Students launch off to destination Mars

As the school year came to an end, WA’s schools were rushing to leave Earth behind to travel into space by exploring Scitech’s Destination Mars exhibition.

The globally-acclaimed exhibition challenges students to learn how they would adapt and survive on Mars by engaging them with hands-on activities, such as driving a 4-D surface exploration vehicle, flying a virtual drone to solve environmental issues and experiencing G-force in a spinning capsule.

Balga Senior High School Intensive English Centre teacher, Lucia Di Crescenzo, said the idea of the excursion stemmed from a desire to give students a real-world experience that would complement their classroom learning.

“I gained a deeper appreciation for the value of interactive and hands-on learning experiences in engaging students with diverse needs,” Ms Crescenzo said.

“One of the highlights of the exhibition included the students debating whether humans should colonise Mars.

“This activity deepened their understanding of ethical and scientific issues and inspired them to explore persuasive writing in the classroom.”

Balga Intensive English Centre student, Yosan, said one of the activities included designing an important invention to make life easier on Mars. They worked in pairs to create a special type of gravity shoe that would help people living on the Mars colony move freely without feeling restricted.

“I felt really inspired. It made me realise there are so many opportunities to get involved in space exploration,” Yosan said.

“I learned about the exciting career paths in Western Australia that are connected to space science and technology, and it opened my eyes to how I could be part of that future.”

Ballajura Primary School Year 1 teacher, Emma Moran, said the idea to go to the exhibition was sparked by their annual space themed.

“The excursion gave the students the chance to apply and extend their knowledge and skills, in addition to learning other things of interest to them,” she said.

“The students were able to develop their critical thinking skills, use effective communication and explore new areas to develop their curiosity.

“A number of our students expressed a desire to become astronauts!”

The Scitech exhibition has arrived at a pivotal time for WA’s growing space industry. Recently, Josheph Banks Secondary College opened a new purpose-built space centre.

Scitech Learning Futures Program Coordinator, Max Jenkins-Cooney, said that through 17 hands-on exhibits, the feature exhibition program provides an interactive, with a rich learning experience available for students and is aligned not only with the curriculum, but also highly relevant to real-world contexts right here in our backyard in WA.

There is still time to experience Scitech’s Destination Mars exhibition. Find more information on the Scitech website.