Why We're Going to Mars This Summer
We are gearing up for our summer distance learning program, with music, art, movement--and a project-based learning trip to Mars, co-taught by internationally-recognized neuropsychologist and psychologist Dr. Steven Mattis.
More than just a well-timed getaway from an unusually chaotic earth, our trip to Mars has mixed therapeutic and learning goals. For many of our kids, the disruptions, isolation and anxiety of quarantine are continuing into the summer, with favorite camps and vacations on hold. Kids need help to process this level of change and disruption, opportunities to engage socially and intellectually with other kids, and the chance to re-experience learning as something with both peers and purpose.
That's why we're preparing for a trip to Mars for students in our morning distance learning program!
With Dr. Mattis' support, we will work together as a team to prepare a digital how-to manual to help astronauts heading off to colonize Mars fight social isolation and boredom while meeting their basic needs. Students will research aspects of the Mars' surface and the journey to reach it, learn about photo-journalism from a professional photographer, and take perspectives on their own experiences during COVID by recording the life hacks that have helped them to get through this challenging time. Then they'll work as a group to analyze how the life hacks that they've used on earth may or may not be helpful to colonists on Mars while honing their critical thinking skills and the social skills needed to work collaboratively in a group.
This is but one example of the ways in which our expert team is adapting the project-based learning model to fuse academic, social-emotional, sensory and executive function goals and support together, to empower our students to experience their own strengths and realize their intellectual gifts — whether we’re in person or online! You can read more about our approach to therapeutically-infused project-based learning on our website.
After all, what better time to take a break from everything happening here on earth?
Follow along at home!
We know many kids have been left high and dry without summer camps this year, so we’ve made our class’ Mars Portal available to the public, along with the Body-Brain Project that our students completed this spring!
We’ll open up new sections of the Mars Research Platform each day as our team works through the project. Follow along to learn with us from home and get a taste of how intellectually-rich remote instruction can be!
