CHALLENGER LEARNING CENTER VIRTUAL LESSONS

Our team is continuing our mission remotely with lessons to keep you “STEAM-ing” at home! 

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @ChallengerTLH for updates on when new virtual lessons are available and other engaging content. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to make sure you don’t miss a thing. Stay engaged and continue learning with us during our temporary closure!

MAKE GALAXY SLIME WITH DANIEL

Enjoy Camp Challenger activities at home! Experienced educator Daniel Allison presents step-by-step instructions on how to make two versions of galaxy slime using household items.

PAPER CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH LIANA

Keep STEAM-ing…at home! Challenger Learning Center educator Liana Rodriguez performs paper chromatography and makes suggestions for experimenting with different kinds of markers.

CLOUDS WITH CHRISTINA

We’re continuing the mission…from home! Challenger Learning Center educator Christina Hagenbeck walks you through the water cycle and how to make a cloud in a jar using household items.

PROPER HAND WASHING WITH CHRISTINA

Challenger Learning Center educator Christina shares with us the importance of proper hand washing…and how germs stay on your hands if you don’t use soap and wash for at least 20 seconds! Sit back, relax and enjoy…then go wash your hands.

BIOPLASTIC BOUNCY BALLS WITH DANIEL

Daniel is back to teach you how to make bouncy balls with household items! Continue experimenting, exploring, and “STEAM-ing” at home – more virtual lessons coming soon from Challenger Learning Center.

EASTER BALANCING ACT WITH DANIEL

It’s Easter – the time for marshmallow Peeps! Learn about balancing points, the engineering design process and more with Daniel as he conducts a balance experiment.

EASTER CATAPULTS WITH DANIEL

Explore potential and kinetic energy with Daniel as he teaches us how to build a catapults to launch Peeps and plastic Easter eggs! Use the engineering design process to build and compare catapult designs, hold a virtual, friendly competition with family and friends, and have fun!

IMAX MOVIE MONDAY: WILD OCEANS

Join Nika from the Challenger Learning Center as she presents activities related to Giant Screen Films’ Wild Ocean, available to stream for free on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/401065415! Nika conducts experiments on density and fish bladders in this virtual workshop.

ICE FISHING WITH LIANA

Challenger Learning Center educator Liana Rodriguez conducts an experiment on ice fishing and how salt plays an important role. Try it yourself from home!

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: SAVING SALILA’S TURTLE

Join Layne for story time! Each Wednesday, we’ll read a book from the Engineering is Elementary collection – this week is Saving Salila’s Turtle, which introduces students to the problem of water pollution—and to some solutions. Check out the accompanying lesson, Water Filters with Daniel!

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: WATER FILTERS (ACCOMPANYING LESSON)

Join Daniel for a water filter experiment! Each Wednesday, we’ll read a book from the Engineering is Elementary collection – this week is Saving Salila’s Turtle, which introduces students to the problem of water pollution—and to some solutions. Do this experiment with Daniel and check out the accompanying story with Layne!

ASK A METEOROLOGIST WITH DANIEL

Learn about weather, climate and more! Daniel is a meteorologist and is here to answer your questions. Check out this lesson and learn something new about weather and safety in the panhandle area. Keep STEAM-ing!

BUILD A DENSITY TOWER WITH DANIEL

Build a colorful density tower with Daniel! Then test items with different densities and observe where they fall. Keep STEAM-ing from home with us as we continue our educational mission remotely.

IMAX MOVIE MONDAY: WATER BROTHERS

Check out this week’s show & accompanying lesson! Nika teaches you how to make an upcycled bird feeder and do a water-cycle-in-a-bag experiment in celebration of Earth Day! Episodes of the eco-adventure series The Water Brothers can be streamed for free at thewaterbrothers.ca.

MAKE A BAROMETER WITH DANIEL

Inspiring, exploring, learning…it’s our mission! Continue the mission from home by “STEAM-ing” with us. Challenger Learning Center educator Daniel Allison is back to teach us how to make a barometer, a tool that measures air pressure, with household items.

