As European Space Agency scientists prepare the launch of the Mars Express Orbiter, you can bring their expertise into school with a multimedia assembly to mark last week’s Science Week. The assembly has two linked components. A straightforward and informative text provides a five-minute script. It covers facts about space travel, as well as the origins and purposes of the Mars project; and there are prompts during the presentation from which children can express their own ideas. It also offers a set of stunning colour slides of orbiting craft, Earth as seen from a distance and the Red Planet itself. The free Mars Express assembly is available online.

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