COMMUNITY OUTREACH
The students of the MARS Robotics Association participate in and host various outreach events throughout the year. 2 of our larger events are the Mars New Year and Applefest. Currently the team is working with NASA and the Borough of Mars to obtain funding for a Discovery Center in Mars PA. Check out the links below for more information.
Mars Discovery Center
One of the most important projects we have been working on is the Mars Discovery Center. The Center is a proposed community facility which will include a machine shop and workspace for the community and our association. It is designed to involve STEAM in the community through spaces like a robotics laboratory, robotics arena, and NASA exhibits. We are presenting to various groups including NASA and the Mars Borough to encourage its construction in Mars PA. The proposal presentation can be viewed to the right.
Mars New Year
Approximately every two years, in alignment with the New Year on the planet mars, the borough of Mars and NASA work together to host a three day community event called Mars New Year. Our robotics team was asked by the borough of Mars and NASA to organize the student robotics exhibit and demonstration. Organizing this event included coordinating our booth and activities along with the mini competition that we held during the Saturday of the festival. We invited FTC, FLL, and FRC teams from our community to come join in on the fun. We designed a new challenge for the festival, and set up some crafts for children to do. One of the crafts included kids drawing their own button, which was a huge hit. Over 8,000 people attended the STEM themed event, and many enjoyed what our team had to offer. As a result, we were able to form some great connections and several new students joined our teams.
Applefest
Each year Mars Robotics is proud to be apart of Applefest, a community event in Mars with several thousand people in attendance. During this event, kids were able to drive our robots, make buttons, and learn more about robotics. Our teams were able to connect with the community and introduce STEM to children. As a result of this event, many students became interested in joining our robotics teams.
