By Chris McCarthy, Publisher/Managing Editor and Kaitlin Hoskins, News Editor
The 25th Challenger Learning Center in the United States officially made an Etowah County municipality its home.
On Tuesday, Sept. 17, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Challenger Learning Center of Northeast Alabama located at 1986 Challenger Way. A host of local and state officials were on hand for the event, including Governor Kay Ivey, Alabama Speaker of the House Nathaniel Ledbetter, State Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey, Starts Senator Andrew Jones and State Representatives Craig Lipscomb, Mark Gidley and Mack Butler. Lipscomb is also the architect for the project.
Expected to open its doors in 2026, the facility will serve middle school students in Etowah, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Clay, Cleburne, DeKalb, Marshall, Randolph, St. Clair, Talladega and Jefferson counties with space-themed missions and hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) learning activities that complement classroom instruction.
“We cannot wait to see the incredible opportunities that this collaboration will bring to our city,” said Rainbow City Mayor Joe Taylor said. “Our support proposal for the Challenger Learning Center is proof that when we work together, we can achieve great things. It’s not often that a city of our size gets a visit from the governor, the speaker of the house, the superintendent of education and several members of the state legislature all at the same time. Everyone knows that our city is growing, and that takes a lot of planning and a lot of sacrifice on the part of a great many people. Our ability to move forward with our comprehensive plan and doing our projects in a very orderly fashion will help sustain our growth.”
The center is located on five acres by the Rainbow Middle School and John S. Jones Elementary School, across from the KIA/RBC Sports Complex. Construction is expected to begin later this year with a projected completion date in 2025.
“It’s great to be a citizen and a public servant in Rainbow City right now,” said Rainbow City Councilman Randy Vice. “As long as you’re growing, you’re going, so let’s keep it up.”
The center is a part of a network of Challenger Learning Centers across 24 states and three countries that has reached more than six million students worldwide. Challenger Learning Centers offer a variety of hands-on (STEM) programs, with the core being its simulated space-themed missions in a fully immersive learning environment.
In 2022, an advisory council was formed to spearhead the possibility of opening a Challenger Learning Center in Northeast Alabama. The council is made up of 15 businessmen and women working together to ensure feasibility, garner stakeholder support, fundraise and facilitate the application and build process for the future location.
“We began this journey just over two years ago with a group of local business and community leaders,” said Tony Smith, chairman of the Challenger Learning Center Advisory Board. “After one year of visiting centers and researching and talking with leaders across out 12-county region, the members of our advisory council came to a unanimous decision – Alabama needed a Challenger Learning Center, and today we are breaking gourd for that center. Everyone on this stage and many in this audience have helped make this project a reality. We know that today’s children will be tomorrow’s workforce.”
The location will offer easy access to Interstates 59 and 759, U.S. Highway 411 and Alabama Highway 77. Trent Thrasher Construction of Rainbow City was awarded the bid for the project earlier this year.
“The Challenger Center that we’re breaking ground on today represents the latest in an ongoing siring of investments made possible through the state of Alabama,” said Jones. “These projects, which are all located here in Etowah County, each serve with a greater regional impact for the surrounding counties and communities. These aren’t just great investments for brick and mortar; they’re ultimately investments in our greatest resource – our people. These investments hold the potential to change the economic landscape of East Alabama for decades to come.”
The City of Rainbow City’s total contribution is estimated to be between $700,000 and $800,000. To prepare for the new facility, the city will spend approximately $175,000 for site development of the $450,000 worth of land. The city will also perform $10,000 worth of site groundskeeping for seven years and offer a school resource officer for the center once it is complete.
“The [advisory] council looked at all of the proposed cities,” said Rainbow City Councilman Jeff Prince, who served on the center’s Advisory Council. “It really came down to that old saying, ‘location, location, location.’ Our location will serve the most kids in a 90-mile-radius. There were so many places that wanted the center, but it came down to where the center needed to be. We are fortunate that it was Rainbow City.”
The State of Alabama committed to $8,500,000, the Community Foundation of Northeast Alabama has committed to $200,000, the Etowah County Commission has committed to $100,000 and local entities have also pledged thousands of dollars. The city of Attalla and Hokes Bluff have both pledged $25,000 each and Etowah County Community Development Committees of Districts 28, 29 and 30 have all pledged $10,000 each. The Challenger Learning Center also secured a $2.4 million Congressionally Directed Spending award through the efforts of U.S. Congressman Robert Aderholt.
“This special event is not just the grounding breaking of a new building; it’s the planning of seeds to sprout high-tech careers for thousands of Alabama young people,” said Ivey. “I’m excited about the impact this amazing facility will have upon Alabama’s future workforce. Like most significant endeavors, this project began as the vision of a small group of 15 citizens in 2022, and I’m grateful for the vision of those people who have assumed the mantle of leadership in making this wonderful project a reality. Alabamians love rising to a challenge, which is evidenced by the strong embrace that STEM education has received and continues to receive.”
Ledbetter noted that he had a feeling that the project would come to fruition when he attended the first exploratory meeting two years ago at The Venue at Coosa Landing in Gadsden and was heartened to see a packed house.
“I should have known back then that when they broke ground for this facility, it will be the largest crowd (Rainbow City) has ever had for any one event in Etowah County,” said Ledbetter. “I think the reason that so many people have been involved and gotten engaged in this project is because of the kids. One of things we want to do is to try to bring jobs for tomorrow, and the future is in STEM. It’s more important today than it ever has been to make sure that our children have got a firm and solid foundation they can grow on. We’ve got to intrigue kids’ minds to be the best that they can be, and this center will be a big part of that.”
“Every time I meet with Governor Ivey, she always asked me what we’re doing for the young people of Alabama to make sure that they have a bright future,” said Mackey. “We always talk about every child getting every chance every day, and we working to creating not only great opportunities while they’re in school but creating opportunities for these same young people to stay in Alabama afterwards.”
Also in attendance was Dr. June Scobee Rogers, an Odenville native whose husband Richard was the flight commander for the failed 1986 NASA Teacher in Space Challenger Shuttle mission, during which all seven crew members perished. Following that tragedy, Rogers founded the Challenger Center for Space Science Education to, according to her website, “engage hundreds of thousands of students and tens of thousands of teachers in dynamic, hands-on exploration and discovery opportunities that strengthen their knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).”