ASU On the Move!

[conceptualized; under design; prototype launch: 2003]

In a sense, all of our initiatives seek to make ASU a force, and not just a place, and we have already moved forward with various programs to bring ASU into the community. Among these is an innovative outreach program to deliver, package, and extend our community engagement initiatives called ASU On the Move! Building on the success of our Patterns in Nature van, the program calls for ASU vans, trucks, and buses to deliver mobile education programs to school children and teachers in metropolitan Phoenix and beyond.

For example, ASU will bring the excitement of our Mars imaging program to area schools. In an innovative program called Red Planet Express, a 45-foot trailer will be equipped with a miniature Mars landscape and a miniature Mars rover. Students will form Mars landing mission control teams and plan and execute missions. Mobile computer terminals and instructional materials wheeled into classrooms will facilitate instruction.

The program targets middle school students who frequently lose interest in science. Other programs, intended for children of all ages, include computer training for the children of migrant workers, a fully-equipped mobile newsroom that can bring print and broadcast journalism to life for students, and the Gammage Theater on wheels, bringing costumes, stage props, and make-up stations to facilitate schoolyard performances of plays.