Looking for an out-of-this-world volcanic activity? Geologists study Earth's volcanic history and the neighboring planet Mars by modeling volcanic eruptions, lava flows, and building a shield volcano. Participants use graph paper and...

Young scholars learn about how engineers help us to know about Mars and Jupiter. In this Mars and Jupiter lesson, students are introduced to the telescope, deep space antennas, spacecraft, and planetary rovers that engineers designed to...

Students create a thinking web about Mars.  In this exploratory lesson students pretend they are going to Mars and use a worksheet to answer questions about why they would visit and what they would bring. 

Students compare the similarities between both Earth and Mars. For this space lesson students use the Internet for research and to obtain geographical pictures of both planets. Students then analyze the pictures of both planets and...

Sixth graders simulate the creation of impact craters on Mars.Through the creation of model surfaces, the effects of an impacting object's mass, velocity and size are determined, and the features of the resulting crater are identified.

Future engineers test different alloys to determine the specific strength of each one. Based on the results, they make a recommendation to NASA on which alloy to use on engines for spacecraft.

Students describe in words and graphic displays the elevation or depression profile of sections of Mars' Olympus Mons and/or Valles Marineris. They explain how orbiting spacecraft build up global maps one data slice at a time.

Students build simple stream tables and vary the angle of the stream tables in order to simulate different flow rates and compare the results. They observe various features formed in a stream table by flowing water and compare these to...

Students plan a mock mission to Mars. In this space science lesson, students work in cooperative groups and select one experiment to take on their mock mission. Students create a mission plan form and send a proposed experiment to NASA.

Young scholars describe the design and construction of the Mars Exploration Rovers (MERs). They imagine that they can visit Mars and think about what they want to find out about the planet. The review the solar system and discuss...

Learners investigate the motion of Mars. In this space science lesson, students use transparencies to trace the path of Mars through constellations. Learners discuss the characteristics of the planet.

Learners research how engineers and scientists generate linear and angular measurements with geometry to survey the Earth and Mars. They assess how geometric shapes affect navigation. A surveyor comes to the classroom and explains how he...

In this planet Mars learning exercise, students color a detailed picture of Mars and answer 5 questions about its size, rotation, distance from the sun and other interesting facts. Students will need to do their own research to answer...

Young scholars explore the possibility of life on Mars and what that might look like.  In this planetary lesson students complete several activities on looking for life on Mars. 

Students explore reasons why people are interested in exploring other planets. After reading an article, they identify developments in the mission to Mars. Using the internet, they research the history of exploring Mars and create a...

Delve into ancient Roman religion using this informational graphic organizer! Historical context begins with brief descriptions of the gods Mars, Jupiter, and Neptune. The images may lack authenticity here. They then read about how...

Students design a calendar that displays time on Mars. They explore the differences between time on Earth and time on Mars while making the calendar.

Students compare and contrast the volcanoes of Earth and Mars, and examine specific volcanoes on Mars. They model the processes that create cone and shield volcanoes, and measure the slope angles of cone and shield volcanoes.

Students simulate driving a rover in Mars. In this space science lesson, students navigate an obstacle while blindfolded and guided by verbal commands only. They assess the challenges encountered by astronauts in operating a rover.

Design and build a rover ... then eat it? This activity has groups of two design and build Mars rovers. The teams determine what instruments they want to include with their rover and plan a budget. They calculate the cost of the body of...

Landforms in Beacon Valley, Antarctica, where there is no snow, bear a striking resemblance to landforms found on Mars. Scholars identify landforms found in Beacon Valley through analysis of topographic maps in the activity. They then...

Scholars read about each planet then bake a plate of cosmic cookies—no-bake cookies decorated to look like the planets; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

Fifth graders gain knowledge about Mars and Earth. In this compare and contrast lesson, 5th graders use visual representations of the solar system to observe the characteristics of the planets. Students read fiction and nonfiction...

In this water on Mars worksheet, learners use a diagram to answer four questions about the structures in the image. They find the dimensions of the image, the width of the streams half-way down their flow channels, the smallest feature...