clc capcom - Challenger Learning Center

clc capcom - Challenger Learning Center

THE
CLC CAPCOM
1500 W. Raab Rd. Normal, IL 61761 / 309.268.8700 / www.challengerlearningcenter.com
Fall 2015
Back to School, Back to Space
Events:
Fall is a time for exploring new territory, as students across
Central Illinois head back to new classrooms, new teachers,
new friends, and sometimes even new schools all together.
Students are beginning again the rhythm of learning and
growing that comes with a new school year, learning about
content, about working together, and even about themselves.
9/15—Engaging Your
Child in STEM:
Practical Tips for
Parents workshop
9/26—SciGirls
Adventure Club
10/12—Science
Super Sleuths
daycamp
10/17—Singles
Mission
In this spirit of exploration and self-discovery, we are proud to support
students’ growth and enthusiasm through our field
trips and other STEM programs, and excited to greet
each and every student that walks through our doors.
Whether you’re a returning veteran teacher, a visiting
parent, a principal interested in having your school
experience the Challenger Center, a curious member
of the community, or anything in between:
Welcome back to fall. Welcome to space.
—CLC Staff
www.facebook.com/clchcc
@CLCatHCC
STEM Bio: Tracy Caldwell Dyson
As a young girl, Tracy Caldwell-Dyson didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up.
She continued to pursue activities she loved — track, cheerleading, working with tools, sign
language — in hopes that a career would one day reveal itself to her.
Then, at the age of sixteen, Tracy was captured by exciting
news at NASA: a school teacher, Christa McAuliffe, had been
chosen to go to space. Anyone with enough drive could
become an astronaut! Though she now knew what she
wanted to do, Tracy didn’t know how to get there. She
pursued her love of Chemistry through high school, college, and finally a PhD from the University
of California at Davis, and then applied to be an astronaut. Several months later, she got the call
from the Chief of the Astronaut Office inviting her to train as an astronaut… Tracy was ecstatic!
During her time in space, one of Tracy’s favorite projects was to make a video for the deaf community about living on the
International Space Station, even enlisting other crewmembers to learn sign language and participate. Tracy faced many
challenges on her path to becoming an astronaut, and encourages others to follow their dreams along the hard road — not the
easy road—because that is the road that will take you where you want to go.
Program Updates:
Online Gift Shop
Want a little CLC fun for your students outside of
the mission? Check out http://bit.ly/1UdeZQh to
find an assortment of fun space items! Order
forms are also located on this page; items
can be conveniently picked up upon your visit
to the CLC.
New Mission Pricing
As you may have seen, this new school year brings an exciting
new pricing structure for missions: now, missions are $500 in
Sept—Dec. & $600 in Jan—May!
Online Registration
Another exciting development for the new mission year is the
option for teachers to view mission date availability, sign up for
PD workshops, and even register for missions completely
online! Check out our “Programs” page online to find out more.
CLC CAPCOM // Fall 2015
Now in Space: Beyond Pluto
In July of 2015, NASA’s New Horizons mission made history
when it made its close flyby of Pluto and sent back images in
unprecedented detail of the small, icy world. In the
months to come, data and images downlinked from
the spacecraft will do much to broaden our
knowledge of this famous dwarf planet.
But the mission does not end there.
In a recent blog post, the Planetary Society describes
New Horizons' next potential target: a tiny, dim, icy body just
discovered in June of 2014, named 2014 MU69 (or “PT1” for
“Potential Target 1”). The idea that a spacecraft could
rendezvous with a planetary body discovered well after its
Artist concept of PT1 || NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScl)
launch is quite exciting, and though the flyby isn’t expected until
January of 2019, scientists and astronomers are already getting busy
Spotlight:
learning all they can about PT1 in the meantime. And the discoveries
NASA’s “Real Martians”
don’t have to wait until 2019—New Horizons will be capturing distant
http://www.nasa.gov/realmartians
images of 10 to 20 other Kuiper belt objects on its way to PT1, worlds too
far away for close flybys. Keep an eye on both the Planetary Society and
NASA websites in the coming months for all the incoming excitement!
Mars Science Academy
It seems Martian-Mania may be sweeping
the nation as Andy Weir’s best-selling book,
“The Martian,” prepares to hit the big screen
in October 2015. But did you know, many of
the technologies in The Martian are real
NASA projects? Habitats, plant farming,
water recovery, ion propulsion, and more…
Check out NASA’s Real Martians webpage
to learn more, and don’t forget to check out
“The Martian” in theaters this October!
New for Fall 2015: Mars Science Academy (MSA) is a program for students
in grades 5-8 that can be booked at the Challenger Learning
Center or brought right to your school! During one of three
teacher-selected scenarios — Launch, Land,
or Live — students take active roles in teams
as they complete hands-on activities related
to planning a mission to Mars. In addition,
students will practice teamwork,
communication, problem-solving, and
decision making with others via iPad. Each session is expected to
end with live interaction with a NASA or other STEM expert to discuss STEM careers with students and
answer student questions! For more information or to book a session with this tremendous resource, call
309.268.8704 or email [email protected] !
Talking Points
CLC is Social!
Cool facts, articles, resources,
Your Questions Answered
activities, science humor, and more
In future issues of the CLC newsletter,
are posted on our Facebook page,
we’d love to feature answers to teach“Challenger Learning Center of
er questions. If you are curious about
Illinois”. Looking for a neat video,
something or have a question that you
curious about what’s currently
think could benefit our teachers, conhappening in the space world, or just
tact us at 309.268.8700 or
want to impress your friends? Check
email [email protected]
us out!
Challenger Center Website
Challenger Center headquarters has
released a beautiful new website of
their own. Check out the new &
improved challenger.org to find
information on Challenger Center’s
worldwide STEM education initiatives,
take a survey about your Challenger
experience, and more!
1500 W. Raab Rd. Normal, IL 61761 / 309.268.8700 / www.challengerlearningcenter.com