Tag: nasa

Summer STEM Academies 2023

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Summer STEM Academies 2023

Summer Camps have landed! Registration is now open for these two exciting, supercharged camps for your 1st – 6th grader this year. Challenger camps are action-packed with exploratory learning and unique science experiments. This year we are also excited to offer an overnight option for the 4th – 6th graders.

Visit www.akchallenger.org/camps for details!
Our Summer STEM Academies are all about hands-on exploration and discovery!

Challenger Learning Center of Alaska puts a tremendous care into providing a fun and exciting camp your children will remember. Equally fun, our camps are formatted to allow youth to engage in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) based activities revolving around each Academy theme. Challenger Camp Counselors encourage creativity and offer hands-on tools and materials for campers to learn through inquiry-based instruction. Campers improve their problem-solving, teamwork, self-confidence, and critical thinking skills without even realizing it. Challenger Summer STEM Academies is not just another camp; They are unique youth-centered experiences.

Power Up! Summer Camp
Students entering 4th – 6th Grade
June 5 – 9, 2023
Day Camp or Overnight Camp Option!
Power Up! Summer Camp, the week of June 5th-9th, 2023 will energize your children for learning and exploration! Activities are centered around learning important energy sources and transformations, such as petroleum, natural gas, geothermal, solar, and nuclear. Hands-on exploratory projects will uncover how our energy is consumed and conserved. Of course, as students get charged up, we can’t leave out all the exploding energy that blasts humans to space and engineers the most robust robotics.

Astronauts Alive! Summer Camp
Students entering 1st – 3rd Grade
July 24 – 28, 2023
Astronauts Alive! Summer Camp, the week of July 24-28, 2023. We blast astronauts into space but how do they stay alive?! Campers will take the big leap into space as they discover what tools, systems, and resources they need to continue to explore, work and live in their new interstellar home.

CLCA Joins NASA in Nationwide Celebration of WEBB Telescope First Images

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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.

James WEBB Community Night

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Free Community Event, Wednesday
October 20th with Virtual Attendance too!

TODAY! Join us 4 – 6pm for a night of space fun and explore the amazing capabilities of NASA’s WEBB telescope! If you can’t make it you can join virtually for a special presentation and Q&A from Dr. Vivian U, an observational extragalactic astronomer who uses state-of-the-art telescopes to understand how galaxies and their supermassive black holes coevolve.

Watch live on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dprgQ1LgaA0

or Join the Zoom Presentation at 5pm

Launch Meeting – Zoom

Meeting ID: 824 5188 3773

Passcode: 555201

Celebrate and learn about NASA’s new James Webb space telescope (WEBB) before the big space launch! October 20th, bring your family to Challenger Learning Center of Alaska for interactive activities exploring this magnificent WEBB telescope, from how it’s made, what it sees, to why it’s so important. There will be activities for all ages including tours of our simulator rooms and a star planetarium! No need to sign up, just come on in! 9711 Kenai Spur Highway, Kenai, AK 99611

Send your WEBB questions ahead of time, about merging galaxies, supermassive black holes, using infrared observations from the Webb Telescope and/or large ground-based telescopes to colette.gilmour@akchallenger.org
The Zoom link will be shared Wednesday morning on our Facebook, @CLCAlaska

See you there!
 

Informative Links:
James Webb Telescope Overview | NASA

www.jwst.nasa.gov

www.webbtelescope.org

www.nasa.gov/webb

Exciting Bermuda Program for Alaskan Youth

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Exciting Bermuda Program for Alaskan Youth

Homeschoolers Don’t Miss Your Chance!

Hello State-wide Families!

Are you looking for a fabulous program to use your homeschool curriculum allotment for? Start your school year with a truly out-of-this-world experience for your child. Challenger’s award-winning “From Alaska to Bermuda” program is just that! Spots are still open but time is running out to register for this unique opportunity for your sixth – eighth-grader.  The week of August 16th, students entering 6-8th grade from Alaska, will virtually join Middle School students from Bermuda, to explore the latest NASA drive to establish a permanent, manned research station on the Moon, and to expand mankind’s presence to Mars and beyond! Guest speakers from NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab and HERO will also make appearances throughout the week! There are only 8 spots available for Alaskan students, so make sure yours is one of them! August 9th at Noon registration closes!

