Mission to Mars Experience

During the last week of February, Year 3 to 9 participated in an Ad Astra room event focused on the planet Mars. The “Mission to Mars” theme was selected to provide inspiration and support for the upcoming STEAM Fair topic of “Space Science and AI”.

Organized by the Laurus School Science Advisor, Paul Cizdziel, the event featured hands-on activities and a guest lecturer from the Earth Life Science Institute (ELSI). Ms. Courteney Monchinski, a doctoral candidate and ELSI planetary researcher, lectured at 5 classes about all aspects of the planet Mars. Topics included the moons of Mars, surface features and how we have explored and gathered data about the planet in recent modern history. The students also brain-stormed about human astronauts traveling to Mars and the technical requirements for such a journey.

Paul Cizdziel led the supplemental activities, which included analyzing surface images of Mars (taken by orbiting satellites) and laying out planet and moon models at-scale, to illustrate size and distance relationships between the planets and their primary orbiting moons.

Having participation of external experts in professional fields to interact with the students is a goal of the science advisor and Frontiers program coordinator. Laurus School is grateful to Ms. Courteney Monchinski for contributing her time and expertise to educating our next generation of explorers.

Photo 1 (course instructors) – Ms. Courteney Monchinski (ELSI researcher) and Paul E. Cizdziel (Laurus School, Science Advisor).

Photo 2 (teaching) – Ms. Courteney Monchinski is explaining surface feature structures in images taken by orbiting Mars satellites.

Photo 3 (teaching) – Students attended the presentation in the Ad Astra (10th floor) teaching room. Here Ms. Courteney Monchinski is showing images of sand dunes, ancient riverbeds, and mountains on the surface of Mars.

Photo 4 (teaching) – Students were highly curious about meteorites found on earth that are suspected to be rocks originating from the planet Mars.

Photo 5 (workshop) – One student activity was analyzing satellite photographs of the Mars surface, attempting to identify features similar to that which we see on our own home planet Earth.