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Watch a Preview Video about JASON Expedition: Mysteries of Earth and Mars!

Watch a PowerPoint Presentation about Mars and Earth

WHAT'S INCLUDED?
2005-2006 JASON Expedition: Mysteries of Earth and Mars Teacher Pack, available from the Bell Museum, serves one teacher and up to 30 students. It includes:

• Teacher workshop (Fall 2005)
• Teacher's edition (hands-on classroom print curriculum)
• Student activity book (unit masters; one included with Teacher Pack; additional available to purchase directly from the JASON Foundation)
• Getting Started online tutorial/CD-Rom
• Introductory video (VHS or DVD)
• Team JASON Online subscriptions for all participating teachers and students (gated website)
• Admission to a live expedition broadcast at the Bell Museum (Jan. 30 - Feb. 3, 2006)
• Optional Mars 3D Cinema experience (at the Science Museum of Minnesota)

Additional opportunities and resources to support your JASON experience are available directly from the JASON Foundation and include:

• JASON Conference — A high energy 2-3 day conference for JASON educators built around the unveiling of JASON Expedition: Mysteries of Earth and Mars curriculum.
• JASON Summer Institute — An expedition site "immersion" experience for educators wanting an in-depth experience with the JASON Expedition: Mysteries of Earth and Mars theme.
• Texas Instruments graphing calculators and Vernier probewear Equipment Packages and Supplemental Activities.
• JASON Academy — Content-rich, facilitated 5-week online graduate level courses designed to help teachers meet the highly-qualified requirements of No Child Left Behind.
• JASON Math Adventures — Multimedia kits of activities and resources for grades 6-8 that engage students in the mathematics used by scientists and researchers on current JASON Expeditions.
• Carolina Biological Classroom Materials Kits — Designed to supplement expedition Teacher Packs; each kit provides unique hands-on materials for key exercises, classroom demonstrations, and learning stations.
• JASON Merchandise

Please visit www.jason.org for more information about these supplemental resources.

Click here to register, or call 612-624-9050 or registration@bellmuseum.org. All workshops are free with purchase of JASON Mysteries of Earth and Mars curriculum.

JASON Expedition: Mysteries of Earth and Mars curriculum will consist of three core units that will address key standards-based topics:

Physical Science
Examines the physical properties of space science as well as the engineering challenges of robotic exploration.

Topics include:

• Characteristic properties and chemical changes of water: freezing point, boiling point, solubility, density, chemical reactions
• Motions and Forces: Newtons Laws, gravity
• Transfer of Energy: potential and kinetic energy
• Science and Technology: technological design

Earth and Space Science
Examines comparative planetology, the geological features and processes on Earth and Mars.

Topics include:

• Physical Geology: landforms, rocks, minerals, soil
• Geological Processes: tectonics, volcanism, cratering, erosion, measuring geological time
• Electromagnetism: waves, infrared radiation, and spectroscopy
• Solar System: planets and meteors

Life Science
Examines requirements for life, astrobiology (the search for life throughout the solar system), and extremophiles (organisms adapted to extreme environments).

Topics include:

• Requirements for Life: energy, nutrients, water
• Living Systems: structure and function in living systems, cells, microbes
• Diversity and Adaptation of Organisms: extreme environments, extremophiles
• Earth's History: fossils, biosignatures

Team JASON Online Featured Digital Labs
Digital Labs are student-centered interactive online activities that model scientific exploration, allowing students to explore real data and have fun at the same time.

Unit 1 Digital Lab: Searching for Signs of Water
Students explore Gusev Crater with the Spirit Rover. They select a geologic feature, choose an instrument to look for evidence of water, and then compare their results to those of the research scientist. Like real scientists, the more instruments students use, the more confident they can be in their conclusions.

Unit 2 Digital Lab: The Martian History Mystery
Students describe the history of Martian geological activity. They estimate the relative ages of landforms such as impact craters, volcanoes, tectonic rifts canyons, and wind-formed and water-formed features such as lakes, gullies, and river beds. Students then create a timeline to indicate when geological processes appeared to be most active and create a planet-wide activity map to reveal geographical patterns.

Unit 3 Digital Lab: Extreme Microbes
Students choose a particular habitat on Mars. Using microbes that live in extreme conditions on Earth (extremophiles) as examples, students then design their own extremophiles that might survive on Mars. They then test their extremophile in the Martian habitat to see if it is properly adapted to live there.

Literature Selections
Select literature to accompany the JASON Expedition: Mysteries of Earth and Mars. For more detailed descriptions of each book, download this document.

Main JASON Student Audiences

• Mars Year One Trilogy, by Brad Strickland (Fiction)
• Robot Visions, by Isaac Asimov (Fiction)
• War of the Worlds, by H G Wells (Fiction Classic)

Primary grades

• A Mission to Mars, by Franklyn Branley (Non Fiction)
• One Day in the Desert, by Jean C. George (Fiction)

Teacher and Classroom Resources

• Mystery of Mars, by Sally Ride and Tam Shaughnessy (Non Fiction)
• A Traveler's Guide to Mars, by Wm. Hartmann (Non Fiction)
• The Real Mars, forward by Jim Garvin (Non Fiction)

Featured Researchers JASON Expedition: Mysteries of Earth and Mars

Kobie T. Boykins
Senior Mechanical Engineer
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Research focus: How do engineers build robotic rovers to meet the grueling conditions of Mars?

Tracy D. Drain
Systems Engineer
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Research focus: How do the many systems of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter work smoothly together?

James B. Garvin, Ph.D
NASA Chief Scientist
NASA Headquarters
Research focus: What can we learn from studying craters on Earth and Mars?

Victoria E. Hamilton, Ph.D.
Planetary Geologist
University of Hawai'i
Research focus: What can Martian meteorites tell us about Mars?

Jack D. Farmer, Ph.D.
Astrobiologist
Arizona State University
Research focus: How does the study of extreme places on Earth help us better understand if life could exist on Mars?

Linda Jahnke
Microbiologist
NASA Ames Research Center
Research focus: How can studying modern microbial systems help us search for signs of life on Mars?

QUESTIONS & REGISTRATION

Questions?
To speak to the Bell Museum's JASON Expeditions coordinator:
Email: jason@bellmuseum.org
Phone: 612-626-9602

For even more information about JASON Expeditions, visit the JASON Foundation's website at www.jason.org

Registration
Download a Registration Form
Email: registrations@bellmuseum.org
Phone: 612-624-9050
Fax: 612-626-7704
Mail: Registrations Department
Bell Museum of Natural History
10 Church Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455