Since this program is such a unique, and special opportunity, registrations need to be accompanied by a video submission from the interested student, or a short letter. More information and registration can be found at www.akchallenger.org/camps under the AK & Bermuda Program Tab.  
Return to the Moon, Mars, and Beyond
August 16 – 20 
6th-8th Graders
4 hours a day, 8am – 12pm (AST)
Bermuda 1pm – 5pm
http://www.akchallener.org/camps 

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to call or email! 907-283-2000 laura.mese@akchallenger.org
Challenger Learning Center of Alaska

This program is continually developing for the future, with a cultural exchange aspect that integrates Alaska and Bermuda students. The collaboration would not only allow students an opportunity to build on each other ideas but to share cultural and environmental experiences. Projects will entail revealing and solving challenges within colonizing other planets and continued deep-space exploration. All materials needed to make the assignments will be provided.

Women’s History Month & Challenger

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Women’s History Month & Challenger

Since 1980, communities and organizations around the United States have celebrated Women’s History Month every March. The celebration recognizes women’s achievements and contributions to American history. At Challenger Center, the legacies of the two female Challenger crew members, Judith Resnik and Christa McAuliffe, motivate us every day to inspire the next generation of innovators and leaders through exciting STEM programs. Both Resnik and McAuliffe played integral parts in America’s space exploration and educational history and continue to hold a special place in Americans hearts. Learn more about them here.

Christa McAuliffe was to be the first teacher in space and had planned several lessons to do while aboard the Challenger STS. In the aftermath of the Challenger accident, the crew’s families came together, firmly committed to the belief that they must carry on the spirit of their loved ones by continuing the Challenger crew’s educational mission. Their efforts resulted in the creation of Challenger Center for Space Science Education.

CLCA was created to meet the educational needs of students throughout Alaska. Using simulated space and earth science missions, distance education and hands-on workshops, CLCA inspires youth to develop an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and to consider careers in these fields.  Through a variety of hands on mediums, participants work in an environment that spans academic areas while learning valuable skills in problem solving, communication, and teamwork.

We value and look up to all the women working to impact the fields of education and STEM. It is an honor to continue spreading inspiration in students to keep their mission alive.

Mars Significance

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Mars Significance

February 18th the world was watching the rover, Perseverance land on Mars. There were nerves, excitement, and hope. Perseverance is the fifth rover to reach the surface of Mars though, so why is it so important? Why is everyone so excited? What is the significance of THIS rover?

Our team at Challenger Learning Center of Alaska sees this as an opportunity to make our world better. Perseverance will change the way we look at science, life, past life, and the Earth. The magnitude of new technology and the number of features included in this one rover is unbelievable.

In one mission we will be able to test a brand new technique in flying with the Mars helicopter, receive footage of the landing that we have never been able to witness before, test astronaut suit materials in the Mars atmosphere, test, take and store samples to later retrieve that will analyze signs of past life and resources similar to Earth’s, record sounds of natural events happening on the surface, and test a technology that could create oxygen from Mars’ CO2 atmosphere, to say the least!

All of this, to us, means if we can identify the resources for humans to survive on Mars, then we can discover how Mars reached the condition it is in now. We can learn how to revive Mars, how to grow a plant on Mars, and how to create oxygen on Mars. If we can do all this on a planet like Mars, can you imagine what we could do with that technology to save our home, Earth?

How is this mission significant to you? How did you feel watching Perseverance land on Mars? Join the conversation and leave a comment below to let us know!

#goperseverance

Perseverance Count Down!

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Perseverance Count Down!

We are nine days away from the landing of Perseverance on Mars, the rover that was launched in 2020, seven months ago.

SO, what do you need to know for the live viewing?

