Brevard Schools prepares 6th graders to live and work on Mars

It's no secret that the United States has a long-term focus on human exploration of Mars, but most living adults will likely not be the first to set foot on the red planet.

That heavy achievement will probably sit on the shoulders of today's children.

It's no surprise then that on the Space Coast, also known as the "premier gateway to space" according to Vice President Mike Pence, Brevard Public Schools is preparing sixth-graders for a future full of deep space exploration.

“We want to look toward the future now," said Michelle Ferro, a science content specialist for Brevard Public Schools. "And the future is our current sixth-graders will be the first people, or the age of the people, who will walk on Mars."

More:NASA's InSight Mars landing: Probe survives descent through 'seven minutes of terror'

For the past 16 years, Brevard schools has sent students to participate in the Space Week program. It takes sixth-graders from across the country and immerses them in various space-related activities, including a day-long visit to Kennedy Space Center and the Visitor Complex.

But it has a new name now: Destination Space, and it focuses more heavily on living and working in space.

“Our old theme was past, present and future and we decided after 16 years we needed to come up with another,” Ferro said.

Though many components are the same, students are now expected to see what types of STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – careers will be needed for work in the space industry.

More:SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 make their first appearance at Kennedy Space Center

“They’re doing a lot of research before they go [to KSC] about Mars, getting to know Mars and then thinking about the kinds of careers they could have if they were to be involved in the Mars program,” said Melissa Woods, a technology integration teacher for Brevard schools.

At the Visitor Complex, students see many of the usual attractions: the Rocket Garden, IMAX films, space shuttle Atlantis exhibit, Apollo / Saturn V Center. They get to meet with astronauts, too.

"[This program] brings the student's backyard to the classroom," South Lake Elementary School Teacher Rochelle Schneider said. 

But that’s not the only new thing being added to the program. This school year, the district office added another program titled Destination Mars. Designed to challenge students, Destination Mars invites students to pursue careers in STEM-related fields through class activities.

Throughout the year, students will work on several challenges and will compete on Feb. 28 as part of Destination Mars Innovation Day where they will demonstrate their work and findings.

The challenges include:

• Designing wearable technologies that would help people live on Mars
• Coding and designing in Minecraft, a block-based building video game, to create a dome-like habitat
• Programming robots and rovers to maneuver and complete tasks on a Martian map
• Creating a pod-like model to help humans live on Mars

The curriculum was made possible with grants from Boeing, Buzz Aldrin ShareSpace Foundation and Brevard Schools Foundation.

There are currently 14 schools involved with teams up to 12 students. On Feb. 28, they will be given the opportunity to showcase their creations for specific challenges.

"I think it's a fun and educational learning experience for students," South Lake Elementary School Student Avalon Lamb said. 

“We need to prepare our students to be in the 21st century workforce to be able to problem solve, collaborate and communicate their results or to solve problems that don’t even exist right now but will exist," Ferro said. "Both of these programs – Destination Space and Destination Mars – foster that critical thinking, collaboration process."

Contact Jaramillo at 321-242-3668 or antoniaj@floridatoday.com. Follow her on Twitter at @AntoniaJ_11.

Support local journalism: Subscribe to FLORIDA TODAY at floridatoday.com/subscribe.