BlackboardChallenger Center's Grand Opening Celebration Set For Saturday
TALLAHASSEE, FL - After seven years in the making, the Challenger Learning Center opens its doors to the public on Saturday.
"It's taken a long time to get here, but this is truly the beginning of a new and fantastic journey in science education for everyone in the Tallahassee region," said retired astronaut Dr. Norman Thagard, board chairman for the center and associate dean of College Relations at the Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering.
The opening of the newest and most technologically advanced of the 47 Challenger centers in the United States, Canada and Great Britain comes at a poignant time for the space community. With the space shuttle Columbia disaster still fresh on everyone's mind, Saturday's ceremonies will include a special tribute to the astronauts who gave their lives during the Columbia and Challenger tragedies as well as during the Apollo 1 mission in 1967.
While the $10 million, 32,000-square-foot center's core mission is to provide and promote science education for middle school students in North Florida, South Georgia and Southeast Alabama, its facilities are open to the public daily. The center features a 300-seat IMAX theater with a 50-by-70-foot screen, the world's only high-definition, enhanced projection, full dome digital planetarium and a space mission simulator, which includes replicas of mission control and the International Space Station for conducting experiments.
"No matter whether you are 10 years old or 64, you'll find the Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee has something interesting waiting for you," said Richard Fisher, director of the center. The center is run by the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering and is located on Kleman Plaza in downtown Tallahassee.
The grand opening celebration begins at 10 a.m. with a performance by the Tallahassee Boys Choir. Twelve middle school students will talk live to astronauts aboard the International Space Station at about 10:30. The ribbon cutting ceremony begins at 11:30.
The first IMAX film and planetarium show plays at noon. The IMAX theater will feature every hour one of the three shows playing at the center. The shows are "Mission to Mir," "Dolphins" and "Adrenaline Rush." Special guests who are scheduled to attend the grand opening include the widows of two Challenger astronauts who died during the Jan. 28, 1986 disaster: June Scobee-Rogers, widow of Cmdr. Francis "Dick" Scobee and Cheryl McNair, widow of mission specialist Ronald McNair.
Kathleen Dudzinski, star of the movie "Dolphins" and world-renowned expert in dolphin communications, will also be on hand for the opening. She will autograph copies of her children's book, "Meeting Dolphins: My Adventures in the Sea," and teach a class about dolphins. Giveaways will be handed out throughout the day while they last.
The Challenger Learning Center will be open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m.; and on Sunday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Fees that are competitive with commercial movie theaters are charged for the IMAX and planetarium shows. Group discounts are available with advanced arrangements.
