Scobee Education Center Celebrates 10 Years of Inspiring Science Education

The Scobee Education Center at San Antonio College celebrates 10 years of celestial excellence this fall.

The center, which includes the Scobee Planetarium, the Scanlan Observatory, the Challenger Center, and the Santikos Micronaut Center, inspires and engages the community, especially local students, with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through the lens of astronomy and space.

Rick Varner, director of the Scobee Education Center, said people consider Scobee to be the go-to location for viewing big astronomical events, such as lunar and solar eclipses. In his decade as director of the center, he has organized viewing parties for eclipses that have brought thousands of people to the SAC campus.

“I think people have always looked our way,” said Varner. “If you are going to look at the stars, you need to include Scobee in the process.”

Since its opening, the Scobee team has organized events bringing scientists, engineers, medical professionals, and astronauts to speak to the public on research and discoveries. For example, former astronaut Eileen Collins, the first female pilot of a space shuttle, spoke to girls who attended the Girls STEM Summit and Artemis Academy, hosted by the center.

The Scobee Education advisory committee boasts high-profile professionals, including some with ties to NASA. One of the first members was former astronaut Joe Acaba, who is now in charge of NASA’s astronaut office, and who will help decide which astronauts will first return to the moon.

Scobee Planetarium
The oldest part of the Scobee Education Center is the planetarium, which was built back in 1961. Since then, more than one million school children have visited the domed building learning about astronomy and space.

In 1994, it was renamed the Scobee Planetarium to honor Dick Scobee, the commander of the Challenger Space Shuttle, who was an alumnus of SAC. Attending the dedication was his wife, June, who also was a student at SAC.

In the early 2010s plans were already underway to expand the planetarium and the observatory when SAC was approached to be the new home for the local Challenger Center, part of a national program created to honor the crew of the Challenger space shuttle accident, which occurred in 1986. Challenger Centers have been created across the United States and in a few other countries to teach students about STEM fields using simulated space missions.

The addition was a natural fit, with the memory of Dick Scobee as the guiding influence to extending the education of the planetarium shows to Challenger missions for students in elementary and middle schools.

The new Scobee Education Center was dedicated on Oct. 31, 2014.

Santikos Micronaut Center
To reach younger children and put them on the path of learning about science, the Scobee Education Center offered the Micronaut simulated space missions. After years of sharing space with the Challenger Center, the Micronaut Center vision was created and brought to reality through the efforts of community stakeholders and a recent bond issue approved by voters.

The Santikos Micronaut Center opened its doors on May 19, 2023. It was designed to spark the imagination of children from ages four to nine. The center is the first of its kind in the country and it is already serving as a model for other centers. It has been recognized with the Arthur C. Clark Award for Innovation by the Challenger Network – of the national Challenger Learning Center program.

If there is one theme that runs through the different parts of the Scobee Education Center, it is a passion for education.

“I think the people who work at Scobee do so because they have their own personal mission as educators. They know how good our kids can be, and they just need that one something special to inspire them to do more,” said Varner.

To mark the anniversary, the center will host a “Tenth Trip Around the Sun” party for the community. The celebration will take place from 6 to 10:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, on the grounds of the Scobee Education Center.

Tickets for the three planetarium shows will be reduced to only $3 and will only be sold online.

The event will feature several community partners, including the San Antonio Airport, the Girl Scouts of SWTX, the San Antonio Astronomical Association, Southwest Research Institute, and the DoSeum. The Scobee Education Center will also conduct limited ticket tours of the Challenger Center and, weather permitting, the Santikos Micronaut Center.

-SAC-