1. What is the history behind the Imagine Mars Project?

 2. Why Mars?

 3. How do they begin to tackle such a broad assignment?

 4. What groups of young people have been identified to take part in the Imagine Mars Project?

 5. What steps are involved in participating in the project?

 6. What disciplines can be used in undertaking the Imagine Mars Project?

 7. What are the most significant aspects of community that should be looked at when planning a community on Mars?

 8. What organizations sponsor the Imagine Mars Project?

 9. Once the project has run its course, and students have completed the design process, what will they have done? What will they have learned? What will have been accomplished?

10. What grade-level or age groups would be appropriate to participate in the project?

1. What is the history behind the Imagine Mars Project?

The Imagine Mars Project builds off the success of the Mars Millennium Project, a popular arts, sciences and technology education initiative that has one basic mission: Inspire young people to first imagine and then design a livable community for 100 people on the planet Mars.

The Mars Millennium Project was first launched in 1999 with the support of the main project sponsors: the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Jet Propulsion Laboratory and The J. Paul Getty Trust.

When the project concluded at the beginning of the new century, it exceeded all expectations and demonstrated the creativity that could be unleashed through an interdisciplinary educational program. Hundreds of thousands of students from around the world explored their communities to determine what would be important on Mars, and then developed their ideal community from a perspective of arts, sciences and technology. Teams of students launched rockets, painted murals, composed operas, built architectural models and engaged in countless other activities to celebrate and describe their vision of the future.

An official project of the White House Millennium Council, the Mars Millennium Project also earned the support of more than 150 cooperating organizations and corporate and institutional sponsors who shared in the mission to inspire young people to imagine and explore their communities.

Due to its success, popular demand for the project's continuation, heightened public interest in the planet Mars and ongoing NASA/JPL programs for Mars exploration, the Imagine Mars Project was developed.

The Imagine Mars Project Web site launched in conjunction with Space Day on May 2, 2002, and serves as the gateway to the complete online presence of the project. The re-launched initiative borrows from materials developed for the Mars Millennium Project and provides new tools for educators, project leaders and students. Young people can link to online resources and participate in educational games to learn more about Mars. Teachers and project leaders can share best practices with one another, learn from past project successes and download project participation guides and materials that match to education standards in the arts, sciences, math and technology.

2. Why Mars?

Because this will inspire them to think about every possible element that is essential for human survival - from how they get breathable air and potable water to how to be happy and productive in one's environment.

3. How do they begin to tackle such a broad assignment?

By studying their own communities here on Earth.

And by studying all aspects of what it takes to make a successful community on Mars, youth will learn a lot about what it takes to make a great community here on Earth. They can use this information as they grow and prepare to take their place as leaders in their own communities in the years to come.

4. What groups of young people have been identified to take part in the Imagine Mars Project?

Schools - Students in kindergarten through 12th grade - elementary schools, middle schools and high schools - participating through their classrooms and in teams, guided by their teacher and by arts and science educators in their schools or districts.

Youth Groups - Mixed-grade student teams in extra-curricular organizations such as Scout troops, after-school arts and science clubs, and youth groups in churches and synagogues.

Community Organizations - Mixed-grade student teams in classes and groups sponsored by museums, libraries, local businesses, and by local government agencies and civic organizations.

5. What steps are involved in participating in the project?

The entire process involves three steps: Imagine, Research, and Design.

Teams will begin their project by imagining, thinking, conjecturing. They will pose questions and answers. They will engage in discussions. They will consider and argue and debate. They will make decisions, first for themselves, then as a group. They will list and order and finally, they will arrive at consensus.

Then they will begin their research. They will read and consult reference materials. They will visit their libraries, museums, relevant offices and other institutions. They will seek out and consult with professionals in many fields, in the arts and sciences, but also government officials and others involved in community planning and administration - a true "community" effort. They will broaden their research and exploration by learning to navigate the Internet and by learning computer applications.

Armed with the information they need, they will be ready for implementation - designing, building and constructing aspects for their Mars community.

Teams are not expected to design an entire community, although some may attempt to do this. Instead, we hope that teams will consider certain aspects of that community, and focus their energies in an in-depth exploration of one or more aspects - always with an eye toward the role of the arts and sciences within the context of their project.

