The International Space Camp Journey To Mars was launched in August 2019 and already inspired hundreds of children and young adults to better understand the wonders of space and our universe. The program is based on an international alliance of cooperation for global space education and offers participants a chance to learn about innovative experiences of the space agencies.
The Space Camp Journey to Mars, created by the Michaelis Foundation, is a combination of hands on and PBL Space and STEM experiences celebrating the man's journey to Mars that is truly inspiring hundreds of young minds to pursue STEM education and careers.
The Journey To Mars featured the giant Mars exploration map - a huge map that reproduces the Martian terrain in details. During the Space Camp, children had an opportunity to build and launch very cool stomp rockets, explored the wonders of the red planet and, with the help of an app, interacted with NASA rovers - space exploration vehicles - in augmented reality.
Professor Füchter, who lectured at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) on the theme: “Augmented Reality for Technical Training” to NASA engineers by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), demonstrated to young people the augmented reality experiences during the Exploration Tour called Journey to Mars.
Hundreds of young people also had the opportunity to participate in a special activity called surviving on Mars, where they used similar geopositioning coordinates that NASA uses to explore Mars terrain. Also used in the workshop occupying Mars, 8- to 12-year-old kids learned about Mars habitat and its structural requirements. Additionally, kids tested their own designs to develop their future homes on Mars, and thus learned how astronauts in the near future will inhabit Mars.
All these amazing experiences bring new perspectives on science. According to the student Gabrielle Mendonça "It was very exciting and motivating, exceeding all my expectations. Glad I went to the space camp. I'm sure it will open many doors and I am now available to contribute with this project. I'm certain that my participation will bring me closer to my dream of going one day to Space. This was just a start point in my life, because my dream goes much further when I see Earth through space into the unknown” said Gabrielle.
“I am teaching the Mars generation,” says Space Camp instructor Amanda Cirne, “These students will be the astronauts, engineers, scientists and project managers that will lead to human exploration of Mars and beyond. Plus, the current space missions provided a tremendous hook to help connect STEM content with real-world application. Science becomes real and exciting.”
Michaelis in action
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