2016-09-15T00:00:00-05:00 2015-12-31 582676261 Rogers & Company PLLC 8300 Boone Boulevard Suite 600 Vienna VA 22182 990 2015-01-01 760192067 Challenger Center for Space Science Education CHAL 2028271580 422 First Street SE 3rd Floor Washington DC 20003 Lance Bush President & CEO 2028271580 2016-09-16 1 Lori A Collingsworth P00639819 7038930300 2016-09-16 2015 2017-02-10 21:41:12Z Lance Bush 422 First Street SE 3rd Floor Washington DC 20003 4101918 0 X www.challenger.org X 1986 TX Challenger Center engages students in science, technology, engineering and math education. 26 25 20 0 0 0 2296833 2339380 2024058 1760193 3813 2345 0 0 4324704 4101918 0 0 0 0 1762650 1809856 13495 0 170751 2247181 2363840 4023326 4173696 301378 -71778 2343664 2173793 2080341 1678330 263323 495463 X Engage students in dynamic, hands-on exploration and discovery opportunities that strengthen knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), inspire them to pursue careers in these fields, and enable them to practice important skills. 0 0 3914005 1760193 Educational programming: Challenger Center and its global network of Challenger Learning Center across the world offer interactive, hands-on, simulation experiences that that allow students to explore science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Students work in teams and apply critical-thinking skills as they navigate through a simulated mission to space. They interact with chemical compounds, robotics, and biometrics, and they engage in communication, data analysis, and engineering activities. Aligned with national education standards and informed by real scientific data, our programs excite, inspire, and prepare students to become lifelong STEM learners and pursue STEM careers.See Schedule O for continuation 3914005 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 X 40 0 1 20 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 26 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 AL AK AR CA CO CT FL GA HI IL KS KY ME MD MA MI MN MS NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SC SD TN UT VA WA WV WI NH X Challenger Center 2028271580 422 First Street SE 3rd Floor Washington DC 20003 Kevin Anderson Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Anousheh Ansari Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Ginger Barnes Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Warren Boley Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Lance Bush President & CEO 40.00 X X 258234 0 14617 Robert Curbeam Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Richard Garriott Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Leslee Gilbert Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Gwen Griffin Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Lowell Grissom Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Mike Hawes Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Laura Husband Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Marcia Jarvis Tinsley Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Mark Kelly Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Kathie Klein Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Steven J McAuliffe Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Cheryl M McNair Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Barbara Morgan Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Miles O'Brien Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Lorna Onizuka Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 William F Readdy Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Ken Reightler Treasurer 2.00 X X 0 0 0 Dan Renberg Secretary 2.00 X X 0 0 0 Charles Resnik Vice Chair 2.00 X X 0 0 0 Kent Rominger Chair 2.00 X X 0 0 0 June Scobee Rodgers Founding Chair 2.00 X X 0 0 0 Jackie Shia Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Stacey Shrewsbury Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Jane Smith Wolcott Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Christopher Stott Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Carol Vorderman Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Karolyn Young Director 2.00 X 0 0 0 Muhammad Shazlee Director of Technology 40.00 X 122328 0 21836 Robert Piercey VP of Education 40.00 X 113104 0 8471 493666 0 44924 3 0 1 0 Redmon Group Inc 211 North Union Street Suite 350 Alexandria VA 22314 Software developer 398000 Design and Production Inc 7110 Rainwater Place Lorton VA 22079 Design production and installation 294728 2 15798 1797445 526137 18880 2339380 Learning Centers 611710 1314993 1314993 Sim3/Mission Packages 511211 417650 417650 Conference 611710 27550 27550 1760193 2345 2345 4101918 1760193 0 2345 X 272851 272851 1176291 781165 332277 62849 49303 49303 311411 188880 107740 14791 15960 15960 1123500 1063111 13968 46421 1800 1800 374360 275728 74845 23787 70204 49329 20875 228243 228243 195502 174471 12405 8626 124942 108567 7976 8399 17702 17702 133979 133979 19915 19915 Bad debt 49893 49893 License & registrations 4377 4027 350 Subscriptions 3463 850 971 1642 Overhead/indirect alloc 0 1271904 -1275790 3886 4173696 3914005 88940 170751 273664 788624 272471 5041 34282 26024 700705 446780 348000 0 46265 34898 1045777 210877 640619 834900 15719 15635 11939 21891 2343664 2173793 1002785 636026 709499 438754 361263 500000 6794 103550 2080341 1678330 X 263323 260851 0 234612 263323 495463 2343664 2173793 X -71778 -349 304267 0 X X 0 1 X 1 1 1 X 2977353 1609974 1284962 2296833 2339380 10508502 2977353 1609974 1284962 2296833 2339380 10508502 10508502 12643 5675 5045 3813 2345 29521 4321 71 4392 10542415 7308452 0.99680 0.99490 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 10000 10000 0 78709 52930 25779 957068 147947 809121 834900 Deferred rent 103550 103550 X 4780351 -349 678782 678433 4101918 0 4101918 4548211 352782 21733 374515 4173696 0 4173696 Part X, Line 2: Management has evaluated the Challenger Center's tax positions, and concluded that the Challenger Center's financial statements do not include any uncertain tax positions. Part XII, Line 2d - Other Adjustments: Amortization of capitalized in-kind website development costs 21,733. X X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lance Bush President & CEO 234758 0 23476 0 0 0 0 0 14617 0 272851 0 0 0 Form 990, Schedule J, Part II Challenger Center for Space Science Education has a professional employer organization (PEO) arrangement with Insperity. All compensation and benefits are administered through the PEO. Design and Production Inc See Part V 294728 See Part V 0 Schedule L, Part IV, Business Transactions Involving Interested Persons: (b) Relationship Between Interested Person and Organization: Design and Production, Inc. is owned by former board member Jay F. Barnwell, Jr.