Elementary School On The Reservation Visits Mars
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An elementary school on a local Native American reservation visited Mars with the help of some Arizona State University and NASA scientists.
Students at Salt River Elementary School on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community recently hosted several scientists and authors to talk about and explore Mars. Students visited the Red Planet through virtual tours, NASA labs and even designed and built their own spaceships.
ASU Professor Jack Farmer, who is also a participating scientist on the Mars Exploration Rover Mission, came to the school and was telecast into each of the classrooms. One of the students was able to email a question from another room about water to drink on Mars.
“Now water is an important ingredient for life," Farmer said. "So, when we talk about going to Mars, ultimately it almost always focuses on life.”
In the library, Children’s Book author Conrad Storad riled up a group of kindergarteners and first graders. He too was also asked many questions.
“What is your question?" Storad asked.
“How many rocks have landed on Mars?” replied a student.
Along with reading from his books, Storad brought along his puppet alien to answer some questions and tell some jokes, such as what is available to eat on Mars.
“Do you think there’s a Burger King?" asked Storad. The room erupts with laughter.
Along with the laughing, Mars Day opened up a new world of science education to a group of students who often don’t get to explore outside the classroom.
