Tucked off a side street in Ferguson, Missouri is an educational opportunity that is out of this world.
“Mission control this is MTV,” a 5th grade student says into her headset.
The Challenger Learning Center has allowed kids to sort step into the boots of astronauts since 2003.
“My job is to make sure everyone here gets their messages to the other communications officer,” explains another 5th grader.
It’s a place with all sorts of programs including summer camps.
“When they sign up for our camps they do a whole bunch of different activities that help them do engineering and astronaut training activities such as simulated space missions, rocket design competitions, other types of design and engineering challenges where they get to take on roles similar to what real astronauts and scientist and engineers would do on a mission to mars,” explains Tasmyn Front, Executive Director of Challenger Learning Center.
Kids even get a badge that gives them top security clearance.
“It’s a simulation experience, so it’s really putting them into those roles and getting to do things that they would never have an opportunity to do now and being able to envision themselves in the future maybe taking on some of those roles and the skies the limit or beyond.”
Mars or Bust, a collaboration between the Challenger Learning Center and the Saint Louis Science Center, is one of 6,000 camps you’ll find on Blueprint4Summer STL.
“Blueprint4SummerSTL is a free and easy to use web based app that helps families in the Greater St. Louis area find information about best fit summer programming,” Allie Cicotte, the programs manager for Blueprint4Summer, points out.
It’s a comprehensive list of camps for kids three to 18. It includes anything a kid could possibly be interested in and everything parents are looking for.
“Whether there’s before and after care, scholarships, how close it is to your house, all of those things that make summer planning really tricky, we try to help put into one easy to use app,” Cicotte adds.
So make sure your kids summer is a blast, there’s an easy to use tool at your fingertips.
For more information go to www.blueprint4summer.com.