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 Heritage-in-Flight Museum at the Logan County Airport
donated the tuition for the class to attend the program as part of
its community outreach.
The Challenger Learning Center is a unique space oriented
environment that immerses students in a task based educational
experience. In this case, the students were asked to pilot a Mars
Transport Vehicle from Martian moon Phoebus to the surface of the
planet.
The class was divided into two teams, one to take the trip to the
surface of the Red Planet, and the other to staff mission control to
insure safe flight for crew members.
Before all of this space travel could occur, teachers and students
had to prepare for the day.
Mrs. Bowlby and Mrs. Mammen attended training sessions at the
Challenger Learning Center. The teachers had a chance to actually
fly the mission themselves, to become oriented with all of the
hardware and technology that their students would use during the
actual mission. In addition, after the initial orientation the
teachers attended annual workshops. “The annual workshops allow us
to keep up with all of the new technology that is introduced at the
CLC,” said Barbara Bowlby.
Mrs. Bowlby and Mrs. Mammen then conducted classroom training for
their students for approximately a month before the big day. Science
and math were focused on the skills that the students would need for
their day at the CLC, such as what to look for to find life on
another planet.
Just as with an actual mission to space, the Challenger Learning
Center assigns a mission commander and flight director who guide the
students through the task of landing on Mars and conducting
scientific exploration. On Thursday, the big day of the mission,
when everyone arrived at the Challenger Learning Center, the Mission
Commander and Flight Director took over.
The students participated in multi-tasking, followed detailed
instructions, and practiced teamwork over the course of the mission.
The space module looks just like a small version of a
space station with different spaces for scientific exploration and a
control station for the pilot. The mission control room looks just
like the real room in Houston where space exploration is conducted
from earth.
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Each student sat at a specific work station with a computer where
they conducted research on biology, medicine, engineering, and support of the
flight crew. The two crews were able to communicate with each other between the
two rooms through radio and computer. Half-way into the mission the two crews
exchanged places so each could learn what their counterparts had been doing.
By the end of the session, the two crews were smoothly going
through their tasks with minimal help from the flight director and mission
commander. “The task of landing on Mars to look for water and life allowed our
students to concentrate on their strengths. It was especially relevant since the
Mars probe InSight just landed on the planet to do just that,” said Barb Bowlby.
Following the mission and lunch, Professor Jay Ansher from Illinois State
University conducted a physics lesson through the “Physics on the Road” program
at ISU. Ansher travels throughout central Illinois bringing his engaging physics
lectures to schools.
“We plan a trip to the Challenger Learning Center at least once a year. It is a
great learning experience for the West Lincoln Broadwell science students. Dr.
Ansher’s lecture after the mission is a wonderful benefit,” said Barbara Bowlby.
“We really want to thank Heritage-in-Flight for donating the tuition for this
year’s trip,” added Val Mammen.
Both teachers remarked that having the Challenger Learning Center on the campus
of Heartland Community College had the added benefit of exposing their students
to a college atmosphere, giving them the idea that an institution of higher
learning after high school is available to them.
Several students on the trip to the CLC were also on the state championship
girl’s basketball team, so they had a big day. They traveled to the Challenger
Learning Center in the morning, and then to their game in the late afternoon.
The term student athlete really means something to this very talented group.
Information on the Challenger Learning Center is available on their website.
Heritage-in-Flight is all over social media these days with a website, Face
Book, and Instagram. Tours of the museum and the outside displays can be
arranged in advance by contacting the museum.
[Curtis Fox]
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