Mars Rocks!

From the first week of school in our STEM classes, we have been following the Curiosity rover's exciting mission on Mars.  We check the time on Mars using the Mars24 Sunclock, catch up on @MarsCuriosity's latest tweets and tweet a question or two of our own, and usually check in with NASA JPL's Curiosity Week in Review.  Students greet me at the door with excitement, questions, and their stories of looking up Curiosity at home (or building their own rover out of Legos!).

We geeked out over Martian rocks this week with the discovery of an ancient streambed.  I was so proud when one 4th grade class erupted into applause over smooth, round rocks on Mars!!  But it's emails like this one below that literally bring tears to my eyes, because this is why I teach.

This email was sent to myself and a 3rd grade teacher whose class had read a great Time for Kids article about the Mars rovers.  Check out Renzulli Learning for more information about this unique platform for student directed learning.