WHAT IS FRONTIER?

FRONTIER is a single-semester biological experiment geared towards high school students. This project challenges students to design and execute an experiment to investigate how we can one day pioneer and sustain life on Mars- our new frontier. Using Mojave Mars Simulant, students plant and grow indoor crops to gather data and observations to support a hypothesis, and create a lab report based on their procedure and findings. At the end of the project, local students will be invited to present their findings at a science fair-style poster session at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. FRONTIER truly puts the “stem” in STEM education. 

FRONTIER is offered in both Fall and Spring semesters – each semester has the same content and their own competition. 

FRONTIER is a free STEM outreach program based at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH).

WHAT DO YOU GET?

Provided: Online lessons, planting materials, 3-5 engagements with UAH personnel (virtual/in-person), email support, & monetary support for outreach/travel.

Topics Addressed: Life science, scientific reasoning, experimentation, planetary science & mars exploration, environmental impact & agriculture

Grade Level: 9th-11th

Project Length: 15-16 weeks, ~50 minutes per week, same content for both Fall/Spring