Frequently Asked Questions

Challenger Learning Center of Northeast Alabama primarily serves students in grades 5–8 from public, private, and homeschool learning environments. Our service area includes Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, DeKalb, Etowah, Jefferson, Marshall, Randolph, St. Clair, and Talladega counties, but students from outside our service area are welcome as well.

Our simulator missions include grade-level academic language and mission tasks that are best suited for students in grade 5 and above. We are also able to serve high school students and adult groups. Companies and organizations may rent our facilities for meetings, team-building simulator missions, and STEM experiences.

Pricing depends on the size of the group, the length of the visit, and the programs selected. We are currently finalizing our field trip and group visit options so that we can offer high-quality STEM experiences while remaining as accessible as possible for schools and community groups.

We do not want cost to keep a school from reaching out. If you are interested in bringing students to Challenger, please contact us at info@challengeral.org, and we will be glad to talk through available options.

A typical full day visit includes a simulator mission and hands-on STEM activities. Our simulator missions last about 90 minutes and can currently accommodate up to 35 students at a time. While one group of 35 is flying a mission, another group participates in STEM activities chosen by the teacher and aligned to Alabama Course of Study standards.

Groups may rotate so that students have the opportunity to experience both the mission and STEM labs. We also have space available for students to eat lunch while they are here.

If your group is larger than our capacity or if you can't spend an entire day with us, our team will work with you to design a Challenger experience to meet your needs. 

Challenger offers immersive simulator missions and hands-on STEM experiences designed to support classroom learning. We are currently flying Expedition Mars, and we plan to offer Operation Comet beginning this fall.

Our STEM programming includes experiences in areas such as robotics, coding, engineering design, 3D printing, drones, rocketry, circuitry, space science, and other hands-on STEM topics. Teachers may choose activities from our current STEM menu, which is aligned to Alabama state standards.

Our STEM menu will be updated for the fall in mid-July. If your class is studying a specific topic, let us know. We are happy to work with teachers to recommend an existing activity or explore whether we can design an experience that supports what your students are learning.

In addition to field trips, Challenger offers after school programs covering a wide variety of topics.  Check our events page frequently for updates. 

We have monthly volunteer trainings.  If you are interested in volunteering at Challenger, please reach out to us at info@challengeral.org