About
Challenge Island offers afterschool classes, in-school and onsite field trips, camps and summer camps, Girl Scout workshops, birthday parties, family engagement events, Parent Engagement STEAM Night, and Family STEAM Night events. Specific activities include a Model-T Assembly line STEM activity, Slimetopia STEAM Camp, book series field trips, and badge and journey workshops for Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, and Cadettes.
• Ages: 5–14 years old
Challenge Island is led by CEO and Founder Sharon Duke Estroff, M.A.T., an award-winning educator, critically acclaimed author, and mother of four former Challenge Island participants. Sharon Duke Estroff created Challenge Island in her 2nd grade classroom in 2002, expanded it to a franchise model in 2013, and by 2024 the program had served 5 million children in 15,000 schools and reached 160 locations. She has been voted Best Teacher in Atlanta by a major Atlanta newspaper and is the award-winning author of the bestselling Challenge Island book series and Random House parenting books, as well as a regular education contributor to national publications including Scholastic Parent and Child, Woman’s Day, Good Housekeeping, and Parents magazines.
Challenge Island is described as the World’s #1 STEM/STEAM and STEAM Education Program and has been ranked on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 for five years in a row as of 2022, with multiple Parents Picks Awards and other industry recognitions. The program is found in 20,000 schools and organizations, including K–12 public and private schools, Girl Scouts (Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, and Cadettes), libraries, recreation centers, and school districts such as St. John’s County School District. It offers both face-to-face and virtual options, standard-aligned cross-curricular K–12 field trips, and a franchise model with over 160 locations in 36 states and 4 countries, serving 5 million children in 15,000 schools and organizations.
In Challenge Island programs, students work in STEAM Teams in a whimsical island setting with cross-curricular themes, using a treasure chest of low-tech supplies instead of screens or digital devices. Activities focus on 21st century skills such as creativity, collaboration, communication, flexibility, and leadership, along with higher level thinking skills, project-based learning, social-emotional learning, and resilience. Multi-generational family engagement and parental involvement events are part of the program, and Girl Scout badge and journey workshops include a Challenge Island Fun Patch for every girl. Kids may wear colored teams’ matching bandanas, face paint, leis, and other colorful accessories such as headbands and floral leis, and the program connects with the Challenge Island STEAM book series, including titles like “The Bridge to Sharktooth Island.”
Testimonials describe Challenge Island afterschool classes as highly sought after, with one stating that getting a spot is harder than getting tickets to a Taylor Swift concert. A head of school reports that onsite field trips are “fun, challenging and engaging” and calls them “brilliant,” while a school principal notes that students worked together on a STEAM project, practiced problem solving, and especially enjoyed being in colored teams with matching bandanas and face paint. A parent and family engagement specialist from St. John’s County School District highlights Parent Engagement STEAM Night and Family STEAM Night events as “fun and engaging” and plans to expand them in the district. Additional feedback from a public librarian and a recreation center director notes positive responses from kids and parents, enthusiastic participation, and strong collaboration with Challenge Island staff. An Entrepreneur Magazine description notes that Challenge Island programs do not use screens or digital devices and instead have kids work together in STEAM Teams with low-tech supplies to come up with creative solutions to challenges.
Last updated March 16, 2026.
• Ages: 5–14 years old
Challenge Island is led by CEO and Founder Sharon Duke Estroff, M.A.T., an award-winning educator, critically acclaimed author, and mother of four former Challenge Island participants. Sharon Duke Estroff created Challenge Island in her 2nd grade classroom in 2002, expanded it to a franchise model in 2013, and by 2024 the program had served 5 million children in 15,000 schools and reached 160 locations. She has been voted Best Teacher in Atlanta by a major Atlanta newspaper and is the award-winning author of the bestselling Challenge Island book series and Random House parenting books, as well as a regular education contributor to national publications including Scholastic Parent and Child, Woman’s Day, Good Housekeeping, and Parents magazines.
Challenge Island is described as the World’s #1 STEM/STEAM and STEAM Education Program and has been ranked on Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 for five years in a row as of 2022, with multiple Parents Picks Awards and other industry recognitions. The program is found in 20,000 schools and organizations, including K–12 public and private schools, Girl Scouts (Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, and Cadettes), libraries, recreation centers, and school districts such as St. John’s County School District. It offers both face-to-face and virtual options, standard-aligned cross-curricular K–12 field trips, and a franchise model with over 160 locations in 36 states and 4 countries, serving 5 million children in 15,000 schools and organizations.
In Challenge Island programs, students work in STEAM Teams in a whimsical island setting with cross-curricular themes, using a treasure chest of low-tech supplies instead of screens or digital devices. Activities focus on 21st century skills such as creativity, collaboration, communication, flexibility, and leadership, along with higher level thinking skills, project-based learning, social-emotional learning, and resilience. Multi-generational family engagement and parental involvement events are part of the program, and Girl Scout badge and journey workshops include a Challenge Island Fun Patch for every girl. Kids may wear colored teams’ matching bandanas, face paint, leis, and other colorful accessories such as headbands and floral leis, and the program connects with the Challenge Island STEAM book series, including titles like “The Bridge to Sharktooth Island.”
Testimonials describe Challenge Island afterschool classes as highly sought after, with one stating that getting a spot is harder than getting tickets to a Taylor Swift concert. A head of school reports that onsite field trips are “fun, challenging and engaging” and calls them “brilliant,” while a school principal notes that students worked together on a STEAM project, practiced problem solving, and especially enjoyed being in colored teams with matching bandanas and face paint. A parent and family engagement specialist from St. John’s County School District highlights Parent Engagement STEAM Night and Family STEAM Night events as “fun and engaging” and plans to expand them in the district. Additional feedback from a public librarian and a recreation center director notes positive responses from kids and parents, enthusiastic participation, and strong collaboration with Challenge Island staff. An Entrepreneur Magazine description notes that Challenge Island programs do not use screens or digital devices and instead have kids work together in STEAM Teams with low-tech supplies to come up with creative solutions to challenges.
Last updated March 16, 2026.
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