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Welcome to Mars
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Classroom Activity
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Objective
To
learn more about some of the scientists and engineers involved with the Mars
Rover mission and to find out how to begin identifying and exploring career
interests.
- copy of the "Who Works with the Rovers?" student handout
(PDF or
HTML)
- access to print and Internet resources
Several hundred people helped support the Mars Exploration Rover missions. Who
are some of the people that assisted in the missions' success? How did they get
from being middle and high school students to exploring Mars? Students will
think about these questions and career interests of their own in this
activity. Ask students to name the kinds of careers they think are involved with the
Mars rover mission. Write their answers on the board. Discuss the kind of team
it takes to make a mission like this work. (You may want to note to students
that in addition to the many different kinds of scientists and engineers that
are part of the Mars mission, there are also many other types of jobs that are
directly involved with or support the operation. See Activity Answer
for more information on these careers.) Copy and distribute a handout to each student. Have students read the brief
biographies of four of the scientists and engineers who were involved with the
Mars Exploration Rover mission. Discuss the biographies with students. What skills and interests do students
think each job requires? If students don't mention it, point out that some of
the scientists knew they wanted to study science or engineering when they went
to college while others were pursuing other interests and eventually moved into
science or engineering. Tell students that determining a career is a process that happens over time.
Although some students may know what field or career they want to enter, many
will need to learn over time what vocation they would like to pursue. Have students interview five people they interact with who are involved in a
career (i.e., their caregivers, siblings of their friends, people in their
neighborhoods) and have them answer the following questions:
What does your job entail? What training, if any, does your job require? What job tasks do you like best? What tasks do you like least? How did you choose your career? Who or what inspired you to first
consider your career? What did you start out doing after high school? How, if at all, has your
career path changed over time? If you had it to do over again, what, if anything, would you do
differently? What advice would you give to someone starting to think about choosing a
career? Assign students to teams to discuss the jobs they learned about. Have each
team choose two or three careers from its pool of careers and share with the
class what the jobs entail and what skills are necessary for the jobs. Make a list on the board of each of the careers mentioned. What did students
learn about the types of jobs that are available? What, if anything, surprised
students about what they learned? How many of the people interviewed were in
the same career they started out in after high school? Of the careers listed on
the board, which ones are of interest to students? Have each student pick one
career on the board, or one other they are interested in, for additional
research. Have students use print and Internet research tools to find out more about
their career choice, including what the job entails, what education and
training is needed, the kinds of organizations that employ the position, the
missions of the organizations, the typical salary range, the demand for the
job, and where geographically the job can be found. To conclude, discuss what students learned in their research. Point out to
students that within many vocations there are often varying levels of expertise
needed that require different levels of education. As an extension, ask students what they would like to do next to learn more
about the career choices they investigated, or other new career choices.
Students may be at different points in their career exploration and be
interested in different aspects of career discovery. Some students may be ready
to take skills, personality, and interests tests; others may just want to find
out what careers are available in certain geographical areas; others may want
to explore how to pay for continuing education. Design the next steps for
career investigation according to students' interests (see Links and Books for some career resources.) Note to students that finding a career can
be a lifelong process that is constantly refined by new experiences.
Students
might think that most of the people involved in the Mars missions are
scientists and engineers. But the team needed to successfully plan, implement,
and report on a mission to Mars is much more diverse. Among the many team
members are scientists who choose what the rovers should study, engineers who
help plan and build the rovers, computer scientists who write programs that run
the rovers, mission control specialists who launch and control the vehicles,
public relations professionals who provide accurate information to journalists
and others, education specialists who write lesson plans, and many, many more.
Scientists representing many disciplines are involved with the mission,
including such areas as astronomy, astrobiology, atmospheric science,
geochemistry, geophysics, meteorology, and planetary geology. In addition, many
different kinds of engineers are needed, in such areas as electrical,
mechanical, aerospace, robotics, safety, systems, and software engineering, to
name a few. In addition, there are many technicians necessary to help the
scientists and engineers do their jobs. And supporting all of these people are
numerous administrative staff who help ensure the project stays on track.
Web Sites
NOVA Web Site—Welcome to Mars
www.pbs.org/nova/mars/
In this companion Web site to the NOVA program, learn why water is necessary
for life, investigate the rovers' parts, take a visual tour of the rovers' most
revealing discoveries, design your own parachute, and more.
America's Career InfoNet
www.acinet.org/acinet/
Presents wage and employment trends, occupational requirements, and
state-by-state labor market conditions.
The Career Key
www.careerkey.org/english/
Provides a career guidance test, ways to identify job skills, and help on job
search strategies and networking.
Engineering and Science Career Resources
www.khake.com/page53.html
Includes information such as daily activities, skill requirements, salary
and training required for a variety of science and engineering jobs.
JobStar Central: Career Guides
jobstar.org/tools/career/career.cfm
Offers online career tests, guides to career resources in libraries, and
guidance for specific careers across many disciplines.
NASA Quest's Biography and Journal Locator
questdb.arc.nasa.gov/bio_search.htm
Choose job titles or occupations from a list and search for current NASA
biographies and journal entries from people currently doing those jobs.
NASA's Mars Exploration Program: People
marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/people/
Provides links by state to team members involved in all Mars missions.
Occupational Outlook Handbook
stats.bls.gov/oco/home.htm
Describes what workers do on the job, working conditions, the training and
education needed, earnings, and expected job prospects in a wide range of
occupations.
The Princeton Review: Career
www.princetonreview.com/cte/
Includes a personality test, career quiz, information on creating a career
path, and more.
School to Careers
www.careers.iptv.org/about.cfm
Introduces students to career professionals, projects and ideas.
Books
Fellman, Wilma.
Finding a Career That Works for You.
Plantation, FL: Specialty Press, 2000.
Provides ways to match interests, aptitudes, personality, and goals with
choosing a career and provides practical tips on how to find a job in a chosen
field.
Reeves, Diane Lindsey.
Career Ideas for Kids Who Like Science.
New York: Facts on File, 1998.
Describes 15 science careers and provides advice on how to choose a career
direction.
Weiss, Jodi and Russell Kahn.
145 Things To Be When You Grow Up.
New York: Random House, 2004.
Profiles 145 professions and offers information on high school activities,
college majors, and work experience that will help students achieve their
career goals.
The "Who Works with the Rovers?" activity aligns with the following
National Science Education Standards:
Grades 5-8
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Science Standard G:
History and Nature of Science
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Science as a human endeavor:
Women and men of various social and ethnic backgrounds—and with
diverse interests, talents, qualities, and motivations—engage in the
activities of science, engineering, and related fields such as the health
professions. Some scientists work in teams, some work alone, but all
communicate extensively with others. Science requires different abilities, depending on such factors as the
field of study and type of inquiry. Science is very much a human endeavor, and
the work of science relies on basic human qualities, such as reasoning,
insight, energy, skill, and creativity—as well as scientific habits of
mind, such as intellectual honesty, tolerance of ambiguity, skepticism, and
openness to new ideas.
Grades 9-12
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Science Standard G:
History and Nature of Science
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Science as a human endeavor
Classroom Activity Author
Developed
by WGBH Educational Outreach staff.
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