Throughout the course of the project, participants will have an opportunity to check out what other teams are doing by accessing the Project Gallery portion of the Imagine Mars Project Web site. Educators and Project Leaders also have the opportunity share best practices through a listserv and the lessons learned portions of the project Web site that can be found in Resources for Educators and Project Leaders.

6. What disciplines can be used in undertaking the Imagine Mars Project?

Through the Imagine Mars Project, youth will marry the arts, the sciences, technology and other disciplines as they learn what it takes to survive as a society and to thrive as individuals within that society.

Teams may also blend the humanities: literature, history, communications, and other disciplines.

7. What are the most significant aspects of community that should be looked at when planning a community on Mars?

Key to any successful Mars community will be arriving at realistic, workable solutions to basic challenges such as getting sufficient clean air, water and food on Mars, creating adequate living and working spaces, and which occupations are necessary to sustain life for 100 people on another planet.

Participants must confront and resolve within their team three essential questions if they are to fulfill the project's assignment.

These questions take into account basic human needs, but they also inspire in-depth analysis and discussion of other essentials, such as aesthetic and psychological needs that make life worth living and that can be duplicated, or perhaps even enhanced, on other worlds.

Students will thoughtfully mull these issues over and arrive at what is important to them. This will give them food for thought not only throughout the course of the project but long after the project comes to an end.

8. What organizations sponsor the Imagine Mars Project?

The Imagine Mars Project is sponsored by two premier national agencies: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and its Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Key representatives from each of these organizations are providing ongoing guidance and oversight throughout the course of the project.

9. Once the project has run its course, and students have completed the design process, what will they have done? What will they have learned? What will have been accomplished?

Teams will have fully explored the concept of "community," in a variety of contexts: locally, nationally, and globally. This is something they don't always have an opportunity to engage in, yet gaining an understanding of what makes a community work well can be a stepping stone to better living that will have positive consequences throughout a person's life.

Throughout the project, team members will be encouraged to consult and share with family members, including extended family, to foster intergenerational discussion and involvement. The project will raise compelling life issues that could have a beneficial and broad-ranging impact on communities on Earth.

On a more practical level, lesson plans for educators have been designed to match to content standards. The project provides a creative way to teach basics in the arts, sciences, math and technology to students in grades K-12.

10. What grade-level or age groups would be appropriate to participate in the project?

A series of age-appropriate activity guides has been developed by a team of education specialists. Geared for use in and out of the classroom, they are divided into five separate categories and linked to content standards for each group. Participants will consider themselves NASA researchers who are working to develop a proposal that will be presented to Congress. Depending on the age group and amount of time devoted to the project, activities may be characterized by internal friendly competition among teams followed by classroom-wide or school-wide team efforts.

Grades K-2: Children in the lowest primary grades may combine arithmetic and science skills with aspects of language, the visual and performing arts, and behavioral studies. An example of one activity would be learning what it is to be an Earthling and, in turn, deciding whether they might become Martians by emigrating to the Red Planet. They could build a "Marsarium," using soil and seeds that provide oxygen. And they could design a basic chain that could support human life on Mars.

Grades 3-5: Activities would blend studies of the visual and performing arts with science, social studies, geography and communications, as well as intellectual processes such as analyzing, decision-making and interpreting. One activity involves studying the home: What makes a home a home? What makes us feel at home? What basic elements define a home? How do our homes reflect our needs and desires? Students will gain skill in observing, describing and representing their physical space and what it means to them.

Grades 6-8 (middle school): Teams will gain insight into more complex aspects of the arts, sciences and humanities, such as transportation, interior design, form and function, ratio and percentages, and surface geology and waste management. Activities may involve studying communities around the world, and how indigenous peoples use or adapt their environments to meet their needs.

Grades 9-12 (high school): Teams will focus on one of three units, each of which has four components: The Physical Sciences unit will explore atmosphere, surface, energy and material resources. The Life Sciences unit will focus on questions or water, food, waste and atmosphere. And the Mental Health unit will examine demographics, psychological and spiritual needs, recreation and fitness, and communication and group dynamics. Teams will develop an area of expertise and then contribute their knowledge as an element of a larger, more comprehensive proposal for a colony on Mars.

Activities and lesson plans are geared for a variety of time frames: one week, one month, and/or the entire school year.