Discover Challenger Maine
Join Our Mission
Today’s students are tomorrow’s innovators
Founded in 2004, Challenger Maine is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and part of a worldwide network of 40 Challenger Centers established to honor the crew of the space shuttle Challenger by continuing their educational mission to learn, to explore, and to inspire.
Through our state-of-the-art NASA Mission Control simulations and hands-on STEM programs and camps, we engage students from all 16 Maine counties in experiences that build teamwork, problem-solving, and confidence.
Our mission is to ignite curiosity and inspire Maine’s students and teachers through dynamic STEM exploration that prepares the next generation to reach for the stars.
Remember Our Legacy
Challenger crew members (left to right, front row) astronauts Michael J. Smith, Francis R. (Dick) Scobee and Ronald E. McNair; Ellison S. Onizuka, Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis and Judith A. Resnik. McAuliffe & Jarvis are payload specialists, representing the Teacher in Space Project and Hughes Company, respectively. Photo credit: NASA
In January 1986, the world was shaken when the space shuttle Challenger broke apart just 73 seconds after liftoff, claiming the lives of seven astronauts, including Christa McAuliffe, America’s first Teacher-in-Space.
In the aftermath, the astronauts’ families came together, committed to carrying forward their loved ones’ mission to inspire and educate. Just three months later, they founded Challenger Center for Space Science Education. More than 35 years on, Challenger family members remain actively involved, ensuring the crew’s legacy lives on.
Today, more than 40 Challenger Learning Centers worldwide continue that mission through hands-on, simulation-based learning that sparks curiosity and teamwork.
Challenger Maine joined this movement in 2004, when students from Sebasticook Valley Middle School “flew” our very first mission in Bangor. Since then, we’ve inspired tens of thousands of Maine students, transforming tragedy into a living legacy of exploration, learning, and hope for the future.
Why STEM Matters
Building Maine’s STEM workforce
STEM—science, technology, engineering, and math—is more than a set of subjects. It’s how we solve problems, ask questions, and imagine new possibilities.
At Challenger Maine, we help students connect what they learn in the classroom to the skills and careers shaping Maine’s future.
Today, one in three working Mainers holds a STEM-related job, and that share is growing rapidly. These positions span industries—from marine biology and climate science to advanced manufacturing and healthcare—and together they generate more than $29 billion in economic activity, about one-third of Maine’s total economy.
Nationally, STEM professions are growing nearly twice as fast as other fields, and Maine’s employers are seeking workers who can think critically, work in teams, and adapt to new technologies. Yet many students, especially those from rural or under-resourced communities, don’t have access to the kind of hands-on experiences that spark interest and confidence in these fields.
That’s where Challenger Maine makes a difference. Each year, we serve more than 10,000 students and educators statewide, giving them a chance to role-play as scientists, engineers, and astronauts in realistic NASA-style missions. Our approach—known as participatory simulation—builds teamwork, problem-solving, and curiosity in ways traditional classrooms can’t.
We’re helping Maine prepare for tomorrow by inspiring the next generation of innovators today.
Meet Our Team
Our team includes passionate educators, mission controllers, volunteers, and a dedicated board of directors, united by the belief that STEM learning should be engaging, inclusive, and accessible to every Maine student. Questions or feedback? Contact us!
-
Kirsten Hibbard
Executive Director
-
Eli Davies
Education Director
-
Pat Chasse
Flight Director
-
Catherine Hovda
Flight Director
-
Megan Lancaster
Flight Director
-
James Loftin
Flight Director
-
Linda Pratt
Flight Director
-
James Tyson
Flight Director
-
Peter Worster
Marketing Coordinator
Board of Directors
Jeffrey Hecker, President
University of Maine, Professor of Psychology
Orono, Maine
Ali Worster, Esq., Vice President & Interim Treasurer
Bernstein Shur, CEO
Portland, Maine
Hans Peterson, Esq., Secretary
Rudman & Winchell, Partner
Bangor, Maine
Adam Avery
C&L Aerospace, Director of Inventory Management
Bangor, Maine
David Batuski
Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, University of Maine, Professor
Orono, Maine
William A. Buckley, former founding president
Coffee News USA, President
Bangor, Maine
Richard Cattelle
Richard S. Cattelle, Inc., Owner
Bangor, Maine
Katelynn J. Ronan, Esq., MBA
University of Maine System, Associate General Counsel
Orono, Maine
Hon. Karl Ward, AIC, CPC, LEED AP
Nickerson & O’Day, Inc., President & CEO
Brewer, Maine
Bob Ziegelaar
MainXPO, Inc., Owner & President
Bangor, Maine
Interested in getting involved at Challenger Maine?
Check out our Employment section or contact us about opportunities.
See Our Financials
As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, Challenger Maine is committed to transparency, integrity, and stewardship of every dollar entrusted to us.
Please contact us if you’d like more information.
-
Coming soon!
-
Coming soon!
-
Coming soon!
“We offer families and teachers something they can get nowhere else: a chance to immerse kids from across the state in the thrill and wonder of space exploration and to catalyze new ideas about who they can become.”
– Kirsten Hibbard, Executive Director, Challenger Learning Center of Maine