Product Description

The race to land humans on Mars is on! The 2020 4‑H STEM Challenge will explore sending a mission to Mars with the activity, Mars Base Camp. Developed by Google and Virginia Cooperative Extension, Mars Base Camp is a collection of activities that teaches kids ages 8-14 STEM skills like mechanical engineering, physics, computer science, and agriculture.

Supported by national partners—Bayer, Toyota, and U.S. Air Force—Mars Base Camp is the perfect topic to empower young people to explore a wide range of subject areas in an exciting thematic package, one that allows kids to think about the same problems that today’s top scientists and engineers are working on right now.

Featuring four hands-on activities that can be enjoyed with or without internet access and individually or all together, the challenge teaches kids STEM skills like mechanical engineering, physics, computer science and agriculture.

• Landing Zone Surveyor is an unplugged activity where kids will attempt to land on Mars and discover features that are important for setting up a base camp.
• Red Planet Odyssey is an unplugged activity where kids will use engineering skills to build a vehicle that can explore the surface of Mars.
• Crop Curiosity is an unplugged activity where kids will learn about biology, environmental science, and agriculture to grow nutritionally efficient food on Mars.
• Insight from Mars is an activity that can be done unplugged or online that teaches kids to code and share a discovery they made on Mars using CS First and Scratch. 

This year, 4‑H will be offering two different sized Mars Base Camp kits to ensure young people everywhere, regardless of internet access or family resources, can participate:

• Family-sized Kit: Includes materials for 1-4 youth to participate in the STEM Challenge at the same time, enabling families to participate from the comfort and safety of their own homes.
• Educator Kit: Includes materials for 12 youth to participate in the STEM Challenge at the same time. Kits can be used in spaces where physical distancing and other safety precautions can be followed.

Look Inside

Click here to view the Facilitator & Youth Guides for this activity!

Family Kit Components

• 1 - Mars Base Camp Facilitator Guide
• 2 - Mars Base Camp Youth Guides
• 1 - 36” x 36” Mars Landing Mat, photo taken by NASA from Viking 1
• 1 - Mars Landing Die
• 1 - Mars Landing Air Force Paratroopers
• 1 - Set of Mars Landing Cards
• 1 - Mars Rover with assembly instructions and screwdriver. Batteries not included, takes 2 AA batteries
• 1 - Mars Crop Curiosity Card Deck
• 20 - Mars Crop Curiosity Bingo Chips
• 2 - Mars Crop Curiosity Score Cards
• 1 - Set of Mars Scratch Cards

Educator Kit Components

• 1 - Mars Base Camp Facilitator Guide
• 12 - Mars Base Camp Youth Guides
• 1 - 36” x 36” Mars Landing Mat, photo taken by NASA from Viking 1
• 1 - Set of Mars Landing Cards
• 1 - Mars Landing Die
• 4 - Mars Landing Air Force Paratroopers
• 3 - Mars Rovers with assembly instructions and screwdriver. Batteries not included, takes 2 AA batteries
• 3 - Mars Crop Curiosity Card Decks
• 3 - Sets of 20 Mars Crop Curiosity Bingo Chips
• 6 - Mars Crop Curiosity Score Cards
• 1 - Set of Mars Scratch Cards
• 1 - Mars USB Drive