The 2015 movie
"The Martian" gave viewers startling first-hand experiences with life
on Mars. Since the NASA Curiosity Mars rover landed on the red planet August 5, 2012, it's been
busily gathering data and reporting back to Earth. And Earthlings are
fascinated by the thought of life on Mars and the findings of the NASA
Curiosity Mars Rover. Here are free printable Mars rover lesson
plans. Educators and homeschool families, use these Curiosity Rover lesson
plans to teach kids about astronomy, earth science, the solar system outer space travel and
NASA. You could even have a Mars rover party. Use these NASA Mars Curiosity
rover lesson plans to create inspiring, engaging earth science lesson plans.
Blast
over to the Mars Science Laboratory. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space
Administration) operates the NASA Curiosity Mars Rover via its Jet Propulsion
Lab at the California Institute of Technology. This is NASA Curiosity Rover's
social media homepage. Friend and follow the Mars Curiosity rover and its
mission. Lesson plans and videos demonstrate the rover's specs, mechanical
functioning and capabilities. Explore the red planet using an interactive
virtual 3D Mars rover. "Friend" a Martian (human who works on Mars)
and get first-hand updates and images from space.
Man
a mission to NASA Mars for Kids. For cool free printable Mars rover activities
and Mars party games, check here. Children can engage with NASA Curiosity Mars
Rover, send postcards to Spirit Rover (the older Mars rover) and ask questions
of scientists. Kids can pretend to be a Martian, play astronomy games, try
exploration simulations and learn rover vocabulary. There's a space weight
calculation tool, too. Kids will love connecting with the Mars Rover,
astronauts, space exploration and earth science in a personal way.
Planet
hop to Mars for Students to give your Mars party an educational
twist with these interactive astronomy lesson plans. Using these free printable
earth science activities, kids practice scientific method by collecting data,
creating graphs and charts and analyzing rover findings. Click links for free
printable 3D paper models to assemble. There are models for the Mars
Pathfinder, Odyssey, Global Surveyor and Phoenix Mars Lander. These activities
provide visual aids for space lessons. Students get hands-on STEM (science,
technology, engineering, math) experience in vehicle design.
For
the nuts and bolts on outer space travel, teachers and homeschool parents can
fly by NASAMars for Educators for a plethora of free printable Mars
rover science activities. lesson plans and web resources. There are activities
for grades K-12. My personal favorite is the printable "Mars
Activities" booklet from NASA and Arizona State University. You get 128
pages of math lessons, 3D geometric shapes, paper models, science games and
quizzes. Lessons can be fun, but teachers still have to follow state
guidelines. Happily, all the Mars rover lessons correlate to national
educational objectives and outcomes for easier tracking. Ramp up dull science
lessons with Mars party activities, compliments of the NASA Curiosity rover!
