Elaine Harris Spearman Commentary: Challenger Center a chance to change state's future

“Without Walt Cunningham, there would be no moon landing.” So says Buzz Aldrin, the lunar module pilot for the Apollo 11 mission, the first in which men walked on the moon.

His dear friend died at the age of 90 on Jan. 3, and was the lunar module pilot for Apollo 7, the first successful manned Apollo mission.

Cunningham was part of the Apollo 1 accident review board and helped redesign the Apollo capsule following the tragic fire in 1967 that killed three astronauts.

Aldrin talked about how he and Cunningham got into the NASA astronauts' program in an article for the Washington Post.

Cunningham was studying physics, engineering and working hard. His hallmark was gratitude and keeping his ego in check. He suggested design changes, rethought the Apollo capsule’s environmental control system and re-engineered the spacecraft for safety.

The Walt Cunninghams and Buzz Aldrins may be sitting in today’s classrooms across a large swath of Northeast Alabama.

The proposed North Alabama Challenger Learning Center, for which a task force is trying to marshal support and funds to locate in Gadsden, offers an exciting opportunity to change this state's future.

Two human dynamos are the tailwinds for the proposed center that will offer opportunities to prepare the workforce for current and future businesses in Northeast Alabama.

Martha Lavender and Theresa Rhea’s unwavering commitment to locating the Challenger Center in Gadsden is at the heart of this great possibility. There are others involved on the task force; all are committed to excellence in education and the development of opportunities for young people.

What is a Challenger Learning Center? It is a simulated, fully immersive space themed STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) center. It uses space-themed simulated learning and role-playing strategies developed by NASA to help students bring their classroom studies to life and cultivate skills needed for future success such as problem solving, critical thinking, communication, teamwork and collaboration.

It helps shift self-identity from “I don’t like science,” to “I like science, I can do science and I want to learn more about science.”

The program will impact fifth- through eighth-grade students in Northeast Alabama. The Gadsden “base camp” area includes Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Dekalb, Etowah, Marshall and St. Clair counties. The Northeast Alabama school population for grades 5-12 is more than 62,000 students.

There have been meetings and presentations since late 2022. District representatives, legislators, school superintendents, area mayors, Gov. Kay Ivey and her staff and critical stakeholders have all been involved in coordinated presentations.

John Langlois, Riverview CEO, actually participated in a Challenger Center program and gave participants a first-hand view.

The closest Challenger Center is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Many task force members made a fall trip for a hands-on presentation and tour. The excitement was palpable.

The first Challenger Center opened in 1988. The whole idea rests on equity in education and leveling the playing field.

We rarely hear young people making career choices of scientist, astronaut, technological advancement or mathematically related fields.

While all career choices have benefits and burdens, the jobs of the future appear to dictate a STEM education for young people to be successful.

Recruitment of business and industry to Alabama requires a prepared workforce, and a future pool of high school and college graduates ready to enter the workforce with the necessary skills for industry and business.

There is more to come as the Challenger Center project continues to develop and funding sources become more tangible.

Elaine Harris Spearman, Esq., a Gadsden native, is an attorney and is the retired legal advisor to the comptroller of the City of St. Louis. The opinions reflected are her own. 

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Elaine Harris Spearman looks at proposed Challenger Learning Center