In Laval, students of the College of Saint Therese are trained on the theme of space

Future astronauts may be among the students of St Therese College in Laval! For three days, 150 middle school and middle school children from the school group will participate in workshops organized by the CNES. The goal is Raise awareness of space and teach them concepts about Mars.

Concrete to better understand the alien universe

The classroom looks like a science lab. There are about twenty students out there to learn more about the components of the Red Planet, from its atmosphere to its soil. “What do you know about Mars?asks Laurent Desdouits, a speaker who works for CNES. He introduces students to the first experiment: mixing baking soda with vinegar in a salad bowl. A liquid forms and begins to form a foam. We made gasLaurent Desdouits explains.” Then he formed a soap bubble and placed it on top of the mixture, and it remained in the air in the bowl thanks to the gas in the bowl.

Then the CNES speaker shows the students several bowls of different sand and asks them to guess which one is closest to the one on Mars. Before last Workshop: crushed ice is placed in a test tube, and closed with a perforated cap. “It’s carbon dioxide ice, the ice melts and the carbon dioxide comes out and makes noise‘,” describes Anais, a 15-year-old student. Indeed, when students place their finger on the hole in the cap and then take it off, gas comes out of the ‘specchit.’

Finally, to end this session, Laurent Desdouits offers them “Mars fog‘, always with carbon dioxide ice. “The carbon dioxide ice melts, and that’s why we hear bubbles, and it turns into gas and at the same time cools the water, which turns into freezing mist”, The CNES spokesperson explains.

It’s more manual, and more accessible: we’re less in theory, we’re quite coherent so it’s talking to the students.
Vincent Richard, math teacher

Students need specific facts to better understand some theoretical concepts. These fun workshops come just in time, according to math teacher Vincent Richard. “Perhaps this series of activities will allow them to open up and why not, to create invitations‘, the teacher who accompanies them in the workshop rejoices. Before boarding the spaceship perhaps one day, students of the École Sainte-Thérèse group will already be able to ride a space bus parked in the courtyard until Thursday, February 24. Small workshops are offered every lunchtime in the craft CNES this. The space bus came to Mayen for the first time, and it travels everywhere in France to educate young people about the space environment.