Greetings once again from the Mars Millennium Project. As the 21st Century draws to a close and a new millennium begins, there is no better time for America’s youth to imagine what a community might be like in a new and very different place. And many already are using their creativity by participating in the Mars Millennium Project. If you haven’t done so already, visit the Mars Millennium Project’s Virtual Gallery and check out the imaginative ways kids are interpreting the project. We think you’ll be encouraged and challenged to involve more kids in your area in this exciting national project.

As the project reaches the midpoint for this year, it is time to begin thinking about showcase events – ways in which you can exhibit projects in your city or town.

America’s Millennium Celebration The Mars Millennium Project will be showcased during the America’s Millennium Celebration on the National Mall. Six Smithsonian Institutions will host activities in conjunction with the White House Millennium Council sponsored celebration. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton will lead the opening ceremonies. At the Air and Space Museum, a hands-on exhibit about the Mars Millennium Project will inspire children to connect art and science. Using imagination and creative thought about Mars, children will be asked to design a space scene from their space vehicle window when seeing Mars for the first time. The activity will take place daily from Dec. 31, 1999 – Jan. 2, 2000 between 11:00am and 3:300pm, and is free to the public. More than 700 children a day are expected to participate in the project. The exhibit will be provided in collaboration with Binney & Smith, sponsors of the Crayola FACTORY’s Journey to the Red Planet exhibit, and The National Air & Space Museum. Following the America’s Millennium Celebration, the Binney & Smith exhibit will travel around the country for the next three years. In addition, Shuttle Astronauts Wendy Lawrence and Roger Crouch, and former Mars Pathfinder Manager Donna Shirley will be on hand to give talks on exploring space.

Windows on Mars The National Endowment for the Arts’-produced Windows on Mars educational video will be mailed to every public and private school in the country. Lucent Technologies has generously partnered with the NEA to fund the duplication, packaging, and distribution of the videos. For those of you who have not viewed the film, it consists of four, 15-minute segments that weave together the creative processes that take place between the arts and sciences. The segments include visual art/architecture/design; folk and traditional art; music and sound; dance and movement. The video also explores what effect the Mars environment might have on the arts. The video is an additional resource for Mars Millennium Project participants and will be mailed with a teacher’s guide to help project leaders incorporate the video into suggested activities in the MMP participation guide. The video can also been seen on NASA TV on January 21st. For more information about NASA TV, please visit http://www.nasa.gov/ntv/ntvweb/html. We encourage participants from around the country to watch the video and get inspiration to work on projects of their own.

Planetfest ’99 Planetfest ‘99 was a three-day international festival and exhibition celebrating planetary exploration. Sponsored by The Planetary Society, the event was attended by thousands of people from around the world. Since Planetfest coincided with the Mars Polar Landing mission, much of the festival was devoted to Mars. The Mars Millennium Project’s Windows on Mars video was shown to all attendees. Donna Shirley gave a presentation about the project and was on hand to answer questions from attendees.

Mars Millennium Virtual Gallery and Web site As Web traffic to the Mars Millennium Project Web site continues to increase, we have been busy upgrading the site. Clearer links and language are in place ensuring that visitors to the site can get the information they are looking for efficiently. Part of the Web site improvement includes more links to the Mars Millennium Project Virtual Gallery sponsored by AOL. The gallery uses AOL 1-2-3 Publish Web tools to help Mars Millennium Project participants create a Web site about their projects. It is a wonderful showcase of projects from around the country and the world. To view some of the projects in the Virtual Gallery go to (www.mars2030.com) and click on the Virtual Gallery.

Another improvement includes the Community Involvement Board, a site where participants can post information about project-related activities in which they are involved such as a field trip to a museum, or a presentation of a their Mars Community at City Hall. Participants can search for activities taking place near their location, get lesson ideas from Project Leaders at their team’s grade level, or just browse to see what other teams are doing. The Community Involvement Board is moderated by trained staff so there will never be inappropriate items posted there.

Best Practices The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex hosted an open house where teachers from across the state of Florida were invited to learn more about the Mars Millennium Project. The event was designed to highlight the Center’s resources for Mars and share information about planetary explorations. Teachers got a private viewing of the new space film "Quest for Life" as well as an in-depth briefing about the Mars Polar Landing and use of robots in space. The open house was well attended and was featured in an article in the newspaper Florida Today. The Kennedy Space Center continues to support the project by holding unique events.

ArTrain ArTrain USA has taken to the rails with the Artistry of Space Exhibition featuring artwork from NASA and the National Air and Space Museum art collections that captures the excitement and energy of space exploration. This exhibit features 78 paintings, prints and other works that show the relationship of art to science and technology. Artrain will provide exhibit space for completed Mars Millennium Projects in the spring of 2000 and will possibly hold regional events with participants and agency principals. For a schedule of Artrain stops, visit their Web site at www.arTrain.org.