SAN ANTONIO – The Scobee Education Center has become a hub for space science education in the South Texas region, impacting the lives of hundreds of students in the San Antonio community.
The facility is located on the San Antonio College campus and is filled with learning areas and a planetarium for shows, delivering both awe and wonder to its guests.
“This year has been really recovery from the pandemic. We’ve had full slates of classes. There’s fifth grade through eighth grade coming in, kids flying to Mars daily,” Rick Varner, the Scobee Education Center director said.
Varner said they typically have about 20,000 people come through the center each year and about 6,000 students in the Challenger Center.
Their mission is to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.
On Friday, families can experience a winter wonderland and watch different holiday themed shows connecting the season to astronomy.
“Two recorded programs: the “Season of Light” and the “Mystery of the Christmas Star” and those are two that look at the astronomical connections to the religious and historical events of this time of the year,” Varner said.
As the new year approaches, Varner looks forward to the opening of their Santikos Micronaut Center next year, which is to be located across from the Scobee Education Center.
The Micronaut program will provide young children a STEAM experience as they travel through a simulated mission to the International Space Station.
“It’s all hands-on lab experiences. It simulates lower orbit to the international space station,” Varner said.
The center aims to continue making memories and creating experiences for the whole community.