Mission Resources
have a successful flight
Whether you are looking to schedule your visit or to prepare your students for their mission, we have all you need right here.
Our Mission Curriculum is an online repository for activities, projects, and pre- or post-mission lessons designed to enhance your Challenger experience.
Mars Invasion
The Red Planet
Below are the links required for Mars Invasion teachers. If you have any issues please CONTACT US.
FLL Resources
Small robots, big impact
Resources designed to help you learn more about FIRST robotics. Please CONTACT US to start a local team or for in-depth assistance
Other STEM Resources for Teachers
Programs and Resources to Help Bring STEM Into the Classroom
Howtosmile This site is an excellent resource for teachers. According to the site, you can search over 3,500 of the best science and math activities on the web.
National Educational Association (NEA) (STEM) A great resource for teachers and schools to find STEM ideas, resources, and articles for the classroom. The site also has links STEM resources for schools and professional development for teachers.
Science Buddies Offers hands-on STEM project ideas for your classroom including lesson plans, kits, science fair tools and more!
The Project for STEM Competitiveness helps teachers develop community partnerships to bring the rich world of STEM into the classroom. The organization links students and classes with mentors, experiences, and hands-on learning in science, technology, engineering, and math.
STEM Jobs’ educator portal exists to help teachers who are struggling to make STEM come alive in the classroom. The portal offers lesson plans and examples of STEM jobs to get students thinking about the future.
NASA Resources for Educators is a collection of lesson plans and teaching materials searchable by subject and grade level.
A Compendium of Best Practice K-12 STEM Education Programs is a richly detailed report meant to highlight STEM programs that inspire students to develop an interest in STEM, introduce students to STEM careers, and familiarize students with real people working in those careers.
Project Noah helps teachers enlist their students as “citizen scientists.” Students experience wildlife, record their observations, and collaborate on real Project Noah missions.
STEMfinity is a repository for free educational resources across STEM subjects, including lesson plans, webinars, and a host of digital tools.
PBS Learning Media features a database of over 4,000 resources to help educators enhance their classroom lessons on STEM. Teachers will find lesson plans, videos, and various interactive resources to get them started.
Afterschool Programs
CodeAdvantage partners with public and private schools to institute afterschool programs offering high-quality coding lessons.
Capital One Coders offers a 10-week course in which middle school students develop their own Android apps and work with mentors to learn about the basics of software development.
Afterschool Alliance: STEM Learning helps educators get afterschool programs off the ground by providing curricula, tips to getting program funding, professional development resources, and helpful research on STEM afterschool programs.
Project SYNCERE (Supporting Youth’s Needs with Core Engineering Research Experiments) partners with schools to help put on a wide variety of programs in the STEM realm. Past programs have focused on circuit design, smart technology, wearable electronics, and more.
Afterschool STEM Hub specifically assists those advocating for afterschool programs in STEM learning.
Computer Mentors, based in Tampa Bay, Florida, pairs students with mentors to help increase their confidence in budding STEM skills.
Resources for Parents
Activities to Foster STEM Skills at Home
Research indicates that the home and other out-of-school environments are crucial places to spark interest in STEM subjects, further develop ideas and interests picked up in school, extend STEM learning to new applications, and adopt one or many STEM areas as a personal hobby. Parents and guardians can help build these out-of-school bonds to STEM by drawing from the resources below.
NASA Get the latest news from NASA , live feeds from the space station, podcasts, and articles.
36 Resources for STEM Project-Based Learning Activities A great resource for fun STEM projects you can do at home. This blog also lists more websites with STEM project-based learning activities.
The Bedtime Math app presents parents and young learners with a daily math problem or a surprise problem that they can work on together. The app is available in both English and Spanish.
Codecademy’s platform offers coding classes in 12 programming languages, including Java, Ruby, and SQL. The classes can be accessed for free (with the option of paying for enhanced services).
Khan Academy is a learning platform offering classes on a wide variety of topics, but parents scrolling through will find plenty in the STEM cluster. The platform features topics in physics, cosmology and astronomy, organic chemistry, electrical engineering, computer programming, and more.
IMACS (Institute for Mathematics & Computer Science) offers online lessons in computer programming for kids in grades 3-9. Specifically, IMACS’ Computer Programming and Virtual Robotics course aims to snare the interest of young project-minded learners.
The National STEM Video Game Challenge solicited submissions of playable games made by young people that tackled a social issue. Keep an eye out for the return of the challenge.
Iridescent, an education nonprofit, trains parents to offer a high-quality education to their children—especially girls. Iridescent’s two flagship programs are Curiosity Machine and Technovation.
Bestcodingbootcamps.com offers a gateway for students to explore coding and computer science, while pointing them to additional resources.
STEM Programs, Lessons, and Games for Girls
Girls Who Code offers afterschool clubs, specialized summer courses, and a longer summer immersion program for girls to works to close the gender disparity in tech.
PBS’ SciGirls is an interactive website for girls to get excited about science and meet others who share their interest. It offers a kit to start a SciGirls club, videos, games, and more.
EngineerGirl is a website built to highlight the ways that engineering can lead to fulfilling career opportunities for girls and women.
Competitions
ProjectCSGirls is a nonprofit organization that hosts the country’s largest computer science competition for middle school girls.
Technovation, hosted by the previously mentioned nonprofit Iridescent, asks girls to identify a problem in their communities and learn the tech skills they need to lead the call for a solution. They work in teams to build mobile apps and business plans to back them.