Red Rover, Red Rover

DOG & PONY SHOW: Today was the really "big" show - our presentation about Mars and the Curiosity Rover at a local elementary school.

We went waaay early, to ensure the school's laptop/projector setup was working the way we needed it to. Good thing we went early. When we arrived, some Windows error messages the likes of which I'd never seen before were popping up on their screen. Not good. Not good at all.

Fortunately, we were able to work through all the many, Many, MANY technical difficulties to get the Powerpoint and the three Internet-based videos we needed (is Mars really red?, Curiosity's launch [we just watched parts of that one] and the 'trailer' for Curiosity's landing) to work.

While all this was going down, CJ and Annabelle were blissfully unaware - enjoying reading book after book after book in the library  :)

Fortunately, during the 30-minute presentation, everything worked just like we needed it to. (It was sooooo great to have Kennedy there running the Powerpoint on the laptop, so I could be up front by the screen, pointing things out to the kids.)

Because of all the questions and the to-be-expected over exuberance/squirreliness of the class, I probably only covered half the slides and material I'd planned on, but that was OK. We were able to share lots of info about Mars, Curiosity, and let the kids know that the first astronaut to Mars is sitting in an elementary school somewhere right now - and that it could be them or one of their friends!

MAN YOUR STATIONS: After the presentation, we moved into a different part of the school for a hands-on activity for the kids. They each got one of the Curiosity coloring/writing sheets I designed to work with. They had fun coloring them, and it was fun to see all their different versions of the Martian rover. I was impressed with the students' color choices, and how some added elements, like the rover's rock-obliterating laser and an American flag.

After they finished their sheets, they came up to a big Mars poster I had made using the super neat-o block poster program available online (free!) that lets you take any photo and turn it into a poster that you can print out with your standard home printer - you just have to trim borders and glue 8.5x11 sheets of paper together to form your poster. I used this photo to make a 3x3-foot poster of Mars for pennies:

If you look in the upper right quadrant of the poster, you'll see a circle in dark grey with what looks like a trailing tail down to the South Pole. That's Gale Crater, where Curiosity will land on August 5.

For today's deal-io, I had bought some plain white mail labels, cut them in half and quickly drew a tiny rover on each one of them. So, each student was given a sticker and I pointed out Gale Crater to them. Then I asked them to study Mars and put their rover somewhere they would live to explore.

It was fun to watch how seriously many of them considered the proposition. A couple of them asked about temperatures in various places and such. Great reasoning skills for a 5 or 6 year old!

When all was said and done, dozens of rovers dotted the Red Planet. I sure wish I'd had the presence of mind to take a photo of the end product. :/

After the kids finished their worksheets and had 'landed' a rover on Mars, they got a "cookie quiz" - one question related to the presentation today. (Is Mars really red? How many wheels does Curiosity have? Could you drive a car to Mars? etc.) Everyone was a winner, of course. :) This is what 60+ Mars cookies + a recipe/instructions looks like.

 As their 'prize' they each got one of the Mars cookies the kids and I made this weekend, as well as a take-home "Save the Date" sheet with info for how they could learn more about Mars and the Curiosity mission.

HEART OF THE MATTER: Of course today's 'to do' list had to include the kids making cards for their dad for Valentine's Day. I folded a piece of cardstock in half for each of them and drew a half heart for them to cut out along the line. They were amazed when they opened it up and it formed a whole heart. :) 

They each decorated their cards (complete with googly eyes) and added some kind words. We tucked the cards into a Magnolia (our neighborhood) coffee cup and put it next to the new fantastic remote control pillow we bought for Christian.

DOGGIE: This evening we watched the Westminster dog show. What an interesting event it is. We learned lots about the characteristics of different breeds. It's hard to believe our dog Kirby is related to creatures ranging from a Great Dane to a Dogue de Bordeaux.

FAMILIAR FACE : Between doing tech troubleshooting and the actual presentation, we headed over to a coffee spot/deli nearby called Louisa's. When we were placing our order, I found myself kind of, well, staring at a person working behind the counter. The blonde hair done up in a bun atop the head distracted me a bit, but I *knew* I knew who it was. ... It took me about 15 seconds to realize it was Blayne Walsh, a Seattle-based clothing designer from Project Runway. I most certainly never expected him to be serving my daughter a grilled cheese sandwich or busing my table. :/

I'm glad he is garnering a paycheck and any job is better than no job, but I have to admit, it made me kind of bummed to encounter him in that way.  I really hope that  Blayne is still pursuing a design career-he is very talented.