Challenger Learning Center of Northeast Alabama breaks ground in Rainbow City
Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, Dr. June Scobee Rodgers and other key figures break ground on the Challenger Learning Center of Northeast Alabama. (Joey Blackwell, Alabama News Center)
After two years of planning, the Challenger Learning Center of Northeast Alabama broke ground on Tuesday. The center will be a state-of-the-art STEM center in Rainbow City serving middle-school students in northeast Alabama with space-themed missions and learning activities that complement classroom instruction.
The new center will be at 1986 Challenger Way in Rainbow City, across the street from the Rainbow City Mega Sports Complex.
“It’s a great day here in Rainbow City to celebrate the launch of a landmark place of learning for northeast Alabama students,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said. “This special event is not just a groundbreaking of a new building, but the planting of seeds to sprout high-tech careers for thousands of Alabama young people.”
Present at the groundbreaking were multiple local and state dignitaries alongside those who helped develop the project. Featured speakers of the event included Gov. Ivey, Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives Nathaniel Ledbetter, state Sen. Andrew Jones, Alabama State Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey and Rainbow City Mayor Joe Taylor.
Representatives of the Challenger Center included Dr. June Scobee Rodgers, the founding chair of the Challenger Center and widow of Challenger Space Shuttle Commander Richard “Dick” Scobee. Others on hand were Chairman of the Challenger Center of Northeast Alabama’s Advisory Council Tony Smith and board members Mark Weaver and Tina Gregerson-Armstrong.
In the aftermath of the Challenger STS-51L tragedy, the crew’s families came together to commit to carrying on the spirit of their loved ones by extending their education mission to the next generation. Led by Rodgers, the families opened the Challenger Center for Space Science Education in April of 1986. With the goal of sparking an interest and joy in STEM amongst children, the families’ vision was to create a place of inspiration.
“Somewhere over the rainbow, dreams come true — and that’s happening right here in Rainbow City,” Rodgers said. “You’re dream makers now. Dream makers are the people that help youngsters in school make dreams come true.”
The future Challenger Learning Center joins a network of more than 30 Challenger Learning Centers across 24 states. To date, the centers have reached more than 6 million students. The centers offer a variety of STEM programs, with the core being simulated space-themed missions in fully immersive environments.
Each Challenger Learning Center is equipped with a simulator, along with a Briefing Room, Transport Room, Mission Control and Space Station. The facility in Rainbow City will also have three classrooms, with each classroom accommodating 25-40 students and providing unique STEM learning experiences.
The Rainbow City center will serve students in Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, DeKalb, Etowah, Marshall, Randolph, St. Clair, Talladega and Jefferson counties and their surrounding areas. Trent Thrasher Construction will design and construct the new center in collaboration with the Challenger Center in Washington, D.C.
“A big ‘thank you’ to the people who invested in this not just for Etowah County but for the 12 counties in this region and for all across our state,” Mackey said. “From everybody here who has invested in this — who has seen the future — I’ve got to say a big ‘thank you, thank you, thank you’ for investing in the future of our state.”
To learn more about the Challenger Center, click here. For more information about how you can donate to the program’s ongoing mission, click here.
