February, 01, 2011: Composition: The Mars Plannet

October, 10, 2010: Composition: Marti, the beetle from Mars

ACTIVITIES AND METHODOLOGY

Science Workshop

The workshop is aimed at children aged 11-16. The participants will be chosen from Colegiul National (The National College) and divided according to the grade they are in. The members of Mars Society Deutschland will present them in a suitable way the workshop products: photographs, maps, posters, spacecraft data and interesting pieces of information about the planet Mars.

The children will have the opportunity to find out more about space and about the research regarding this planet. The schedule will be made so as to suit all involved. Each group will be lead by a number of Mars Society Deutschland members. They will try to answer all the questions and come up with new ideas at every meeting, in order to challenge the children's imagination. These meetings will be designed so as to be both fun and educational. They will develop in different stages, as the entire project itself.

The themes for each meeting will be as follows:

1. A Closer Look At Mars

In this meeting, the members of Mars Society Deutschland will present to the participants general information about Mars, in a way suitable for the target group. The theoretical data will be displayed on a projector, as a Power Point slideshow, whose main aim is to grab the children's attention, by offering them an attractive perspective, and not an "antique", odd one, like the one their parents or mass-media created in their minds. We intend to make studies of Mars' surface, using already available maps, photographs and space craft data.

2. A More Hands-On Approach

Using all the pieces of information given at the first workshop, the members of Mars Society Deutschland will involve the participants by creating a model of Mars, out of plaster, which will give them the opportunity to practically discover physical aspects of the planet (shape, size, outlook, proportion). This task requires an involvement from all kinds of pupils aged 11-16, because of the complexity of the workshop and the wide range of activities that could be done within it. The approach will also consist of a part where participants will draw maps of Mars, on special paper and with specific instruments, being helped by the members, who will provide them all the material needed, such as maps and satellite images.

3. Look Up!

The next phase in our "trip to Mars" is an outdoor activity, in which we will learn how to identify the planet on the evening sky, and also how to predict its movement on the night sky. This objective will require the adjuvant presence of a third organization, which will provide us professional equipment, in order to visualize the planet. The workshop will be done in the evening, so that the planet is more visible, and we will permit the children to use telescopes, guided by the maps made, in order to let them build up basic knowledge about these types of instruments.

4. Reaching For Mars

Our efforts will culminate in acquiring pictures with a real spaceprobe at Mars. These pictures will then be compared to existing models, maps and our plaster model created during the workshop. The topic of this meeting will allow the participants to search for information about scientific studies made by professionals on this fascinating planet. The data that will be gathered in advance will be presented and be the subject of discussion between the members and the children involved. This will get kids excited, because it benefits from real Mars pictures, taken by the VMC on board

Mars Express.

Comparing two elements, of which one is very well known is a very efficient manner of attracting the attention of students and motivating constructive competition.

For this reason, we intend to use the VMC photos in order to compare planet Earth and Mars from a structural point of view. This activity will be done in several distinct phases.

First of all, together with the members of the workshop we will perform a visual analysis of the atmosphere of the two planets, with the help of the existing Weather over Hellas observation. Secondly, we will emphasize the differences between the structure, composition and particularities of the two climates. We count on the fact that the interest for the atmosphere will increase their desire to know more about the geology of Mars.

Our next step will be, using the real Mars pictures sent by Mars Express, to compare the terrain on Mars with the one on Earth. This will include the analysis of scale differences and of geological processes that have led to the formation of the terrain on both planets. For example, we will compare the Grand Canion in the USA with Valles Marrineris on Mars.

Finally, the VMC pictures will be use in evaluating what the participants at the workshop have learnt, but also as a “raw material” for their own “scientific research”.For this reason, we have noticed that the VMC observation scheduled for orbit number 8011 appears to be the most suitable for our project.

Children may come up with tricky questions in order to "challenge" the leaders and show their interest in the topic. This meeting is all about giving the children a sample of the hard work done by the researchers and trying to make them understand what are the methods used by scientists in their struggle to reach for the planets' secrets and how they actually work. We strongly believe that the power of exemplification will be amazing in the case of our target-group (children aged 11-16) and this meeting will give them a clearer idea about what being a scientist means.

5 . Aim For The Sky

Our idea is to create a model rocket having all the characteristics of a real one and actually working as a real one. Taking into account the fact that younger children like those we want to attract in our workshops and meetings would not be able to create such a complex device, we will turn to people with a wider knowledge in the realm of physics and other domains that could be useful in our situation. People like university students, for instance. The information in the realm of physics is fresh and recently gathered, so they would make a real help for us. We intend to use their support and build this model rocket, following plans that will be designed in advance, to make their work easier. We will definitely need more meetings in order to get a final result.

6. Take Off!

Last but not least, after being successful in the process of creating our model rocket, a final meeting will be required in order to make an organized plan about the big take- off. The participants will be asked to come up with ideas about the proper place, relief, weather and technical conditions in which the take- off should happen. Of course, they will have the benefit of being well informed and corrected by the leaders, when and if needed. This way, we intend to test not their imagination, this time, but their capacity of understanding such a complex and still very interesting process. After setting the scenery and making sure every participant has given a thought to every detail, the final and probably most attractive event will happen...The take off!

Visits at kindergardens and primary schools

One major aspect of the project relies on the attempt to draw the attention of the young public. Mars Society Deutschland members are planning to familiarize them with simple notions relatedto space, with an emphasis on the importance of studying this planet. The children will be presented the model of Mars made within the Science Workshop. Attractive brochures will be handed to them, with the VMC pictures and brief information on Mars (presented in a way suitable to their age group). The pictures will be made more attractive with the use of Photoshop. Children who show greater interest will be put in contact with a Workshop member, so as to receive additional information from their “Martian” friends; the goal is to encourage interest in science.