Design a Mars Colony: Game + STEM Project Guide

What others say

"The students enjoyed the many different aspects of this resource: from creating a flag to marketing to the game board which assisted them in creating a Mars Colony display."

Melinda H.

"OMG- this was so much fun for my students. They really enjoyed working in groups to create their own colony."

Suzanne G.

Description

Mars Colony STEM Project Guide - Stage 3 STEM Project

Can you keep colonists alive and thriving on Mars? NASA is working on the future of human space exploration, and your students have been selected to design the first permanent Mars colony! Students work in teams to complete the ultimate project-based learning STEM experience: designing and building a model of a new manned Mars settlement. This is a perfect showcase or capstone STEM project.

Students will apply scientific concepts, math skills, critical thinking, research, and engineering design to plan a long-term Mars colony. Students will need to consider questions like: How will colonists get food and water? How will we power the colony? What are the dangers of Mars? How will the human body react to lower gravity? Where will colonists live and work?

Part 1: Identify the Problem (2 sessions)

Play a trivia game on living on Mars
Reflect on Life on Earth
Play Online Mars Exploration Scavenger Hunt

Part 2: Brainstorm Solutions (1 session) - Mars Colony Planning Game

Play the interactive planning game where students must choose the best solutions for critical components such as power, oxygen, water, food, hygiene, and exercise.
Game cards are based on real-world NASA technologies.
Students will identify the pros and cons and track the budget, power, and happiness of the crew.

Part 3: Design Colony Layout (2 sessions): Mars Layout

Using the solutions from the planning game, teams create a colony layout by cutting out grid paper to represent each "zone" of the settlement.
The zones are arranged to create a functional design.

Part 4: Build Colony Model (3+ sessions)

Students learn about scale models and build a model of the Mars colony to represent each solution accurately.
Additional research is conducted for each solution.

Part 5: Present Model (2 sessions)

Create a trifold board and share the final model with the class or host your own Mars Colony Showcase!

Included in this Unit:

Detailed teacher guide with links to resources
Photos of student projects
Editable teacher instructional slides
Editable student handouts
Printable Game Boards + Solution Cards

Report this resource to TPT

Reported resources will be reviewed by our team. Report this resource to let us know if this resource violates TPT's content guidelines.

Design a Mars Colony: Game + STEM Project Guide

Name: Design a Mars Colony: Game + STEM Project Guide
Brand: Vivify STEM
SKU: 4376133
Price: 15.00 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.78 (51 reviews)

Vivify STEM

7.8k Followers

$15.00

Highlights

Digital downloads

PDF

Grades

5th - 9th

Subjects

Astronomy, Engineering, General Science

Standards

CCSS6.RP.A.1

CCSS6.RP.A.2

CCSS6.RP.A.3

What others say

"The students enjoyed the many different aspects of this resource: from creating a flag to marketing to the game board which assisted them in creating a Mars Colony display."

Melinda H.

"OMG- this was so much fun for my students. They really enjoyed working in groups to create their own colony."

Suzanne G.

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233

Description

Mars Colony STEM Project Guide - Stage 3 STEM Project

Part 1: Identify the Problem (2 sessions)

Play a trivia game on living on Mars
Reflect on Life on Earth
Play Online Mars Exploration Scavenger Hunt

Part 2: Brainstorm Solutions (1 session) - Mars Colony Planning Game

Play the interactive planning game where students must choose the best solutions for critical components such as power, oxygen, water, food, hygiene, and exercise.
Game cards are based on real-world NASA technologies.
Students will identify the pros and cons and track the budget, power, and happiness of the crew.

Part 3: Design Colony Layout (2 sessions): Mars Layout

Using the solutions from the planning game, teams create a colony layout by cutting out grid paper to represent each "zone" of the settlement.
The zones are arranged to create a functional design.

Part 4: Build Colony Model (3+ sessions)

Students learn about scale models and build a model of the Mars colony to represent each solution accurately.
Additional research is conducted for each solution.

Part 5: Present Model (2 sessions)

Create a trifold board and share the final model with the class or host your own Mars Colony Showcase!

