On November 26, 2011, NASA launched a robotic rover, Curiosity, to explore Martian climate and geology. Since landing on Mars on August 6, 2012, the rover has been traversing the surface in search of extraterrestrial existence.
In a new development, Curiosity has discovered what is believed to be the first sign of life on Mars—a cardboard box playground. The intricate and elephant-sized structure has lead to several conclusions about life on Mars, most notably that Martian kids had powerful imaginations and loved to play, just like kids here on Earth.
Curiosity managed to gather several specimens from the cardboard boxes to help NASA’s scientists determine the chemical makeup of the complex, corrugated layers. Over the coming weeks, these scientists will perform several experiments to examine the samples. Rob Manning, Chief Engineer of the Mars Rover Project said, “When I was a kid I also built cardboard rockets.” Now, thanks to Rob’s team, the rover discovered cardboard boxes on Mars!
KaBOOM! first received word from NASA of the potential for signs of playful life on Mars early last week and quickly brought in our own panel of experts to help verify the findings.
Working closely with certified cardboard box aficionado, Caine Monroy, of Caine’s Arcade, KaBOOM! identified the photos taken by the rover. Caine raved over the Martian kids’ creativity and offered an unlimited Fun Pass to Martians of all ages. Coincidently, just one year ago almost to the day, Caine’s Arcade sent YouTube into a cardboard-filled frenzy.
Other leading play experts—6-year-old Helen and 4-year-old Jake—also consulted with KaBOOM! to determine the authenticity of the cardboard box playground. Re-creating the atmospheric conditions of Mars as well as the playground, Helen and Jake tested it for unique shapes and places to hide. After the child experts gave their stamp of approval, KaBOOM! was ready to go public with the exciting news of imaginative play on Mars.
NASA will hold a press conference tomorrow at 3:00 PM EST to reveal the initial scientific findings behind the discovery. In the interim, we’re honored to be able to share this series of exclusive photos taken from the Curiosity rover, below.
KaBOOM! hopes these images from Mars will allow filmmaker Nirvan Mullick, Director of Caine’s Arcade and Founder of Imagination Foundation, to expand the Global Cardboard Challenge across the galaxy.
“At KaBOOM! we are in the business of making the impossible possible,” says Darell Hammond, Founder and CEO of KaBOOM!. “It seems like the logical next step to take kids’ dreams to infinity and beyond!”
Update (4/2): While we do hope that one day a cardboard box playground will be discovered on Mars, yesterday’s post was a fun April Fool’s Day trick. However, we know that each and every day children travel to Mars and back with a little imagination and creativity. As evidenced by Caine’s Arcade, kids can create a whole lot with a stack of cardboard boxes. Here are some ideas to get you started and who knows, maybe you’ll end up on Mars!