On April 22nd, 2024, our Year 7 students embarked on an epic adventure to the Natural History Museum, diving headfirst into the mysteries of Mars through an awesome workshop. Mars, that distant red planet, has always been a source of fascination for scientists and dreamers alike. And on this day, our students got a taste of what it’s like to explore its secrets.
Led by the cool scientists from the Museum who are all about cracking Mars’ mysteries, the students found out how scientists use fancy techniques like remote sensing and even how they land rovers on the Martian surface. It’s like something straight out of a sci-fi movie!
But the real highlight? The workshop with LEGO! Yup, you heard that right. Thanks to the LEGO Group and Raising Robots, the students got to roll up their sleeves and build their very own Martian rovers using LEGO bricks. Imagine the excitement as they worked together in teams, piecing together their rovers and bringing them to life.
The workshop kicked off with a chat about why exploring space is so cool and how the Museum scientists are right in the thick of it all. Then it was time to get down to business. Armed with LEGO WeDo 2.0 kits, the students became master builders and coders, programming their rovers to tackle the challenges of the Martian terrain.
And guess what? The fun didn’t stop there. Once their rovers were good to go, the students took them for a spin on a giant Martian surface. Talk about out-of-this-world excitement! They watched in awe as their creations zoomed and zipped around, navigating the rocky landscape like pros.
But wait, there’s more! For the year 7s, there was an extra challenge: thinking about the budget and weight of their rover designs. It was a real brain teaser, pushing the students to think smart and make savvy decisions.
As the day came to a close, our young explorers left the Museum buzzing with excitement and brimming with newfound knowledge. Who knows, maybe one day one of them will be the first person to set foot on Mars! But for now, they’ll just have to settle for being the coolest kids in school who got to build LEGO rovers on a trip to the Museum.