This rover is not the first on mars but is the first of its kind. It will continue to conduct robotic field geology searching for signs of past life, as did its predecessors, but will also focus on tests that may determine the possibility for future human life. This new technology, called Moxie, tests the cabalilties of extracting oxygen from the CO2 atmosphere. Perseverance also carries a pair of microphones, which will provide historic audio of Martian sounds, such as arrival, landing, wind, and other ambient noise.

These studies help test ways to use Mar’s natural resources to support human explorers and improve designs for life support, transportation, and other systems for living and working on Mars.

Another unique feature on Perseverance is the terrain relative navigation. This new landing technique allows the rover to determine where it is landing and avoid hazardous terrain. To assist in landing it also has an extra feature called range trigger. It allows the parachute to open at the exact range necessary to accurately land the desired landing spot.

Additional new functions:

-Sample collection and caching system, allows 20 samples to be collected for future retrieval and testing on Earth.

-The Mars Helicopter, if successful will be the first flying device on Mars. (This guy is VERY cool!)

-Rimfax, ground penitrating radar

-23 cameras

-Bringing Spacesuit materials for testing

JOIN THE LIVE EVENT

Perseverance is loaded with advanced tools that are well worth extra research. This is one impressive, exciting rover! https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

To prepare here is a list of fun activities you and your family can do:

  • Get Your Landing Resources
    Posters, stickers, fact sheets, mission patches and more.
  • Ways To Participate
    Try the Photo Booth, Send Your Name on the next mission to Mars, and check out other interactive experiences.
  • Watch Online
    Our quick guide to the TV programs coming up you can watch online.
  • Mission to Mars Student Challenge
    Get Mars-related webcasts for learners of all ages, along with lessons and activities for students.
  • Register for a Virtual Landing Event 
    Get notifications about landing opportunities, programming, and other mission information, plus a landing stamp for your virtual passport.
  • Virtual NASA Social 
    Connect online with other space enthusiasts, ask questions and get answers from NASA experts. Get a special badge to share online or print at home.

On Landing Day, Feb. 18, 2021:

After Landing:

  • Explore Mars with Perseverance
    As the rover begins its mission at Jezero Crater, visit the mission website for the latest news and images every day.

International Observe the Moon Day

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International Observe the Moon Day

The Moon, the big bright circle in the sky that everyone is introduced to as the first introduction to our solar system and space, when we are little. Many of us, around the world, have most likely been read to about it at least once growing up. So, why not celebrate it when we are adults? International Observe the Moon Day, is recognized annually, this year falling on September 26th.

If you don’t have a local event happening that you can attend, there are several virtual events available from September 19th, through October 3rd. By visiting Here you can search and find one for you and your family to virtually attend. You can also register to put your home on the map of observers and share photos of your activities!

If you want to talk to your kids about the Moon but don’t know quite what to say, do not worry! NASA also has a handy Viewing Guide that beautifully pays tribute to all of the Moon’s best features.

OBSERVE THE MOON

If you celebrate the day, please share your activities and pictures with us! Tag @CLCAlaska on Facebook or @akclca on Instagram!

National Moon Day, 51st Anniversary

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Today, July, 20th, 2020, marks an important day in history. Each year the world together, celebrates and remembers mans first accomplishment of landing on the moon. 1969, Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon was a day to remember, opening up the endless possibilities for lunar exploration. Buzz Aldrin followed Neil Armstrong, stepping on the surface. The duo collected 47.5 pounds of lunar material to bring back to Earth. Michael Collins, the pilot, waited two and a half hours for them to return to the command module.

Celebrate with your kids and let them know the importance of this day. You can start by sharing this restored Apollo 11 video from NASA and feel like you were there!

There are several moon books you can also look for to help your kids understand and marvel at the moon’s importance.

Hello, Moon!, Francesca Simon

Margaret and the Moon: How Margaret Hamilton Saved the First Lunar Landing, Dean Robbins

Papa, please get the moon for me, Eric Carle

Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown

Moonshot: The Fight of Apollo 11, Brian Floca

The Moon’s First Friends: How the Moon Met the Astronauts from Apollo 11, Susanna Leaonard Hill

If You Decide To Go To The Moon, Faith McNulty

Reaching for the Moon, Buzz Aldrin