Category: Learning

Challenger Learning Center at SC4 announces April 8 public mission date

>>> Register here

Challenger Learning Center at St. Clair County Community College (SC4) will launch visitors to the moon with Mission: Lunar Quest at 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 8. The mission date is open to the public and limited to the first 34 registrants. Seats on the mission are $25 per person and those ages 10-99+ are welcome!

Challenger Learning Center at SC4 is the only Center of its kind in Michigan and one of 40 Challenger Learning Centers nationwide and around the world. It is a fully immersive, space-themed experience aimed at deepening understanding and appreciation of STEM careers and topics and building critical 21st-century skills. It offers unique learning and team-building opportunities for students, educators, corporations and community residents.

Mission participants will launch to the moon in search of a long-term human habitat, command and assist in Mission Control, or board the Spacecraft as an astronaut, serving on teams like biology, geology, weather, robotics, life support and more. They will help deploy a Lunar Exploration Rover to investigate areas of the lunar surface and make critical decisions to turn a potential catastrophe into NASA’s finest hour.

Challenger Center was founded in 1986 in the aftermath of the Challenger shuttle tragedy. The families of the crew came together and created Challenger Center to carry on the spirit of their loved ones and continue the Challenger crew’s educational mission. Challenger Center, with its network of Challenger Learning Centers and digital programs, has reached more than 5.5 million students and learners worldwide.

Register for the April 8 mission at stclair.nbsstore.net/community-missions. Mission: Lunar Quest is open to learners in 5th grade and beyond. Support may be available. Contact us with inquiries and questions at experiencecenter@sc4.edu or (810) 989-5789.

To schedule a full group mission at another time, visit challenger.sc4.edu/schedule-a-visit/.

Please note the mission date set for May 20 has been postponed. Please check challenger.sc4.edu often for other future open mission dates.

SC4 hosts SkillsUSA Regional Welding Competition

St. Clair County Community College (SC4) was pleased to host the SkillsUSA Regional Welding Competition on Friday, Feb. 10, in the Acheson Technology Center. Longtime SC4 welding professor Joseph McFalda served as the competition facilitator.

The approximately 30 junior and senior students competing at SC4 came from St. Clair County TEC, Oakland Schools Technical Campuses (OSTC), Warren Consolidated Schools and Centerline Public Schools (CPC).

Students receive a blueprint and precut metal at the competition. They are then judged on skill as well as how clean and safely each piece is welded in four categories: gas metal arc welding, gas tungsten arc welding, shielded metal arc welding, and overall.

Winners, who will now go on to compete in the state competition, included:

Gas metal arc welding
1st place – Lucas Jones – CPC
2nd Place – Derek Buckles – CPC
3rd Place – Carter Belian – CPC

Shielded metal arc welding
1st place – Scott Pauly – St. Clair County TEC
2nd Place – Gregory Jones – St. Clair County TEC
3rd Place – Remington Koveck – St. Clair County TEC

Gas tungsten arc welding
1st Place – Zachary Vanbuskirk – St. Clair County TEC
2nd Place – Colin Turzak – OSTC
3rd Place – Dylan Emmert – St. Clair County TEC

Overall
1st Place – Lukas Morris – St. Clair County TEC
2nd Place – Logan Fiedler – St. Clair County TEC
3rd Place – Derek Gurne – St. Clair County TEC

“Welders are needed more now than ever,” said McFalda, who’s been judging competitions for more than 15 years. “This type of competition takes students out of their comfort zone and simulates going in for a job interview or a job test, where everything is new. They don’t know what to do sometimes or what to expect. It’s a little more real-world for them.”

He added, “Students can make a very good living being a welder. They can spend an entire career getting better as they go. I’ve been doing it for 45 years. I’ve never tired of it and am still learning and getting better.”

Alumni Spotlight: Loren Gajda

Current or most recent title and employer?
Non-traditional student

How did SC4 help prepare you?
I finished my associate degree at SC4. SC4 helped me identify my academic strengths and weaknesses, and how to navigate toward my long-term professional goals.

