Challenger and the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) are sponsoring a SeaPerch Design Challenge event for middle and high school students and are awarding grants to qualified teachers.
What is a SeaPerch?
It is a project-based engineering activity in which students build a remotely operated vehicle. Working in teams, students learn about robotics, problem solving, and engineering. Additional information about SeaPerch, including photos and videos, can be found on their website, www.seaperch.org.
The Competition
The SeaPerch Design Challenge event will be divided into two divisions, the Junior Division for grades 6
- 8 and the Senior Division for high school students in grades 9 - 12. The Design Challenge is comprised
of two separate competitions.
In the Obstacle Course, teams must maneuver their SeaPerch through a
submerged PVC obstacle course in six minutes or less. The Real-World Design Challenge presents teams
with a "real-life" engineering situation on competition day; teams then have one hour to reconfigure their
SeaPerch to meet the challenge.
A team consists of up to 8 students and one coach. The TENTATIVE
date for the event is Saturday, February 27, 2016. The event is open to all middle and high school
students and teachers.
Get a SeaPerch Grant for your Classroom!
Grants are available for qualified teachers that include (up to) 4 SeaPerch kits, 1 SeaPerch toolkit, and teacher training/support from Challenger staff.
Teachers who participated in a past Design Challenge or have built SeaPerch in the past are eligible to receive two new SeaPerch kits. Please specify which grant you are applying for.
Please submit your Grant application packet to Ron Bush no later than 4:00 PM on Friday, December 11th, 2015.
10215 Lexington Drive, Suite 110
Colorado Springs, CO, 80920
[email protected]
If you have any questions regarding the SeaPerch Grant or the Design Challenge, please contact Ron Bush [email protected].
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School Receives $25,000 STEM Grant
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Douglass Valley Elementary will receive a $25,000 grant from the US Air Force Academy.
The funding will provide STEM education opportunities for the 310 Douglass Valley students.
Every child at Douglass Valley will experience at least three standards-aligned, space-themed STEM activities during the 2015-2016 school year.
The grant will provide many opportunities for Douglass Valley students, such as sending 60 students to attend a four-day STEM summer camp in 2016.
Staff members will also have access to professional development opportunities and curriculum through the funding provided by the National Defense Education Program.
"We're so thrilled and grateful for the many education avenues this will provide for our students," Douglass Valley Principal Kelly Farmer said. "This will align our 21st Century skills efforts with STEM education in a very hands-on, meaningful way."
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This year, Challenger had a 3 fold increase the number of Lego grant requests, totaling over $41,000 worth of Legos!!! For us, it confirms that teachers are motivated to get the engineering design process into their classrooms.
It is extremely important to Challenger to support as many schools as possible, so we have decided to move the Lego Challenges back to February 2nd and 4th, 2016 in order to give schools more time to work with the students before the event.
The Lego Grant application deadline has passed. If you are interested in bringing Legos into your classroom please check in with us again next fall!
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January 9 - New Teacher Training
Who: Teachers new to Challenger Missions
Time: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
Location: Challenger Learning Center of Colorado
This training is for educators new to our simulator missions (Return to the Moon, Rendezvous with a Comet, or Voyage to Mars). Teachers will be introduced to our Center by participating in a simulator mission. The purpose of this training is to introduce our new teachers to our simulator and provide them with the materials and training necessary to prepare their students. Lunch will be provided.
Call to register: (719)-598-9755
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January 13 - Returning Teacher Training
Who: Teachers who have participated in Challenger Missions
Time: 5:00 - 7:00 pm
Location: Challenger Learning Center of Colorado
Check out or remodeled Briefing Room! The purpose is to highlight any mission changes, answer questions, and provide educators a refresher of our Comet, Mars, or Moon missions. Dinner will be provided. Attending this training will count toward the Professional Development credit, offered by Challenger.
Call to register: (719)-598-9755
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February 2 - LEGO Simple Machines Design Challenge
Who: K-3rd Grade Students
Location: Library 21C
Time: 5:00 - 8:00 pm
Registration for this event is now closed.
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February 4 - LEGO WeDo Design Challenge
Who: 4th & 5th Grade Students
Location: Library 21C
Time: 5:00 - 8:00 pm
Registration for this event is now closed.
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(Tentative)
February 27 - Sea Perch Design Challenge
Who: 6th-12th Grade Students
Location: TBA
Time: All Day (exact times to be announced)
Please submit your Grant application packet to Ron Bush
no later than 4:00 PM on Friday, December 11th, 2015.
10215 Lexington Drive, Suite 110
Colorado Springs, CO, 80920
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Nov 4 & 5
Taurids Meteor Shower Peak
Expect only 5-10 meteors per hour. The moon will outshine all but the brightest meteors.
Nov 17
Leonids Meteor Shower
Peak
Expect up to 15 meteors per hour. The best time for viewing is after midnight.
Nov 26
Full Moon
Mercury
Our smallest planet will be visible just before sunrise at the beginning of the month.
Jupiter, Venus, Mars
The three planets will be clustered together in the eastern sky. They will be visible in the early morning until dawn.
See the International Space Station!
This website will calculate when and where you need to look to see the ISS in your city.
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Saturn Moon Flyby!
NASA's Cassini probe is nearing the end of its fuel life. Before its fuel is spent, it is visiting many of Saturn's major moons, including Enceladus, a moon which some scientists believe may harbor microbial life.
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Featured Free Web Resource
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DSCOVR: EPIC
NASA's new website will display multiple daily photos of our planet. These images will be a great way to explore our ever-changing planet and Earth's weather systems.
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Nov 10
French Guiana
An Ariane 5 ECA rocket will launch multiple satellites. The satellites will provide commercial communication services for the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, and the Indian Ocean.
Nov 17
Florida
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a satellite for SES of Luxembourg. It will provide communication services for Asia and the Indian Ocean.
Nov 21
Kazakhstan
A Russian Soyuz rocket will deliver cargo to the ISS.
Nov 24
Japan
Japan will launch a communications satellite. The Telstar 12 Vantage satellite will provide broadband communication across multiple continents.
Nov TBD
China
A Long March 3B rocket will launch a communication satellite, servicing Laos and Southeast Asia.
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