sextant.
Return to the Moon – Take a look back at the Apollo lunar landings and fast forward to NASA’s plans to return two astronauts, including the first woman, to the Moon. Explore the difficulties in landing on the Moon and plan for a long-term living and working environment.
- Just Rolling Around– Learn about the forces of motion, friction and energy and put that information to use by building the slowest roller coaster ever made!
To build your custom virtual Challenger experience today, call or email Rebecca Absher, Director of Educational Operations at 855-477-7926, or email rebecca.absher@akchallenger.org
Virtual Workshop: $685 +plus material shipping costs
***2022 Marathon Petroleum is Sponsoring 25 In-house Missions or Virtual programs, for 5th and 6th-grade classes in the KPBSD. Download Scholarship Request Form
Call us to Book Today (855)477-7926
Return to Admin, cooper.kelley@akchallenger.org
Teacher’s Choice Virtual Academy
Challenger Learning Center of Alaska continues to develop programs that help teachers meet the needs of their students in an ever-changing world. We have put together a series of virtual programs, based on our award-winning Alaska Meets Bermuda program. This program brings a CLCA Flight Director virtually into your in-person or virtual classroom for a week academy, 1 1/2 hours a day. Through teamwork and collaboration, students explore a variety of topics and work together to brainstorm solutions and solve challenges using the materials we send.
These sessions are meant for up to 16 students per group to provide for the highest level of student interaction and engagement, but can be expanded somewhat for a whole class with a participating instructor. There are several developed themes to choose from. If you’d like a custom experience we can build a program to best fit your needs! Custom programs will vary in price.
All workshops include hands-on activities and materials that explore the engineering design process. This material is based in part upon work supported by NASA through the Alaska Space Grant program (80NSSC20M0070).
Topics
Planetary Exploration – Students learn about our Sun and the planets that orbit it. Students will learn about each individual planet and explore the excitement and challenges of exploration through robotics. A closer look at the planets will give a more in-depth look into the challenges of living in such alien worlds.
Things that MOVE! – Explore the variety of forces that affect us in our daily life. Students will explore Newton’s Laws of Motion and Gravity, as they affect objects in flight and on water. Learn how we navigate from one point to another while working with teammates to control the motion in their own construct.
Moon, Mars, and Beyond – Delve into NASA’s goal of returning a man and sending the first woman to the Moon, as their plans for the Artemis program extends our reach to Mars and beyond. Students will learn how to plan and provide for a livable habitat on the Moon and survive one of the greatest perils of space travel, radiation.
To build your custom virtual Challenger experience today, call or email Rebecca Absher, Director of Educational Operations at 855-477-7926, or email rebecca.absher@akchallenger.org
Virtual Academy: $3,360/5-day course plus material shipping costs
Call us to Book Today (855) 477-7926
Return to Admin, cooper.kelley@akchallenger.org
Our virtual mission programs give your students or group the opportunity to experience working as STEM professionals to solve problems within exciting storylines and an interactive digital program. Based on your class type, all virtual, or in the classroom, we have a program to choose from.
Virtual Simulated Missions
*Call to book your class*
Give Your Students a Virtual Space Mission Experience!
Destination Mars
$475 a mission
1 hour fully virtual, 3rd-6th grade classes. Researchers are ready to explore Mars,
but there’s one glaring problem – more
than 40 million miles separate Earth from
Mars. Students will go on a mission to
analyze data and determine which of the
Red Planet’s moons is the best location
for building a research base.
Destination Moon
$630 a mission
2 hour fully virtual, 7th & 8th grade classes. A team of researchers is ready to return to the Moon to explore its surface and establish a second habitat for astronauts to live and work! To get there, they’ll launch and fly Blue origin’s reusable launch vehicle, New Glenn, and explore the Moon’s surface using Blue Origin’s lunar lander, Blue Moon.
- Designed for 3rd- 8th grade students and aligned to national education standards
- Minimum number of students 8 to 32
- 1-2 hour experience delivered from start to finish by a CLCA Flight Director
- Perfect for remote, hybrid, and socially distant classrooms
- Features small group and whole class activities
- Students need a device with audio and video capability and an internet connection
- No handouts or supplies needed
*Call to book your class*
Role-play in a collaborative three-part classroom activity
Classroom Adventures is a suite of digital experiences that drives student collaboration and delivers STEM content in the context of real-world scenarios.
Each Adventure serves as a launch point to earth science, life science, and/or physical science units in 3rd-5th grade classrooms and includes three, one-hour blocks of programming – an interactive simulation, a problem-based learning engineering activity, and a nonfiction writing activity.
Throughout each Adventure, students role-play STEM careers as they work individually, in small groups, and in whole group settings.
$335/Adventure
To inquire or purchase licenses for your classroom call us 855-477-7926 or email cooper.kelley@akchallenger.org
Program Goals
Deepen Student Engagement
Increase Self-Efficacy
Develop Collaborative Problem-Solving Skills
Role-Play STEM Careers
Designed by Teachers for Teachers
- Done in the Classroom
- Groups of 4-35 students
- Simple, one-hour online training embedded in software
- Software ease of use rated a 4.6 out of 5 (5 = very easy)
- Ability to set class reading levels
- Read aloud and closed caption functionality
- Integrated student assessment
- Aligned to NGSS and Common Core Standards. It has also been aligned to Alaska specific state standards.
