The planet Mars is full of colors. And not just red.
Its sky is a kind of yellow-brown (some say butterscotch). Around dawn and dusk it turns a pinkish-red, while in the vicinity of the rising and setting sun it’s blue.
An interactive book that is being designed and written by a team of Michigan State University students will teach children that and much more about one of our closest neighbors in the Solar System.
Five students from the School of Journalism are putting together a children’s activity book for Mars One, a nonprofit organization that is laying the groundwork for an eventual human colony on Mars.
The interactive book, unofficially titled “The Best Space Activity Book Ever,” will feature pages to color, word searches and scrambles and more, including instructions on how to build a land rover out of paper or cardboard.
There also will be images of what a Mars colony might look like, as well as QR links to Mars One videos and 3-D cutouts.
“This is an amazing opportunity for our students to work on an international project and create something that will educate and empower people all over the world,” said Stacey Fox, a journalism faculty member who is leading the MSU project.
Fox said they hope to develop a long-term partnership with Mars One to design and produce other interactive educational materials that help inform students, teachers and the global community about the project and the planet.
“We’re excited to collaborate with MSU to bring our story to life for children everywhere,” said KC Frank, Mars One senior marketing strategist. “The talent and enthusiasm of the Spartan journalism students will be on full display when we release the book.”
Release of the book is scheduled for early 2015.
Based in the Netherlands, Mars One is a nonprofit organization committed to establishing a human colony on Mars in the not-too-distant future. For more information visit http://www.mars-one.com.