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: TEHYA’S POLLUTION SOLUTION

Happy Earth Day! Layne brings us another engineering story with Tehya’s Pollution Solution! Tehya and her friend discover oil coating the surface of a river. Tehya’s neighbor, an environmental engineer working on the cleanup, teaches them what they can do to help. Check out Daniel’s accompanying lesson on oil spills after the book reading.

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: OIL SPILL (ACCOMPANYING LESSON)

Happy Earth Day! Join Daniel to learn about the impact of oil spills and to conduct a simulated oil spill experiment using items you have around the house. This is a messy one, so head outside! This lesson accompanies Engineering is Elementary: Tehya’s Pollution Solution book reading with Layne.

TORNADO TUBES WITH DANIEL

Stay engaged from home with this tornado tubes demo from Challenger Learning Center educator Daniel Allison! Daniel walks us through several different designs, depending on what materials you have available at home. Enjoy and keep STEAM-ing!

SECRET MESSAGES IN INVISIBLE INK WITH DANIEL

Code and decode secret messages with invisible ink! Challenger Learning Center’s Daniel Allison leads a workshop on how to do this using household items, complete with a lesson on acids and bases and a joke or two.

RED CABBAGE pH INDICATOR EXPERIMENT WITH LIANA

Learn all about acids and bases through this fun experiment! Be sure to store your leftover red cabbage juice for the next kitchen chemistry experiment with Liana, coming up next week.

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU! STAR WARS DAY

Explore miniature film-making with William! Learn different techniques you can try at home and see how the professionals behind-the-scenes of the Star Wars movies bring battling spacecraft to life. May the Fourth Be With You!

KITCHEN CHEMISTRY: TIE DYE WITH FOOD

Get creative with Liana from the Challenger Learning Center in a lesson on how to tie dye using household items! Liana dyes pairs of socks green (using spinach) and purple (using red cabbage) in this how-to workshop.

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: MARIANA BECOMES A BUTTERFLY

Layne reads to us from Mariana Becomes a Butterfly: An Architectural Engineering Story! Mariana learns the challenges of maintaining balance in natural systems and the rewards of agricultural engineering. Check out the accompanying lesson on making your own pollinator with Nika: https://youtu.be/dzA12hwbwlk

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: MAKE A HAND POLLINATOR

Join Nika for a quick, fun activity exploring how pollination works! Create your own handheld pollinator using household items and demonstrate how bees and other pollinators transfer pollen from one flower to another. Check out the accompanying book read with Layne: https://youtu.be/dm5_f5NwIJA

KITCHEN CHEMISTRY: MAKING ICE CREAM

Stay cool this summer by making your own ice cream! Liana teaches us the importance of salt in the process of ice cream-making, how to properly shake your mixture, and the best strategies for this delicious summer treat.

BUILD A HOMEMADE THERMOMETER WITH DANIEL

Join Daniel for another hands-on activity: building your own thermometer! Daniel walks you through a step-by-step workshop using household items. Thanks for helping us continue our educational mission at home. Stay engaged and keep learning!

IMAX & ACTIVITY: DINOSAURS ALIVE!

Nika walks us through two hands-on activities relating to dinosaurs! Test which “dinosaur mouths” are best adapted to pick up certain types of “food” and make a dinosaur skeleton. Check out the accompanying IMAX documentary, Giant Screen Films’ Dinosaurs Alive!, for FREE here: https://vimeo.com/401066917

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: JUAN DANIEL’S FUTBOL FROG

Layne reads to us about a boy who engineers a membrane to keep a frog alive. Students learn how membranes function and apply their knowledge of the basic needs of living organisms to engineering design. Check out the accompanying lesson on making a membrane model with William: https://youtu.be/IxxbN6JDbhY