What do you like most about what you do professionally?
I’m currently transitioning careers and am yet again in school, but SC4 was the first stepping stone in my professional journey. SC4 was the foundation for my current career path.

Did you transfer on and earn other degrees? If so, what degrees and from where?
I graduated from SC4 in 2016. Afterward, I joined the Navy. After that, I graduated from Tulsa Welding School Jacksonville Professional Welder Program, and now I’m currently an undergraduate Russian language student at Stetson University in Florida.

SC4 welcomes retired NASA astronaut to SC4 STEM Fest  

PORT HURON – Attendees at SC4 STEM Fest on March 11 will have the opportunity to meet retired NASA astronaut Dorothy “Dottie” Metcalf-Lindenburger. 

Metcalf-Lindenburger—who also was present for the launch of Challenger Learning Center at SC4 in April 2022—currently leads her own speaking and consulting business, Dottie ML, LLC. 

A former high school earth science and astronomy teacher, Metcalf-Lindenburger was selected by NASA as an astronaut candidate in 2004. She completed astronaut training in 2006 and in 2010 served as a mission specialist on STS-131, a re-supply space shuttle mission to the International Space Station. 

In 2012, Metcalf-Lindenburger commanded the NEEMO 16, a 12-day, undersea exploration mission aboard the Aquarius underwater laboratory, which resulted in her becoming an aquanaut for spending over 24 hours underwater. 

Metcalf-Lindenburger retired from NASA in 2014.  

“I’m looking forward to the upcoming SC4 STEM Fest because I enjoy engaging students to think about and experience what is possible for them,” Metcalf-Lindenburger said. “Also, I know how impactful STEM events were in shaping my early career path, and the Challenger Learning Center at SC4 will definitely launch their dreams!”

Among her many honors and accolades, she is a recipient of the Space Flight Medal for STS-131 (2010), Duncan Bonjorni Extraordinary Achievement Award from Central Washington University (2010), Pete Reid Award for Young Alumni from Whitman College (2009), VIP for the Vancouver School District (2004), Outstanding Teacher Preparation Candidate at Central Washington University (1999), Academic All-American for Cross Country and Track NAIA Division (1995 and 1996), 1996 NAIA Conference Champion in the 10K, and a 2007 Space Camp Hall of Fame Inaugural Inductee.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dottie back to campus,” said Kristin Copenhaver, SC4 chief marketing officer. “Her career illustrates what’s possible to achieve when you are passionate about and committed to what you do. Her presence at STEM Fest will inspire future generations of leaders and scientists.”

SC4 STEM Fest takes place Saturday, March 11, 2023, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on SC4’s Port Huron campus. The event—which is free and open to the public thanks to generous donations and grants—aims to spark a sense of wonder and features more than 100 hands-on, interactive science, technology, engineering and mathematics exhibits by SC4, Michigan Technological University’s Mind Trekkers, the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum and the Leslie Science & Nature Center. 

Experiences and activities will take place throughout SC4’s Fieldhouse and Clara E. Mackenzie Building / Experience Center, which includes Challenger Learning Center at SC4, the Dr. Bassam H. Nasr Natural Science Museum, a live sturgeon exhibit, virtual reality experience, health activities, exploration stations, and bird and mineral galleries. 

The event’s more than 100 activities and exhibits will have learners exploring a wide array of STEM topics. Some hands-on highlights for the event include a Challenger Mini-Mission: An Interactive Challenger Learning Center Tour,, virtual reality simulations, virtual anatomy dissection, rocket launches, robotics technology, live animal exhibits and wildlife presentations, awe-inspiring experiments using liquid nitrogen—and many more! 

Register for the SC4 STEM Fest at sc4.edu/stem-fest/stem-fest-registration/. Please direct questions to SC4 at (810) 989-5789 or experiencecenter@sc4.edu.