Student Names: Zayan, Mouhammad, Phoenix, Lily
What was the mission or aim of your project?
The aim of our mission was to construct a habitat suitable for Mars.
Why was this your mission?
We all chose this topic because it is very interesting. Being able to develop a habitat meant to be on Mars is probably the greatest assignment you can have. We all had the hope of finding out more and learning more about building habitats on Mars.
What action/experiment did you take?
We made a model for a shelter which we can use in order to live sustainably on Mars. Since our project was based on building we didn't have an experiment.
How did you use what you learned in grade 9 science in the design?
We used our knowledge of circuits, ecosystems, space, and more. For example, we used our knowledge of ecosystems to help us research and judge how to create a working greenhouse, and how to protect the shelter from radiation. We also used our understanding of space and electromagnetic radiation to know that we had to protect our shelter from the harsh radiation of space.
Include your Instagram post/images of your science fair board.
Science Fair Poster Image (ours is slide 6)
How does your project fit or connect with the other projects in the class? Are we living sustainably on your chosen planet?
Throughout our project, our ideas and hypotheses relied on many different factors, most importantly that things like oxygen, water, food, and more, were taken care of by other groups. This is how our project fits in with the other groups, we all had to come together, otherwise, none of this would have worked.
How successful was your action (its OK if it didn't go as planned)? Did you meet your goal?
Even though our circuit didn't have power as the day of the fair was cloudy; we still consider it successful, as we know that the circuit fully works and can operate perfectly when there is sunlight. As for the model, it proved to be far more complicated than we thought, especially making tiny furniture. We had to tone down the complexity of the project, but even with that said, We are still proud of our work and what we accomplished.
What contributed to your groups success (or lack of success)?
Our group communicated well and worked together to ensure the success of our project. For the model team, we procrastinated far too much, thinking it wouldn't be as much work as it truly turned out to be. But even with hurdles and such, our group worked well together and managed to get everything done.
What would you do differently if you could?
Try to plan according to the weather, and bring batteries in case there was no sun on the day of the fair. Also, planning more time for the project at home, and therefore make sure that we have enough time to complete the project to the best of our abilities.
Pitch a next phase for your project.
The next phase of our project:
We create a shelter without using as many assumptions as we used for this one. In this next phase, our research will be more advanced, meaning that so will our shelter. With fewer assumptions, it would make us think more about what we could do, and make it more challenging.
Inspire a future group of students to pick up where you left off.
This project was truly pleasant as well as informative. We definitely think it was the most enjoyable subject for the space camp project. So for any future students, thinking of what topic to choose for space camp, we 100% recommend the shelter.
Why is this an important cause? Why should they continue with it?
It is always important to advance things and improve on them; that is why we want to inspire future students to advance our project through further research and such.
Where would you like to see it go next.
Maybe not in the near future, but something that would be great is if we could create a better version of this as a class, and pitch it to real professionals. We think that the idea of our project could go a long way with the right support and professional help.
Each member of the group should reflect on what they learned. You may have learned some neat stuff about science, but you also learned some other great skills like time management, goal setting, collaboration, and problem solving.
Mouhammad: I learned a lot about balancing different tasks and managing my time well.
Zayan: I learned about how much thinking and difficulty you need to put in order to create a successful plan.
Lily: I learned that even if you think something will be easy and you don't need to work on it right away you should because things can go wrong, you can forget, and if you put things off it won't be your best work.
Phoenix: I have learned many things from this project like how time management, communication, and collaboration are so important. I think the most important, at least for me, is time management. I think my work quality would have been much higher if I managed my time more efficiently. Though, the other two main skills are important as I think they would have improved my work quality even more.