Spacecraft scientists have long attempted to detect signs of life on Mars; so far they have come up empty handed.
Mars, commonly referred to as the Red Planet due to its surface consisting of reddish-brown iron minerals, is one of the four planets orbiting our Sun in our Solar System and second smallest planet overall.
Facts about Mars
Mars, like Earth, is a rocky planet covered with canyons, volcanoes and craters. Additionally, red dust covers its entire surface; when wind blows it around it can form small dust storms; larger ones could even cover all of Mars!
Mars orbits the Sun in an elliptical path. At its aphelion, it is farther from the Sun than normal while at perihelion it draws closer. When at its aphelion, Mars becomes cooler due to reduced sunlight exposure while at perihelion it warms up again thanks to more sunshine – creating seasons on Mars unlike those found on Earth.
Mars’ polar caps are composed of water and carbon dioxide ice. Their size fluctuates with seasons on Mars, helping regulate its temperature. Due to being farther from the Sun than Earth, however, Mars has an atmosphere which loses heat quickly.
Mars takes 687 days to orbit the Sun. Mars days last roughly 40 minutes longer than those here on Earth. Mars has two moons named Phobos and Deimos after two horses used by Roman god Mars to pull his chariot. Phobos is moving closer towards Mars with each passing day until eventually either colliding into it directly or disintegrating and creating an orbit around it.
Billions of years ago, Mars resembled our planet more closely in appearance. It featured oceans with marine life forms; today however, Mars is dry and barren with red dust covering its surface.
Mars boasts canyons, valleys and craters much deeper than those seen on Earth. Olympus Mons, our solar system’s largest mountain with layers of rocks stretching for 16 miles (24 kilometers), rises 16 miles above its surrounding flat landscape and also contains Valles Marineris which boasts the deepest canyon in our solar system.
Activities for kids to learn about Mars
There are numerous fun activities kids can engage in to increase their knowledge about Mars and other planets in our Solar System. Some activities may involve creating models from clay or Legos; other experiments include building volcanoes with baking soda and vinegar; while still others involve hiding toys under ice so children can chisel them out themselves! All of these projects can help develop fine motor skills while teaching children about our Solar System.
Children can create a simple paper model of Mars and use colors to highlight its differences from Earth. Furthermore, they can build scale models of its moons. Finally, using this model, children can answer questions about Mars and its polar ice caps.
Children can create their own models of Mars using Styrofoam balls painted various colors to represent its features and add details about its ice caps and details about the planet itself. This craft could serve both classroom displays or home projects.
One excellent way for children to gain more knowledge about our planet is reading books written by young authors. Create & Learn offers books with chapters written by authors from Poland, China, Australia, United States and Canada that will enable kids to better comprehend what goes into launching robots on Mars – while inspiring future scientists as well.
Building a Mars rover at home can be a challenging yet engaging activity that allows children to understand the engineering design process used by NASA and Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers in space missions development, and promote thought about life on Mars as possible ways of finding answers about how we might discover it.
Children aged 8-13 will collaborate in teams to design their own Mars rovers with readily available materials and craft supplies in this 45-60 minute activity. They’ll consider what tools would help them understand Mars (including aspects such as its habitability or life on it), then incorporate those tools into models that must successfully complete tasks.
Coloring pages for kids to learn about Mars
Coloring pages are a simple yet engaging way for kids to start exploring Mars, be it summer activity, school work supplement, or party entertainment. In addition to learning about Mars itself, kids will gain practice at color recognition and fine motor skills through coloring these space planet craft templates that can also provide fine motor exercises. Perfect for toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarten students!
Mars is a rocky planet with two moons, smaller than Earth and with red soil that contains many craters. Mars also boasts an atmosphere thick enough to cause extreme heat; due to this difference and having its own chemical makeup, life cannot exist on its surface as easily.
This printable sailor Mars coloring page can help children gain insight into the red planet. They can learn its history, recent missions to Mars, plans for future exploration as well as interesting facts and figures related to Mars’ atmosphere and atmosphere. Furthermore, this coloring page may serve as an educational reference tool on other planets within our solar system.
Are You Planning a Space Themed Party for Your Little Astronauts? These Planet Craft Templates Can Be Used As Banners, Cupcake Toppers, Table Displays or Invitation Cards
This free planet coloring pack includes over 15 pages for children of all ages to enjoy. These pages include coloring pages of the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto. There are also printable sheets with facts about other faraway planets as well as fun activities perfect for science fairs!
Kids’ activities to learn about Mars
Kids are fascinated with space and the possibility of life on Mars. These resources can help children gain knowledge about its history, current status, moons and features that inhabit it.
Mars, sometimes referred to as the Red Planet, is located four planets from the Sun. It features two small moons: Phobos and Deimos. Mars’ atmosphere is thin with cold temperatures. Its surface features numerous craters. Although Mars boasts harsh weather conditions, valleys, deserts, and polar ice caps similar to Earth can still be found there; its name comes from Roman God of War Mars himself!
Scientists have yet to uncover evidence of life on Mars, but are nonetheless diligently exploring its history and features. Their goal is to discover whether water once existed on the planet as well as other gasses capable of supporting it; and whether its environment could support human settlement.
One way for students to explore these questions is by making their own Mars spacecraft. Students can use simple materials and instructions for crafting this craft before presenting their spaceship to the class and following its mission on Mars rover Perseverance.
An entertaining and educational way for students to explore Mars is with a printable Mars coloring page. Perfect for kids of all ages, this activity helps develop fine motor skills while learning about this planet. Print, color and cut it out easily for maximum personalization! You could even add eyes or features like faces for an added personal touch!
Mars Rovers website provides engaging activities for older children to learn more about Mars rovers while exploring images and listening to audio recordings from Mars rover images. It serves as an excellent resource both educators and parents.
Crater Creations provides children ages 8-13 an opportunity to experiment with how varying mass, shape, velocity and angle of impactors influence the size and appearance of a crater. Furthermore, Mars Match allows students to work in teams as “planetary investigators”, inspecting images of volcanoes, channels and craters on both Mars and Earth before using their findings to match cards that compare and contrast these features.