The Challenger Center

Overview

The Challenger Center is a living testimony to the dream of the Challenger Crew. When the crew of the Challenger Space Shuttle perished in 1986, they were on a pioneering mission to extend the boundaries of human knowledge. The Challenger Learning Centers are continuing that mission today by preparing students for life.

This Challenger Learning Center was built on the campus of the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. We are formally aligned under the College of Education and as such have formed strong relationships with both the University’s Teacher Preparation Academy and our local school systems, the largest of which is the Hamilton County Department of Education. Although relatively young in terms of years of operation (this center opened in 1994), our student-based mission simulation programs are at maturity. Approximately ten thousand students visit our center each year. Students visit from Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and even a few from Kentucky. While here, students participate in simulated space missions that reinforce and introduce students to real-world applications of science principles and concepts discussed in their classrooms. In addition we hold numerous teacher professional development workshops that strengthen math, science and technology concepts for teachers from those same states.

Photos

Map & Directions