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: MAKE A MEMBRANE MODEL

Check out this fun lesson with William! Membranes are thin layers that let helpful substances pass through and keep harmful substances out. Learn to think like a bioengineer and design a model membrane to mimic the properties of real membranes in live organisms. Follow along with the corresponding book reading of Juan Daniel’s Futbol Frog with Layne: https://youtu.be/YEJsH6divPI

KITCHEN CHEMISTRY: MAKING SALT DOUGH

Liana walks us through a super-simple tutorial on how to make salt dough! The dough is very versatile – you can use it to make ornaments, decorations, or keepsakes like a clay paw print of your favorite pet. Once you’ve baked your dough and it has set, get creative – paint or decorate your creation however you like!

SPACE EFFECTS ON THE HUMAN BODY

The U.S. just launched astronauts from American soil for the first time since 2011! Daniel teaches us the difference between gravity and microgravity, and explains the effects on microgravity on the human body in space. Conduct an experiment to simulate these effects on your own body!

IMAX & ACTIVITY: MUMMIES!

Part historic journey and part forensic adventure, Giant Screen Films’ Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs follows researchers and explorers as they piece together the archaeological and genetic clues of Egyptian mummies. Today, scientists work to extract mummies’ DNA for medical research and cures for diseases. Christina teaches us how extract DNA from strawberries in this video! Check out Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs, for FREE here: https://vimeo.com/400675981

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: KWAME’S SOUND

Layne reads to us from the storybook Kwame’s Sound, which introduces a young drummer from Ghana who is blind; his father, an acoustical engineer, shows Kwame that sound is vibration and can be represented with both visual symbols (such as musical notation and spectrograms) and tactile symbols. Check out the corresponding activity with Nika, on how to build a homemade drum: https://youtu.be/0kHmURczwvs

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: BUILD A HOMEMADE DRUM

Nika teaches us how to build a homemade drum in this easy-to-follow virtual lesson! Use household items to make your drum, and decorate it any way you choose. Enjoy the corresponding book reading of Kwame’s Sound with Layne: https://youtu.be/re1SB69yp-I

BUILD A HOMEMADE SUNDIAL WITH DANIEL

Jump into this fun summer project! Learn about all aspects of the sundial: history, mechanics, and most importantly, how to build your own. Daniel walks us through the process step-by-step, including troubleshooting. Stay engaged from your own backyard!

IMAX & ACTIVITY: DREAM BIG

Check out one of our favorite IMAX documentaries and build a strong structure at home! Christina talks about the engineering process, the structural strength of the triangle, and the importance of ingenuity and patience in this lesson. Narrated by Jeff Bridges, MacGillivray Freeman Films’ Dream Big: Engineering Our World examines incredible achievements of engineering from across the globe. Stream now on Netflix or buy/rent on Vimeo On Demand: vimeo.com/ondemand/dreambigfilm. 

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: PAULO’S PARACHUTE MISSION

Layne reads to us from Paulo’s Parachute Mission! Learn about a boy from Brazil who designs a parachute to get a large, heavy fruit down from a tree. To accompany the story, check out Nika’s lesson on designing and testing a parachute at home: https://youtu.be/oROXZ_DGwio

 

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: DESIGN A PARACHUTE

Nika leads us through an engineering challenge to design a parachute! The process involves testing different materials and exploring the design process, all things you can do from home. Check out Layne’s corresponding book read, Paulo’s Parachute Mission: https://youtu.be/AqXLiBPRMYk

KITCHEN CHEMISTRY: OOBLECK

Is it a solid? Is it a liquid? It’s…oobleck! Spend a few minutes getting messy in the kitchen and making this unique substance out of common household ingredients. Liana walks us through the process step-by-step. It’s easy enough to make time and time again – add different food coloring and make it your own!

EXPERIMENT WITH STATIC ELECTRICITY

It’s not magic…it’s science! Daniel is back to walk us through two fun experiments with static electricity. Learn how to bend water and force a soda can to roll across the counter – and what factors you can manipulate to try the experiments more than once. Be sure to adhere to Daniel’s safety guidelines and have fun!

