Local elementary and middle school students showed off their engineering skills and also what they learned about teamwork and budgetary limits at the Mars Rover Model Celebration and Exhibition on Saturday.
The exhibit was started in 2002 by the Texas Learning and Computation Center. It is intended to help students find an interest in science, Austin Smith, TLC2 director of communication, said.
"The primary objective is to encourage young students to have an active interest in pursuing a science education and career," Smith said.
Students were given a $25 budget and six weeks to work on a space vehicle model with their teachers, which they entered in one of five categories, including solar power, freeform and remote control.
"I worked five to six weeks on my Mars Rover model," Basel Najjar, a Fort Settlement Middle School sixth grader, said.
Students used recycled materials, such as a remote control battery source for a model. Participating students were required to take a course to teach them how to build a model and then submitted their models to a free-made, solar-powered or radio-controlled category.
Models were judged based on the students’ research and design criteria.
Teachers attending the competition said that it helped reinforce the students’ interest in science.
"Kids don’t realize they are being recognized," Fort Settlement Middle School science teacher Karen Staley said. "This competition is a great opportunity for children to see that."
Smith also said that the exhibition helped showcase the University’s role in the community.
"People don’t realize how much of an asset the University of Houston is to the city and state," Smith said. "Having 600 people on campus with the Mars Rover Celebration gives us the opportunity to show off the depth and breadth of what we have to offer."
