Asia Pacific International School
Hawaii
Pioneers of the Past, Present, and Future
Authors: Alyssa Amos, Cole Holmes
Grade: 9, 10, 11
Subjects: Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, Writing
Timeline: 16 weeks
Essential Question
What would it take to build a sustainable colony on Mars and how can we get there? How can we learn from the past to create our future?
Project Description
The High School CORE class was charged with the task of establishing a functional colony on Mars in order to pioneer the expansion of the human race towards becoming a multi-planetary species. In order to find success in their mission, they became experts in several areas of physics and humanities that allowed them to design and build rockets for transportation to the Martian surface as well as design functional and sustainable Martian colony blueprints and schematics.
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Meet the Martian Colony Design Specialists​
Standards Addressed:
HS-PS2-1. Analyze data to support the claim that Newton’s second law of motion describes the mathematical relationship among the net force on a macroscopic object, its mass, and its acceleration.
HS-PS2-2. Use mathematical representations to support the claim that the total momentum of a system of objects is conserved when there is no net force on the system.
HS-PS2-3. Apply scientific and engineering ideas to design, evaluate, and refine a device that minimizes the force on a macroscopic object during a collision.
History Standards
Historical Causation
Compare causes and/or effects, including between short-term and long-term effects.
Analyze and evaluate the interaction of multiple causes and/or effects.
Assess historical contingency by distinguishing among coincidence, causation, and correlation, as well as critique existing interpretations of cause and effect.
Comparison
Compare related historical developments and processes across place, time, and/or different societies, or within one society.
Explain and evaluate multiple and differing perspectives on a given historical phenomenon.
Theme: State Building, Expansion, and Conflict (SB)
SB-1 Explain and compare how rulers constructed and maintained different forms of governance.
SB-4 Explain and compare how social, cultural, and environmental factors influenced state formation, expansion, and dissolution.
SB-6 Assess the relationships between states with centralized governments and those without, including pastoral and agricultural societies.
SB-8 Assess how and why external conflicts and alliances have influenced the process of state building, expansion, and dissolution.
SB-9 Assess how and why commercial exchanges have influenced the processes of state building, expansion, and dissolution.