Congress Approves Nearly $2.2 Million for Challenger Learning Center of Maine Secured by Senator Collins
The funding now heads to the President to be signed into law
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she secured $2,186,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending for the Challenger Learning Center of Maine in the Fiscal Year 2024 Commerce, Justice, and Science appropriations bill. The bill, which was included in legislation that passed the Senate today, now heads to the President to be signed into law.
“STEM programs are fundamental for students to explore their interests, ignite creativity, and learn about possible future career options,” said Senator Collins. “Jobs in the STEM sectors are becoming increasingly more relevant and organizations such as Challenger Learning Center of Maine are helping to shape Maine’s future workforce. As Vice Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I worked hard to secure this funding that will support valuable STEM education for the next generation of Mainers.”
“Challenger Maine plays an important role in the STEM workforce pipeline, educating and inspiring the future STEM workforce,” said Kirsten Hibbard, Executive Director, Challenger Learning Center of Maine. “The upgrade will allow Challenger Maine to expand its current mission and STEM offerings by continuing to be relevant with NASA’s mission objectives, have programming to reach more grade levels, become compliant with current ADA guidelines, and thus, serve more Maine students.”
The Challenger Learning Center of Maine provides in-person and virtual STEM programming for K-12 students across the entire state and operates multiple space mission simulators at its Bangor facility. This funding will support modernization efforts to Challenger Maine facilities, helping to increase the accessibility of STEM programs to reach a broader population.
In 2021, Congress reinstituted Congressionally Directed Spending. Following this decision, Senator Collins has secured more than $500 million for hundreds of Maine projects for FY2022 and FY2023. As the Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Collins is committed to championing targeted investments that will benefit Maine communities.
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