Included in this Unit:

Detailed teacher guide with links to resources
Photos of student projects
Editable teacher instructional slides
Editable student handouts
Printable Game Boards + Solution Cards

Report this resource to TPT

Reported resources will be reviewed by our team. Report this resource to let us know if this resource violates TPT's content guidelines.

4.8

Rated 4.78 out of 5, based on 51 reviews

51
ratings

Mostly used with 6th and 7th grades

Reviews

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

All verified TPT purchases

Excellent project

Rated 5 out of 5

March 22, 2026

Met expectations

Great value

Standards-aligned

This I was an excellent project. My class was super engaged. We did it during a week where everyday was indoor recess. Kids are usually batty and they were having so much fun. I loved how it had the activities before the building so they actually had to think about what would be needed to sustain a colony on Mars. Highly recommend.

Jill H.

25 reviews • Outside the United States

Grades taught: 6th

Student populations: Emerging bilinguals, Learning difficulties, Mild to severe disabilities

Response from

Vivify STEM

(TPT Seller)

Apr 1, 2026

This made us smile! Indoor‑recess for a week is no joke, and we’re so glad the Mars Colony project kept everyone excited and thinking creatively! Thanks for sharing such a fun classroom moment.

Multifaceted resource

Rated 5 out of 5

March 20, 2026

Met expectations

Great value

Standards-aligned

The students enjoyed the many different aspects of this resource: from creating a flag to marketing to the game board which assisted them in creating a Mars Colony display.

Melinda H.

6 reviews • Maryland

Grades taught: 9th, 10th

Response from

Vivify STEM

(TPT Seller)

Apr 1, 2026

Love hearing how your students connected with all the different parts of the Mars Colony project! The flag and game board always brings out so much creativity. Thanks for sharing!

Building Mars Colony

Rated 5 out of 5

March 11, 2026

Met expectations

Great value

Standards-aligned

OMG- this was so much fun for my students. They really enjoyed working in groups to create their own colony.

Suzanne G.

706 reviews • Texas

Grades taught: 2nd

Great Resource!

Rated 5 out of 5

October 12, 2025

Great Resource, I used this as the foundation for my GT group.

Passion for Education

(TPT Seller)

613 reviews • Wisconsin

Grades taught: 3rd, 4th, 5th

Fun activity!

Rated 5 out of 5

October 6, 2025

My students had a blast with this project! I can't wait to use it every year in my aerospace class!

Stephanie Y.

107 reviews • Texas

Grades taught: 3rd

Student populations: Emerging bilinguals, Mild to severe disabilities

Out of this World

Rated 5 out of 5

August 16, 2025

My design students loved learning about mars colonization and designing their own colonies. This was a very well organized and engaging resource.

Alexandra F.

507 reviews • Michigan

Grades taught: 6th, 7th, 8th

Amazing Resource

Rated 5 out of 5

August 8, 2025

Executed perfectly, loved it will definitely be using it in the future!

Whitney M.

658 reviews • California

Grades taught: 8th

Rated 5 out of 5

April 13, 2025

Used this with my 5th grade class. Had to tweak a few parts to provide more support for them, but overall, they loved it.

Brittney Y.

215 reviews

Grades taught: 5th

Questions & Answers

Standards

to see state-specific standards (only available in the US).

CCSS6.RP.A.1

Understand the concept of a ratio and use ratio language to describe a ratio relationship between two quantities. For example, “The ratio of wings to beaks in the bird house at the zoo was 2:1, because for every 2 wings there was 1 beak.” “For every vote candidate A received, candidate C received nearly three votes.”

CCSS6.RP.A.2

Understand the concept of a unit rate 𝘢/𝘣 associated with a ratio 𝘢:𝘣 with 𝘣 ≠ 0, and use rate language in the context of a ratio relationship. For example, “This recipe has a ratio of 3 cups of flour to 4 cups of sugar, so there is 3/4 cup of flour for each cup of sugar.” “We paid $75 for 15 hamburgers, which is a rate of $5 per hamburger.”

CCSS6.RP.A.3

Use ratio and rate reasoning to solve real-world and mathematical problems, e.g., by reasoning about tables of equivalent ratios, tape diagrams, double number line diagrams, or equations.