The top choice for Summer Camp this year is Mission to Mars:
MISSION TO MARS! is Sue’s Tech Kitchen’s (Randi Zuckerberg’s STEM Education and Entertainment brand!) first-ever STEM-Ed curriculum that teaches Five Core Competencies required for success in tomorrow’s emerging industries. This week-long educational program invites kids on an immersive storytelling adventure with Sue. While solving problems, unraveling mysteries, and completing missions together, students learn the basics of Coding, Machine Learning, Environmental Science, and Engineering and hone their skills as Ethical Innovators. Designed by a team of STEM and education experts and drawing inspiration from role-playing games, escape rooms, and immersive theater, this Adventure-Based Learning experience engages the imagination, curiosity, and intellect of students as they transform into STEM superheroes.
Mission to Mars fast facts:
-Mission to Mars is a weeklong half-day workshop for children ages 8-11.
We want our kids to have fun in the Summer, at camp, and adding an educational component to their fun is a win/win for kids and parents!
-Because Sue’s Tech Kitchen places food and storytelling at the core of its strategy, it does a terrific job of engaging a wide range of children with diverse interests and personalities.
The inclusive nature of this organization means that this program is for everyone, and has facets to hold the attention of a wide range of kids.
-The Mission to Mars curriculum has been developed by a team of education, entertainment, gaming, and technology experts, including Dr. Sam Pfister, who served on the Surface Operations team for NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission.
The idea that our kids get to enjoy a program developed with an actual NASA employee, is amazing! Also, while this is educational, entertainment and video gaming features are part of the mix, so our kids know they are having fun.
-Mission to Mars calls their approach “Adventure-Based Learning” which utilizes elements of role-playing games and immersive theater both to engage children in an exciting story-based experience and to empower them with STEM “superhero” roles to take on during the program.
As a parent who has seen his child read reports to classrooms of parents, and also perform in school plays, I view this type of activity as a terrific way for kids to build self-esteem, and to get a taste of public speaking, a skill everyone needs.
-Mission to Mars aims to equip children with the mindset and broad range of skills essential to innovation in the 21st Century. While exposing students to a diverse range of next-generation STEM fields, we also integrate concepts such as systems thinking, collaboration strategies, and ethical entrepreneurship.
This is amazing. Our children have a fun Summer camp, and they learn so much without realizing they are expanding their entire world view!
Mission to Mars takes children on an interactive storytelling adventure and reinforces their STEM learning! And for a limited time only, enjoy 25% off thanks to the blog: Use offer code GAYNYCDADMARS when purchasing tickets to save 25%! This 25% discount offer expires June 30, so don’t wait! Sign up here!
Check out the amazing curriculum below as a sampling of the great experiences awaiting your kids this Summer!
An Overview of the Mission to Mars Curriculum (subject to change):
Day One: Coding
• A mysterious recorded message from Sue enlists participants in a daring mission to Mars for urgent but unknown reasons.
• Active computational thinking challenges will get students up and out of their seats to teach them the basics of writing the code that controls Mars Rovers.
• Squads of students will complete their first missions on the surface of Mars using a custom Mars Rover Mission Control tabletop game designed by a former NASA scientist specifically for this camp.
• Students learn about binary code, the fundamental language of all computing, by constructing and enjoying edible 8-bit Binary Bytes snacks.
Day Two: Environmental Science
• After arriving on day two to discover that their equipment is not working properly, the crew must learn about the Martian atmosphere to unravel the mystery behind these malfunctions.
• Students will design and create their own wearable UV-radiation detection devices and use them to test how best to protect against the damaging effects of Martian radiation.
• Squads will return to Rover Mission Control to use their Rovers to repair and protect their equipment against the harsh Martian weather conditions.
• Martian Dust Pies are a delicious treat to reinforce the day’s lessons about the Martian environment.
Day Three: Machine Learning
• An unexpected planet-wide dust storm hampers the crew’s planned landing on Mars.
• Students learn about the principles of machine learning to train an AI weather prediction tool to allow them to successfully navigate the extreme weather.
• Squads customize and upgrade their Rovers as they expand their search of Mars in preparation for landing.
• Students enjoy S’Mars snacks as they prepare for their first night of camping on Mars.
Day Four: Engineering
• Now that they’re on the surface of Mars, the crew must build out their Martian campsites.
• During a Mars Survival Engineering Lab, students learn about the essential elements of human survival on Mars and each design their own campsite plans.
• Squads work together to build their unique campsites with help from their Rovers.
• A MarshMolecules snacktivity allows students to “taste” the molecular chemistry behind NASA’s latest research on creating oxygen on Mars.
Day Five: Ethical Innovation
• As our crew reaches its final destination to uncover the mystery behind their mission, they make an incredible discovery!
• In light of their findings, squads engage in a friendly guided debate to determine the best course of action that balances practical circumstances with ethical implications.
• The entire crew collaborates in a final interactive storytelling challenge that allows every class to forge their own epic conclusion to the adventure.
3D Food Printers create custom Edible Squad Badge Cookies to commemorate each crew-member’s contribution to the mission!
This is a top choice for Summer Camp to enhance every aspect of your child’s educational and social growth!
Disclosure: This is a compensated post on behalf of Mission to Mars. All opinions are always 100% honest and our own.
This program looks amazing
What a great program. I wish they had that around where I live.
I wish I would have seen this sooner sounds great
A great program to be involved with