San Antonio College’s Scobee Education Center is ready for take-off

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Susan Saporito / San Antonio Business Journal

Coordinators discuss the features of Mission Control Center at the new Scobee Education Center at San Antonio College.

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Susan Saporito

Managing Editor- San Antonio Business Journal

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It's all systems go at San Antonio College with the grand opening of the college's Scobee Education Center set for this Friday.

"We are thrilled to finally open the Scobee Education Center," said Robert Vela, San Antonio College president. He added that with the addition of the center, SAC is poised to become the hub for space and science education throughout South Texas.

The Scobee Education Center is a state-of-the-art 22,000-square-foot facility, combining the Scobee Planetarium with the world's newest Challenger Learning Center. The project, which broke ground in May 2012, included extensive remodeling and expansion of the Scobee Planetarium and Observatory, which has been a San Antonio College staple for more than 50 years.

The core of the Challenger Learning Center is an interactive computerized simulator with a Mission Control room and an orbiting Space Station. The facility gives students an opportunity to become astronauts and engineers through space simulation and role playing.

To utilize the center, teachers from school districts across San Antonio meet with their designated district science coordinators. Those coordinators then contact the center to set up a visit. Teachers visit in advance to prepare for their students' space missions.

Each mission is different, depending on the ability of the class. The center is able to handle two to three missions per day, with each lasting two to three hours.

The center joins a network of more than 40 Challenger Learning Centers throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and South Korea.

SAC's Scobee Education Center is named for Francis "Dick" Scobee, flight commander of the ill-fated Challenger mission. Scobee attended SAC while stationed at Kelly Air Force Base in the early 1960s.

For more information on the Scobee open house, visit alamo.edu/sac/scobeeopenhouse.

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