CHALLENGER LEARNING CENTER OF ALASKA JOINS NASA IN NATIONWIDE CELEBRATION OF WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE FIRST SCIENCE IMAGES
KENAI — Challenger Learning Center of Alaska (CLCA) has joined hundreds of sites across the country to celebrate the release of the first science images from the James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s next great space science observatory. CLCA will offer a range of 3D, hands-on activities and exhibits in a free public event to bring the excitement of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) to youth and adults of all ages.
“We are thrilled that Challenger Learning Center of Alaska is an official host site for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope community events celebrating Webb’s first stunning images”, said Colette Gilmour, Operations and Communications Director. “We have partnered with Boys and Girls Club of Kenai Peninsula Teen Center to help our community celebrate this amazing feat of science and engineering. A model the B&G teens built will be on display during the event. People of all ages and backgrounds will find inspiration in Webb’s new view of the cosmos, which will fundamentally change our understanding of the universe for this generation and many to come”.
Webb is the largest and most complex space science telescope ever built – the premier observatory of the next decade. This international mission, led by NASA in partnership with the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, launched Dec. 25, 2021. After unfolding in space into its final form, Webb successfully arrived at its destination nearly 1 million miles from Earth and began preparing for science operations.
The observatory, which is designed to see the universe in the infrared, will push the field of astronomy into a new era. Webb will be able to study light from distant parts of the universe for the very first time – the first galaxies that formed over 13.5 billion years ago – and give us insight into how our universe formed. It will also peer into dusty stellar nurseries to explore distant worlds orbiting other stars, as well as observe objects in our own solar system. Webb will extend the scientific discoveries of other NASA missions like the Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, and Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite.
Challenger’s James Webb Community Event, September 9th, 2022 will explore the wonders of these remarkable new images and answer your questions on how different light is captured, how telescopes and James Webb works and are made. For a full schedule of events, visit www.akchallenger.org/communityor contact CLCA at 907-283-2000.
Challenger Learning Center of Alaska is located at 9711 Kenai Spur Highway, Kenai, AK. Our community event will be free and open to the public during 2:30pm – 4:30pm. This event will be in person, holding a live broadcast with a NASA Webb Scientist Panel talk at 3pm. To learn more about the Webb telescope, visit webb.nasa.gov and webbtelescope.org.