My 4th graders during their space unit are always intrigued with aliens and science fiction. So, this year, we are learning about Mars One. REAL( possibilities) of Mars colonization starting in 2020 with an unmanned space trip that will take 7 months to travel! Around 2026, if all goes well 4 Earthlings will travel to Mars to start a colony...never to return. Whether the Mars One plan is true or not, this is a great opportunity to get kids problem solving as well a great way to get kids excited about space travel and the opportunities they may have in the future.
Today, we started our quest by asking what personality traits one would need to be one of 4 people to travel to Mars to never return to Earth. We then followed up with the question, what questions would you have if you were to be one of the four? What would you need to know or learn before you go?
We then went to the
Mars One Site and watched the video and looked at the links to explain some of their questions. Then...after saving a ton of recyclables... we planned as a team of 4 our Mars One trip and what our colony would look like if we designed it. We took into account what we would need such as food, water, shelter, medicine, entertainment... Here is a sheet we used to organize our thoughts before we build next week...
Here are some of their Mars One creations...
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| Mars One Research and creations! |
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| Students each take a role in working as a team...just like they would have to do on Mars if it were colonized! We created a list of positive traits you would need to go to Mars and never come back! |
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Some questions posed..."How would you get air?" "How would you get food?" "How would you communicate with Earth?"
It was a great engineering project and a real science connection! |
Live Long and Prosper!
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