About Challenger First and foremost Challenger missions are a lot of fun. Although they are set in a context that is (literally) out of this world, many of the situations in which participants find themselves can be related back to real-life work environments. Challenger missions make great ice-breakers and can really level the playing field within a group. At the Challenger Learning Centre, we highlight the benefits of workingtogether towards a common purpose.

What Happens Participants are first assigned roles in work teams, whose specific duties may be Medical, Navigation, Life Support or Probe Engineering. In order to accomplish their set goals the teams must all work together and communicate across the void between the two themed environments: Mission Control and Space Station. Missions are facilitated by two of our trained Flight Directors, who are also experienced educators

 

MISSIONS

 

VOYAGER

For groups of between 15-30 people, we split the group into two crews, who each take their shift in the Space Station and on Mission Control. Here the main challenge will be communication, especially when there are mission or even life-threatening problems to resolve. £795 + VAT

Tea & coffee on arrival
2 or 3 Flight Directors
Tailored mission to suit your group
Consolidation Review
Photo CD of the team in action
Entrance into National Space Centre galleries
Duration 2 - 2 ½ hours

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PIONEER

For crews of between 8-14 people, we launch the whole team into space for the duration of the mission. Under the watchful eye of  our Flight Directors in Mission Control the team must work together to solve problems and undergo challenges to save the day. £595 + VAT

Half Day Exercise
Tea & coffee on arrival
2 or 3 Flight Directors
Tailored mission to suit your group
Consolidation Review
Photo CD of the team in action
Entrance into National Space Centre galleries
Duration 2 - 2 ½ hours
The Voyager and Pioneer Packages are available daily starting at 10:00am or 1:30pm.

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EARTH IN DANGER

Available daily, this is a mini mission and we run it just for fun.  The ideal addition to any day delegate package or for a fun day out for up to 20 participants.

Mini Session Excercise - £300 + vat
Available for 10-20 people
Tea, coffee and biscuits
Photo CD of the team in action
Duration: 1 hour

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APOLLO AWAY DAY MISSION

A full Day package for 10-30 people. This is the ultimate package available Tuesday – Friday with pre-mission activities in preparation for blast off. £1495 + VAT

Apollo Package
Full Day package
Available for 15-30 people
Tea & coffee throughout the day
Pre-mission activities in preparation for the mission
Entrance into National Space Centre galleries
Buffet lunch
Tailored mission to suit your group
Consolidation review
Photo CD of the team in action

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PATHFINDER MISSION

A full day package for 15-30 people. Designed to be an in-depth team development experience, to enhance the morale and dynamics of a team, or to develop or select leadership potential.It has been developed and is facilitated by an experienced Business and Applied Psychologist who will work with you to structure the day to meet your development goals and use our unique environment in a number of ways

Package content - £1895 +VAT

Tailored mission to suit your group
Available for 15-30 people
Tea & coffee throughout the day
Pre-mission workshops
Entrance into National Space Centre galleries (open days only)
Buffet lunch
Photo CD of the team in action
Extensive debrief and feedback session after the mission.

 

WHAT PEOPLE SAY

So for what kinds of reasons have corporate teams come to the BT Challenger Centre? How have training managers used missions to achieve learning outcomes?

For some, the team-building aspect is the strongest pull. Steve Ellerby of HMV chooses an Away Day package as part of theinduction of graduate student recruits. The aim is to help bring a temporary team together for the period of their learning, a team that had little or no previous knowledge of each other or experience together.

For him the appeal of Challenger and the National Space Centre is the uniqueness and memorability of the experience. “ What could be more memorable or bigger than space? You don't have to be a rocket scientist to be interested in space.

What really adds value to the mission is the involvement of the client's training manager or facilitator. Stuart Gray of MA Training Partnership uses the conference rooms, catering and Challenger Centre for two day leadership programmes, some open, some for specific management teams. He thinks that simulated space missions hold all the power of outdoor training exercises with none of the potential physical or psychological safety issues. Since few people are likely to have experienced a space mission before, no one has a preset advantage. Additionally the use of virtual teams, video links, headsets, e-mail links during the mission provide strong parallels with the management of many organisations. Problem solving has its own challenges, but when done remotely it is even more difficult. Mr. Gray also talks about using the simulation to look at influencing skills and operating in an ambiguous environment, and feels that his strong background in organisational development is key to facilitating the group's learning.