Earth and Space Exploration Day

Activities:

Earth and Space Exploration day is a free annual fall event hosted by the School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) on ASU’s Tempe campus outside the Bateman Physical Sciences F-wing on Tyler Mall. The SESE community offers special science-related activities from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. for students age five and up, families, educators and anyone interested in exploring Earth and space alongside real scientists.

SESE’s research portfolio includes projects on every continent of the world, and extends to the Moon, Mars, Mercury, and beyond. We are taking photos of the lunar surface with special cameras, sampling the Red Planet using robotic rovers, studying earthquakes big and small, investigating mud volcanoes in Indonesia and much, much more! Each year, the SESE community brings to life its research through innovative hands-on activities. Visitors can explore Tempe Butte on a guided field trip, pan for gold, dig for meteorites, or bring rock samples for Dr. Rock to examine.

The Mars Education Program and the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) team will have many interactive activities for kids to explore Mars and the Moon. The ASU Robotics team will have robotic arms available for use. The NASA Space Photography Lab at ASU, located on the fifth floor of Bateman Physical Sciences F-wing, will open its doors for visitors to peruse more than a million images from solar system exploration taken over the last 40 years, including the latest pictures from the Mars Rovers, the Cassini-Saturn Orbiter, Mars Express, and the various lunar missions by NASA, Japan, and China.

GeoClub will be selling minerals and fossil specimens, keepsakes to remember your special day. Many other campus groups will be joining the SESE community, including NASA/ASU Space Grant Program, the Institute for Human Origins, the School of Sustainability's Ecology Explorers and more.

Public Lectures:

This year's guest lecturer is science writer Andrew Chaikin (author of A Man on the Moon), giving a  presentation titled "A Guided Tour of the Moon" at 1 p.m. in PSF 123.

Map and directions 

Download poster

Special note for educators:

We provide students with a “passport” that is stamped upon completion of an activity. After the event, some teachers and troop leaders collect the “passports” and award extra-credit or badges based upon the number/types of passport stamps. Ask your child’s teacher or leader if he/she offers credit for this.

Teachers are especially encouraged to attend. Free teacher resources will be available such as educator packets, hand-outs, supplies and posters, as well as contacts for outreach and more educational interactions with ASU scientists and students.

List of past activities:

Dr. Rock (Bring a rock from home and have it analyzed)
Search for Near Earth Objects
Under Arizona KAET TV Program
Meteorite display and activities
GeoWall
Earthquake activities
Dr. Water
Make Salt-and-Pepper Rock
Examine rocks through microscopes
High Pressure Water actvity
Dyanmic Earth display
Storm Chasers
Volcano activity
Pan for Gold
Ecology Explorers
Mud Wrestling
Meet Lucy
Underwater Robotics
Balloon Aerial Photography system
'A Mountain' Fieldtrip

View photos from past Earth and Space Exploration Days and other events.