JASON Learning and Aldrin Family Foundation have partnered to ignite the next generation of space explorers. Take your student’s education to the next level by combining JASON Learning’s Curriculum Module: You are the Next Space Explorers with Aldrin Family Foundation’s Giant Mars Map™ and Giant Moon Map™ packages. These resources will go far beyond the classroom and aim to inspire the next generation of space explorers!
Aldrin Family Foundation
The Aldrin Family Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization that brings the excitement of space exploration to the classroom to inspire the next generation of space leaders, entrepreneurs. Aldrin Family Foundation’s STEAM-based educational tools, educational activities and programs span from a child’s first classroom experience through graduate school and professional programs. This vertical pathway unites explorers at all levels to learn from each other’s vision for space, ultimately creating the first generation of Martians.
You are the Next Space Explorers
Humankind is ready to return to the Moon and eventually go on to Mars. All we need is a new generation of space leaders, entrepreneurs, and explorers willing to take the leap. The first residents of the Moon and Mars will be one of you! You are the next space explorers!
Introduction – But Why, Some Say, The Moon?
The lasting legacy of Apollo and humankind’s reach for the Moon was made possible thanks to a visionary U.S. President, John F. Kennedy. He understood what the perilous undertaking would involve. Even now, Kennedy’s provocative “moon speech,” given in September 1962 at Rice University in Texas, is exhilarating. What challenges were overcome? What sacrifices were made? What have we learned? What accomplishments are celebrated even today? Most importantly, who were the people that made it happen?
Lesson 1 – Our Place in Space
Humans look up at the sky in wonder every day. Who is indifferent to the delight of the bright, warm Sun, the glowing Moon, and the spectacular array of sparkling lights in the nighttime sky? Today’s astronomers provide us with even more wondrous views of the sky using the eyes of technology. Our views and understanding of our place in space have inspired our stories, music, and art across history. How have we come to know our place in space? What new unexpected things will we learn from astronomers and astronauts today, tomorrow, and in the months and years to come?
Lesson 2 – Full Moon
Earth’s Moon hangs there hovering like a celestial nightlight, visible most nights of the year. It is our companion in gravitational lock. Our Moon is often one of the first astronomical objects that we notice in our lives, and the questions and wonder it evokes offer a lifetime of inspiration. What is the relationship between the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun? Where did the Moon come from? What is the Moon really made of? And when we return to the Moon, where should we set up residence?
Lesson 3 – The Red Planet
Thanks to a cadre of robotic craft, Mars has been flown by, orbited, crashed into, radar inspected, rocketed onto, as well as bounced upon, rolled over, shoveled, drilled into, baked, and even laser blasted. We have learned so much, and yet there is much more to learn about the Red Planet. Yet to come… being stepped on. Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin is championing a plan to create a sustainable path to permanent inhabitation of Mars.
Conclusion – Space Program Spin-Offs
Driven by our insatiable desire to explore, imagine, and create, humans continue to develop technology to visit the Moon, explore our Universe, and plan for life off of our home planet Earth. Why is it important to invest in this exploration? How might the space program help us better understand and even improve life here on Earth? How have technologies created by those in the space industry changed our daily lives forever?
Via our special partnership with Aldrin Family Foundation, you are able to purchase school-wide access to this curriculum for just $500! (If you are interested in all of our curricula, you can find options for full access school-wide and district-wide at jason.org/school-model and jason.org/district-model.)
Ready to fly to the Moon or Mars?
Through the Giant Mars Map™ and Giant Moon Map™, students get to sit, stand, walk, play, and learn together on the Moon or the Red Planet! Targeted at ages 10-14 years, teachers can engage students with fun projects like building personally designed spaceships, exploring craters and landmasses on Mars, or learning what they would need to live and thrive on the Moon, all while also learning about one of humankind’s greatest achievements. Their eyes are opened to the amazing opportunities that lie ahead for them in this new world of space exploration.
The Giant Mars Map™ and Giant Moon Map™ are large vinyl floor maps available in a variety of sizes. Either of the Map Packages can be used on any large surface allowing educators flexibility to use in a school classroom, gymnasium, or museum lobby. The Map Packages include educational activities developed by the Aldrin Family Foundation and various universities based on education standards modified to fit local expectations and access to in-person and online program training for educators.
Purchase A Map Package!
Email below for more information on how you can purchase an Aldrin Family Foundation Map Package after you have purchased the JASON Learning’s Curriculum Module: You are the Next Space Explorers. Please use ‘#JASONLearning’ in the subject line when requesting more information!
