Welcome to the ASU Mars Education Program Website
The Mars Education Program at Arizona State University aims to be a beacon of effective STEM education and educator professional development. The ASU Mars Education Program seeks to engage educators, students and the public in advanced professional development training opportunities. The hands-on, minds-on education activities are designed to positively impact the nations STEM education pipeline and build essential 21st century skills that effectively aligns to National Science Education Standards and other curriculum standards to effectively increase the nations interest in STEM careers.
Our goal is to develop systemic STEM education solutions that inspire, encourage and engage educators and students in exciting NASA professional scientific and engineering content in a realistic or simulated experiential environment. These increase science literacy and excitement as well as develop essential 21st century skills to aid in the ever increasing need for United States engineers and scientists to maintain the competitive edge and leadership in advancing new technology and research for the betterment of all humankind.
The Mars Education Program at Arizona State University is the formal education partner of the NASA JPL Mars Exploration Education and Public Engagement Program. The ASU Mars Education Program has been partnered with the JPL Mars Exploration Program for over 20 years, and is still committed to serving the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Mars Exploration Program in providing valuable educator resources, classroom activities and professional development to aid the formal education component of the NASA Mars programs.
ASU Mars Education has had proven success in providing professional development workshops, curriculum development, classroom lessons and other opportunities for teachers and students to join with scientists in the excitement of Mars exploration. Mars Education program classroom lessons aim to promote 21st century skills utilizing current and past collected NASA scientific data. Our primary place in the STEM Education pipeline puts us in position to empower the U.S. schools and individual learners and to give everyone the opportunity to engage in science activities like never before.
How to Use This Website
Our site serves as a prime resource for K-12 formal and informal educators. Resources are provided for educators in the following areas of the site listed below. Other information is also provided for educators that are new to Mars Education. Please feel free to cruise our site and if you cannot find the resources that you are looking for, please do not hesitate to contact us based on your area of interest listed below.
Mars Resources: For educators and the public, this section of our website serves as a source of information and resources related to Mars Education Program activities and lessons including the Red Planet Report and NASA's Mars Exploration Program video resources.
STEM Lessons: Authentic, hands-on, minds-on, inquiry-based scientific research experiences to engage students in experiential learning. Dive into our STEM lessons to learn more about how to incorporate Mars into your classroom curriculum.
Student Projects: The Mars Student Imaging Project and the Mars Exploration Student Data Teams project exist to provide students with real world hands on research activities through the use of the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) orbital camera onboard the Mars Odyssey Spacecraft.
Professional Development: A primary focus of the ASU Mars Education Program are the educator professional development workshops and conferences offered every year. Take a look at our Professional Developments page and our upcoming events schedule to find new and upcoming professional development trainings that interest you.
News: Stay up to date with the latest Mars news through our Twitter feed. Live mission updates, Mars Education Program workshop happenings, public events and more.
Forums: Forums are designed for MSIP and MESDT student teams to share, connect and collaborate with each other through the duration of their research projects. Very similar to an online blackboard or blog, forums allow for users to post information, ask questions, share images and discuss important findings to enhance the interactive collaboration and communications that take place during the research process. Scheduled to be launched March 2013
Featured Resources:
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Ask Dr. C is a computerized scientist designed to answer questions about Mars. Dr. C is based on a real Mars scientist, Dr. Phil Christensen.
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The Red Planet Report is an online featured news resource chronicling new information and updates on the THEMIS camera and the new findings of a variety of Mars missions.
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Mars By Topic is a wonderful resource located on the THEMIS mission website that details important information for educators utilizing ASU Mars Education curriculum into their classrooms.
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JMARS is a GIS (Geographical Information System) platform containing all of the Mars orbital data NASA has ever collected. This program is the backbone of the Mars Student Imaging Project and offers students and teachers the ability to ask relatively simple questions or extremely complex ones.