Exploring Mars

March 24, 2021

Perseverance has landed!  You can use this exciting mission to inspire great learning activities in your afterschool program. Youth can: 

We also want to highlight another great resource on Mars that comes from 4-H, the Mars Base Camp ChallengeThe challenge includes four activities that explore engineering, computer science, and astronomy. You can download the curriculum for free or order the kit which includes enough materials for 12 youth to participate in the STEM Challenge.   

Landing Zone Surveyor is a hands-on game where kids attempt to land on Mars and discover features that are important for setting up a base camp.  The kit includes the Mars Map, Landing Site cards, and dice to play the game. 

Red Planet Odyssey is a hands-on activity where kids use engineering skills to build a vehicle that can explore the surface of Mars. The kit includes 3 building sets that teams use to design and build their own model Mars rover (and it is reusable!). 

Crop Curiosity is table-top game where kids learn about biology, environmental science, and agriculture to grow nutritionally efficient food on Mars. The kit includes game cards, markers, playing cards, score sheets, and the Mars Map 

Insight from Mars is the online part of the Mars Base Camp Challenge and it is available free. This is your opportunity to imagine that you are the first human explorer on Mars. Think about the things you might discover and the questions your friends or family might ask about your mission, then learn to use coding to tell your story in Scratch.  The website includes a lot of tips to help if you’ve never used Scratch before.