- Administered by the Teacher in the classroom, or guided through by our Flight Director
- Can be extended over weeks of curriculum, with a written portion and an engineering portion
- Program can be paused and continued over several days
- Three themes to choose from: Dirt Decoders, coming soon: Aquatic Investigators and Nature Randers
- Three one-hour components per Adventure:
Simulation
Engineering Activity
Science Writing Exercise
Pick an Adventure
Aquatic Investigators
The Commander of an undersea lab asks students to determine why Hawaiian monk seals are missing from their usual home in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. As they work to find the answer, a seaquake takes place and damages the undersea lab. The team must work together to quickly repair the lab and ensure the safety of the crew. Only when the crisis is averted can the group return to their search for the Hawaiian monk seals.
Dirt Decoders
A paleontologist in the American Southwest finds two ground sloth bones in a place they don’t belong and calls on students to determine where they came from, how they got there, and where the rest of the bones are located. As they examine a series of scientific breadcrumbs the students learn that a nearby geologist is trapped in a flooded cave. They must rescue the geologist and then return to decode their findings.
Nature Rangers
A park ranger in the Great Smoky Mountains asks students to identify a plant that may not be native to the area. They find that the plant is invasive and begin working to remove it quickly. But when a bridge leading to their supplies is washed out by a storm, the students must use teamwork to access what they need. Only then can they continue their work of eliminating the invasive plant and saving the Great Smoky Mountains.
E-Missions – (Temporarily Unavailable)
E-Missions are simulated, problem-based, learning adventures delivered right into the classroom via distance learning technology. With the use of the internet and video conferencing equipment, these "live" scenarios are conducted in your classroom by a Flight Director at Mission Control, from the Challenger Learning Center of Alaska. The eMission is a student-centered, team-based interactive educational experience that uses scientifically accurate data to solve problems. Participating classes assemble as emergency response teams and then connect via technology to the Flight Director at Mission Control. All teams work together with Mission Control to handle the problem situation as the scenario unfolds. Every few minutes, new data is received in the classroom via satellite. Teams will then use this data to perform calculations, create graphs, and assess the situation. The expert teams will then update Mission Control and make recommendations based on their analysis. The Challenger Learning Center of Alaska provides all the necessary components for each participating class to have a successful mission. Each mission provided by CLCA includes a wealth of mission preparation lessons all aligned with state standards and grade level expectations. Teachers will have the option of applying every mission prep lesson to their classroom or to simply select three essential lessons if time is a limiting factor. Furthermore, CLCA will provide a live video conference(s) to each classroom as they prepare for the big mission. E-Missions: 2.5 hours Discounted School/Class Rate: $685
Moon, Mars & Beyond, Grades 3-5 
Operation Montserrat,Grades 6-8
Requirements:
- In classroom setting
- Students team up to work at a station together
- 3-5 Computers with internet access (number will vary depending on class size)
- Webcam with an internal or external microphone
For an Alaskan Themed Option:
Alaska on Alert, for Grades 7-12
An earthquake in the Pacific Ocean has triggered a tsunami wave headed for the Alaskan coast. Separated into a Tsunami team, Earthquake team, Evacuation team, and Communication team, the Emergency Response Crew manages the situation, providing key information and updates to coordinate the evacuation efforts of the town they deem to be in the most danger. Utilizing math, science, map reading, research, problem-solving, and communication skills, the four teams provide Challenger Mission Control with recommendations for securing the safety of the coastal residents. Please note that students complete this distance learning mission in their own classroom, with CLCA staff commanding over a live video feed. The Challenger Learning Center of Alaska provides all the necessary components for each participating class to have a successful mission. Each distance learning mission provided by CLCA includes a wealth of mission preparation lessons all aligned with state standards and grade-level expectations. Teachers are encouraged to complete every pre-mission lesson in their classroom but if time is a limiting factor there are four essential lessons.
Funded in part by Alaska Space Grant- and Marathon Petroleum
We can also come to You!
STEM Delivered
If virtual programs are not your thing and you can’t come in for a Mission in our state-of-the-art simulator, don’t worry, we can come to you!
The Challenger Learning Center offers a variety of STEM infused lessons including Robotics, Rocketry, Astronomy and Living in Space just to name a few. We will also customize programs to meet your schools needs. Our programs emphasize collaboration and critical thinking and encourage creativity and development of communication skills. We also offer a variety of team building challenges to build confidence, encourage leadership and build trust.
Length of Program: 2 Hour Minimum $350/hour
*Additional $100/hour for Starlab
Outreach pricing is local, within a 50 mile radius of CLCA. For Outreach events outside local area, please contact the Director of Educational Operations/ CEO for a quote.
Do you homeschool or looking for extra activities for your child? Check our Individual Programs.
Adults can have fun too! Retreats, team building, missions and more!