(d) Description of Transaction: The organization paid Design and Production, Inc. $294,728 for Simulator Development and Services provided to Challenger Center.Jay F. Barnwell, Jr. was removed from the board in 2014 as a result of this conflict of interest. Form 990, Part III, Line 4a- Educational Programming (continued) Challenger Center's main program is our simulated STEM missions. This program was originally developed in 1986 but has evolved to keep up with technological and education trends over the last 30 years. Today, we deliver this program in more than 40 Challenger Learning Centers around the world, and we are currently piloting a new platform to deliver this program in school classrooms. Our unique and proven teaching model gives students the chance to become scientists, engineers, and other STEM professionals as they solve real-world problems and share in the thrill of discovery through role-playing and simulation. Space-Themed Missions at our Centers: Using space exploration as a theme, our Challenger Learning Centers deliver a truly impactful learning experience to more than 250,000 students each year. Each Challenger Learning Center has a custom-built environment that enables students to suspend reality for a simulated journey to space. This includes a realistic but child-sized spacecraft and mission control. Students are charged with an inspiring mission goal such as to search for life on Mars or to explore the Moon. Students experience the mission as a group, but are assigned specific roles, such as geologist, navigator, doctor, or communications director. During the mission, the students work independently, in teams, and as a group. The mission cannot be completed without real teamwork and constant communication. Challenger Learning Center staff simulate emergencies and other events to provide opportunities for creative problem solving. Students leave our missions feeling empowered by their achievements. They will have made real connections between the science they learn in school and exciting STEM careers. They are inspired to engage more with STEM and see new opportunities for their lives. Many Challenger Center alum have gone on to become engineers, scientists, and even STEM educators. EngiLearn - Classroom-based STEM programs (AKA Investing in Innovation (i3)): In 2014, Challenger Center received a $3 million, four-year Investing in Innovation (i3) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. i3 grants are designed to support local educational agencies (LEAs) and nonprofit organizations in providing innovative solutions to common education challenges that can serve as models of best practice. Since receiving this grant, Challenger Center has developed the EngiLearn technology platform that drives the simulation and created an ocean-themed mission for 5th grade students that can be delivered right in the school classroom. Similar to the missions we deliver in Challenger Learning Centers, the EngiLearn mission is a hands-on, interdisciplinary, and standards-aligned experience that drives home STEM concepts and gives students the opportunity to practice skills like collaboration, communication, and creative problem solving. In 2015, we finalized the program design and completed the alpha version of the EngiLearn software. We worked closely with our partners in Virginia, including several school districts and the University of Virginia, and we finalized the evaluation metrics with our external evaluator. In the 2016-17 school year, the program will be piloted with 3,000 Virginia-based students from a wide range of socio-economic and geographic backgrounds. 1,500 students will experience the EngiLearn ocean program and 1,500 students will serve as a control group. Our evaluator will compare the outcomes from the test and control groups toward the end of 2017, at which point we will decide our next steps. Ultimately, this project provides the base development for a new program that could extend our reach to millions of students each year. CodeRed: My STEM Mission: At the end of 2015, Challenger Center was awarded a cooperative agreement in collaboration with NASA to engage learners of all ages around the goals of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The development and execution of CodeRed: My STEM Mission will take place over a five-year period (2016-2020) and include programmatic components that will reach students, teachers and parents in and out of the classroom. The program will include the design and launch of mobile apps to excite students about STEM careers and prepare their parents to continue that excitement in the home, and it will feature a series of educational Engagement Days. In addition, Challenger Center will use innovative approaches to instruction, like flipped classrooms and interdisciplinary models, to even further expand our footprint and deepen our impact. Part V, Lines 2a & b, Part VII, Part IX Compensation & Benefits Reporting: Challenger Center for Space Science Education has a professional employer organization (PEO) arrangement with Insperity. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 11 The draft 990 is provided to all board members prior to filing the return. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 12c Each director signs a Conflict of Interest form annually. The Conflict of Interest forms are reviewed by the Board Chair and President. Any disclosed or discovered conflict is discussed among Board members while the interested person is absent. If necessary, the interested person may be asked to resign from board service. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, line 15 Compensation of the President and other key employees is set by the Board of Directors, who use comparability data from similar organizations. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, line 19 The governing documents are available upon request, policies, and financial statements are available upon request. Form 990, Part IX, line 11g i3 Contractors: Program service expenses 461,120. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 461,120. Center installations: Program service expenses 443,225. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 443,225. Contractors- Mars: Program service expenses 71,600. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 71,600. Contractors- NIA Planetary Communications: Program service expenses 28,416. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 28,416. Contractors- Comet: Program service expenses 26,000. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 26,000. Contractors- Technical support: Program service expenses 2,500. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 2,500. Contractors- Communications: Program service expenses 17,750. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 17,750. Payroll and other professional fees: Program service expenses 0. Management and general expenses 13,968. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 13,968. Contractors- Development: Program service expenses 0. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 46,421. Total expenses 46,421. Contractors- Sim3 and Mission packages: Program service expenses 12,500. Management and general expenses 0. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 12,500. Form 990, Part XII, Line 2c: Challenger Center's Audit Finance Committee is responsible for oversight of the audit, including selection of the independent accountant. The process is consistent with previous years. Form 990, Part XI, Line 6- Donated services and use of facilities Net reconciliation amount for donated services and use of facilities is $ 304,267. This consists of capitalized in- kind website development costs of $ 326,000 less current year amortization of capitalized in-kind website development costs of $ (21,733).