Earth Day Challenges

April 22, 2021April 19, 2021by Challenger Learning Center of AlaskaLeave a comment

Happy Earth Day!

Today we celebrate our Earth and think about what we can do to make it more sustainable. Living in Alaska we have a lot of land and natural resources available to us to ski, hike, fish, boat, camp, hunt…but having so much at our disposal means we need to do more to keep it like that. Start today doing one small thing that will impact our world, even if that means making a recycled craft with your child, or pick up one piece of litter that has been revealed by the melting snow.

Challenger focuses our education in S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering, and math). STEM isn’t just about these fields of study though. The model of teaching STEM incorporates hands-on learning, building confidence, and the connection in how we can better our world. Here are some fun ways of explaining and teaching Earth Day to your kids!

women s black leather jacket — Photo by Zachary DeBottis on Pexels.com

Make recycled Egg Shell Gardens and watch grass grow.

Learn about biomes and Build a Desert Biome!

Learn about Global Warming with Earth Day Toast.

Try the Carbon Footprint Activity and learn how much damage we do to the ecosystem!

Learn about Animal Habitats and find out how animals adapt to changes in the world.

Make a Water Cycle in a Bag to learn about the water cycle.

Earth Day Seed Planters are a popular STEM activity for Earth Day!

Make a Terrarium in a Jar and create your own ecosystem.

Make a Model Waterworks and learn how water is filtered.

Melt Crayons with Solar Energy and see how heat can be used as energy!

Create Your Own Mini Landfill!

Try the Earth Day Robot Design Challenge and build a robot who recycles for you.

Try the Exploring Solar Heat experiment.

Play this simple Sort the Recycling Game.

These Water Pollution Activities are perfect for elementary kids.

Learn how you can make a difference in the planet with science, technology, engineering, and math activities with these STEM activities for Earth Day!

DIVE IN AND HAVE FUN!

Pumpkin Volcano

October 16, 2020February 22, 2021by Challenger Learning Center of Alaska1 Comment

PUMPKIN VOLCANO

Are you getting ready to carve pumpkins with your kids like you do year after year? Bring a new twist to pumpkin carving this time by adding STEM! This is such an easy and instantly rewarding activity. Your kids will be delighted by the exploding foam escaping out of their pumpkin’s face, as well as the fun to touch texture of baking soda, vinegar and soap.

To get started:

SUPPLIES

Pumpkin
Baking soda
Vinegar
Liquid dish soap
Cookie sheet or large flat container (optional to contain the pumpkin and fizz from the chemical reaction)

DIRECTIONS

1. Ahead of time, cut the top off the pumpkin and clean the inside of the pumpkin out like you would do when preparing to carve a pumpkin.

2. Carve any type of pumpkin face out of one side of the pumpkin.

3. Gather all your supplies and place them nearby.

4. Drop a heaping amount of baking soda into the pumpkin. We didn’t really measure the ingredients, but added about a cup of baking soda to our medium sized pumpkin.

5. Add dish soap to the baking soda. Again we did not measure. Have the kids squeeze a good amount into the pumpkin.

6. When ready, Pour vinegar into the pumpkin until the mixture begins to react, and place the pumpkin top back on.

You can wash out the pumpkin and redo it as many times as you want. For an extra spooky look, add some food coloring!

HAVE FUN!

New Programs!

September 3, 2020February 22, 2021by Challenger Learning Center of Alaska

Challenger Has New Programs

For YOU

CLCA is offering Alaskan Teachers, the ever-growing Homeschool population and individual parents looking to enroll their child into additional hands-on, engaging science classes, the opportunity to schedule Virtual STEM programs!

For Individual Students at Home

Let us cover your home school science credits, or sign up your child just for extra fun activities! We are offering a new weekly theme every month! Classes are delivered via Zoom for 1 1/2 hours a day and materials are provided for hands on learning!

Learn More & Register »

Custom Virtual Teacher Programs

Bring Challenger to your classroom for week long science curriculum. We can build custom lessons to what you need. Materials are sent to you for hands on learning and it’s as easy as inviting us to your virtual classroom! Learn more »

In-Center Options

Homeschool STEM Ahead Days are also an option! Sign your K-8th grader up for one day or all, offered on Tuesdays. You can see the schedule of topics for each day, pricing and registration here -> STEAM Ahead

If you child still goes to school but you’d like them to come in for this program you may still sign them up!

Kindernauts is a once a week program for your K-2nd grader, Thursdays for 1 1/2 hours. They will be immersed in a variety of goopy, wonderous and wacky STEM activities! Pricing, more details and registration can be found here-> Kindernauts

Teachers looking for more in class options?

We have ELearning programs, like Classroom Adventures virtually taking your class on a one hour team adventure! Increase your students’ engagement in STEM subjects with an interactive team online adventure! Classroom Adventures takes the entire class on journeys to reach collective goals as they research, work together to answer questions, and collaborate to find solutions to urgent challenges. Choose from Aquatic Investigators, Dirt Decoders, or Nature Rangers! Call or email us to sign your class up. Licences are given to you to access these programs from your computers in your classroom! Contact Suzanne.phillips@akchallenger.org

You Are A Part Of CLCA and We Thank You!

Challenger Learning Center of Alaska, CLCA, is excited to share with you that we were the recipient of the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Innovation in Education, August 12th! As a nonprofit, our educational programs live on because of the support we receive from Alaskan communities. Assisting teachers, groups, and businesses fulfil their science curriculum, safety training or being here for team building retreats, is important to our mission. Community input, sponsorships and partners around Alaska is what makes our mission possible to achieve, therefore this award goes to all of you as well!

During the Challenger Center Annual Conference, Dr. Pelton recognized how important the student engagement and cultural exchange opportunity is that the Alaska meets Bermuda camp CLCA administered this summer, provides. Dr. Pelton also mentioned how exciting it was for him to see the virtual use of NASA’s equipment from the Artemis program, the Orion capsule, and the Natural Buoyancy Lab, being demonstrated to the students throughout the camp. Dr. Pelton himself has played an enormous role in the space and STEM industries.Programs CLCA has been serving Alaskans for 20 years, providing STEM workshops and camps, simulated space missions, and water and land survival courses.

Tag: stem education