IMAX & ACTIVITY: NATIONAL PARKS ADVENTURE

Take a virtual road trip across America’s greatest national parks! Check out one of our favorite IMAX documentaries, MacGillivray Freeman Films’ National Parks Adventure, on Netflix or rent/buy on Vimeo: vimeo.com/ondemand/nationalparksadventure. Narrated by Robert Redford, this documentary tours the awe-inspiring landscapes, historic sites and untamed wilderness of America’s great parks. Christina leads a fun activity on landforms and how water plays a crucial role in different formations to go along with your documentary viewing!

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: YI MIN’S GREAT WALL

Wood, stone, metal, plastic . . . if you want to build something, materials matter! Layne reads us the storybook Yi Min’s Great Wall, in which Yi Min uses her knowledge of earth materials to design a rabbit-proof wall to protect the school vegetable garden. Next, join Christina for an activity on designing and building bridges: https://youtu.be/9uuw1R2OPJA

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: DESIGN A BRIDGE

Get building! Christina teaches us how to build a bridge using materials you can find right at home. To accompany your bridge-building, Layne reads us the storybook Yi Min’s Great Wall, in which Yi Min uses her knowledge of earth materials to design a rabbit-proof wall to protect the school vegetable garden: https://youtu.be/MOiPHSdNn8E

KITCHEN CHEMISTRY: SODA GEYSER

You’ll want to head outside for this messy activity! Liana shows us how to create a soda geyser using Mentos candy and soda. Dropping in the candy creates a chemical reaction and the carbon dioxide in the soda will try to escape liquid – get ready, stand back, and don’t blink – this reaction happens fast!

MAKE AN EDIBLE ROVER WITH DANIEL

Yum! Join Daniel for a fun – and delicious – activity, building your own edible rover! The inspiration for this activity is the Mars 2020 NASA program. Learn about the purpose of the mission and the role rovers play while making your own out of icing, cookies, pretzels and more!

IMAX & ACTIVITY: APOLLO 11: FIRST STEPS EDITION

Nika conducts a fun challenge based on the IMAX documentary Apollo 11: First Steps Edition! The film captures the mission that landed American astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong on the moon in 1969. Complete this engineering challenge to build and test a lunar lander with shock absorbers in this lab with Nika! You can rent or buy Apollo 11 on Amazon Prime.

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: LEIF CATCHES THE WIND

Think like a mechanical engineer! Layne reads to us from the storybook Leif Catches the Wind, which introduces students to wind turbines that generate renewable energy. Check out the corresponding activity with Christina on how to build a windmill: https://youtu.be/zNS3IJ9aJHs

ENGINEERING IS ELEMENTARY: DESIGN A WINDMILL

It’s a lesson all about windmills! Christina teaches us about wind energy and turbines, and takes us through the steps to build a windmill at home! Check out the corresponding book reading with Layne, who reads to us from the storybook Leif Catches the Wind: https://youtu.be/AqXLiBPRMYk

KITCHEN CHEMISTRY: MILK GLUE

Liana is back for kitchen chemistry! Learn how to make non-toxic glue using only household items. It’s amazing how many things you can make – and experiment with – right in your own kitchen. Let us know how your milk glue turns out!

HOMEMADE MOON SAND

It’s time to get creative! Daniel teaches us how to make moon sand using common kitchen ingredients and provides a lesson on real moon dust, packed with information you may not already know! Use your moon sand to build your own formations and sculptures, and when you’re ready, watch it fall right back to its original shape and consistency. We can’t wait to see what you create!

IMAX & ACTIVITY: DOLPHINS

Check out MacGillivray Freeman Films’ IMAX classic, Dolphins, and learn how dolphins live, play and communicate. Nika leads us through two fun activities: one to demonstrate how sound travels as vibration, and another to help us better understand echolocation. Rent or buy Dolphins via Amazon Prime: click here.