LANSING, MI —  The Information Technology Empowerment Center is pleased to announce the beginning of the Space Launch Experience aboard the TechTransport bus. In this class, students can operate their own space center, build a rocket from scratch and launch on a mission to plant a flag on a new planet.

This announcement follows the bus’s official launch on January 25 at the Lansing Community College West Campus. During the launch event, guests were able to tour the TechTransport, see some of the activities that will be available on the bus and learn more about the afterschool programs ITEC offers.

The TechTransport provides: 

·         A mobile teaching platform to expand ITEC’s reach in the Lansing community in its robotics, digital media, game design, animation programming, web development, app development, 3-D printing, virtual reality and Minecraft modification classes. 

·         Financial literacy workshops, in partnership with MSUFCU.

In partnership with Dean Transportation, the TechTransport bus is designed to bring technology education to Lansing-area residents with limited access to home computers and the internet. ITEC expects to serve 2,500 individuals in the Lansing Capital region annually through TechTransport programs. 

During the event, ITEC honored its sponsors, who helped put the TechTransport bus on the road.

Sponsors included:

·         Consumers Energy

·         Dart Foundation

·         Dean Transportation

·         Delta Dental

·         Jackson National Life Insurance Co.

·         Joe D. Pentecost Foundation

·         Lansing Community College

·         R.E. Olds Foundation

·         University Outreach and Engagement - Michigan State University

·         WKAR

The Space Launch Experience will be available during the ITEC Spring Break Camp from 10 a.m. – noon, April 3 – 7 at the Foster Community Center. The course costs $100 and is available for students ages 9-13.

 Other courses offered during Spring Break are 3D Printing and Video Game Design. Visit ITECLansing.org/sign-up-today, for more details and scholarship information.