HOW TO START A HIGH-SCHOOL CHAPTER OF THE MARS SOCIETY

*NOTE: This is meant to be a rough guide only.  Depending upon your specific
situation, you may or may not be able to pursue all of the options listed.

1.  Contact the International Organization:

a)  Contact HQ (Maggie Zubrin -- Mzubrin@aol.com) for a member list & some
brochures in your geographic area.  You must include the appropriate
appropriate USA zip-codes or Canadian province or country for Maggie to get you correct information.  Contact the people on this list first thing with your plan to start a chapter.

b)  contact your regional coordinator at
http://home.marssociety.org/outreach/    [none assigned as of this writing]

c)  look at the Mars Society Education Website at
http://www.marsacademy.com/marssoc/

d)  look at the Mars Society Youth Group site for tips at
http://chapters.marssociety.org/youth/

e) also contact nearby chapters, see: http://www.marssociety.org/about/chapters.html

f) introduce yourself to the Chapter Council: 
http://chapters.marssociety.org/council/ 
 council@chapters.marssociety.org	   or  mschaptercouncil@egroups.com

2.  Contact Local Schools & the Community:

a)  speak with any teachers that you know who might be members of the Mars
Society or who would have an interest in starting up the chapter; science
(especially astronomy) teachers are usually the best ones to approach at
first, however...

* history teachers may be interested in the historical implications of human
exploration of Mars and the analogies to the history of the United States

* literature teachers might be interested in some of the fiction (i.e., Red
Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars and others like Bradbury's Martian Chronicles)
written about Mars

* political science and social studies teachers would have an interest in
the political process involved with students and others trying to convince
politicians of the usefulness of humans-to-Mars missions

b)  if not directly affiliated with the school, ask school officials for
permission to use their school as a meeting place; the school library might
make a good meeting place

*NOTE: When approaching teachers and school officials, it is best to place
an organization such as the Mars Society in an educational context.  By
linking the Mars Society with the educational vision of most schools and
using the organization as a vehicle to get youngsters involved in science,
literature, politics, etc. you will have much more appeal.

c)  get in touch with anyone associated with local astronomy or star-gazing
clubs to see if they would be willing to get involved in your chapter

3.  Pre-Cursors to First Meeting:

a)  look into the possibility of giving a presentation to the school's
science department (or any other that might have you)

b)  if you do get others willing to help, enlist their aid -- delegate and
divide the labor to avoid burnout

c)  if a student at the school & if allowed, provide a brief (5 min)
presentation advertising your first chapter meeting to those interested --
teachers' classes, student organizations, etc.

4.  Advertising the First Meeting:

a)  make up fliers based off material from the Mars Society brochures and
website -- distribute these fliers around the school (posting to bulletin
boards and possible handouts in classes with approval)

b)  advertise through other student organizations (see above)

c)  advertise through the local student newspaper or even the local radio
station

d)	create a simple (or not-so-simple) website for your chapter – for free use of  ‘chapters.MarsSociety’ web pages, contact Bruce, Bmackenzie@alum.mit.edu,  include your phone number and preferred user name (nickname).   For more information, see http://chapters.marssociety.org/web-mgt/   especially http://chapters.marssociety.org/web-mgt/#New-Web-Site  , but, don’t spend too much time polishing a web site, all you need is information on upcoming meetings, how to contact you, and links to www.MarsSociety.org

5.  The First Meeting:

a)  provide materials to distribute and catch attendees' interest...

* brochures & fliers, signup sheets -->
http://home.marssociety.org/outreach/public/
* copy of the Mars Petition --> http://www.thinkmars.net/petition
* copy of Zubrin's books "The Case for Mars" and "Entering Space" (display
only)

b)  if you are a good public speaker, give the introductory Mars Society talk yourself 
b.1)available from Society HQ on 35 mm slides, 
b.2)or you may print from
http://www.marssociety.org/content/presentations.asp
b.3)or assemble your own presentation from 
http://www.marssociety.org/interactive/mars_charts.asp
c)  if you are unsure of yourself, see if there is a nearby member in your
region willing to come in and help you kick-start your chapter

5.  Follow-Through:

a)  before breaking up the first meeting, set the next meeting so all
interested will know

b)  set an agenda for the next meeting

* if possible, have a speaker lined up
* have ideas ready to suggest for the next meeting's agenda

c)  start an email list AND USE IT!

d)  record and post minutes!

GOOD LUCK!!!

_ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _
This is file: http: //chapters.marssociety.org/council/Chapter-Starter-Kit-College    
[ignore this, microsoft will not let me edit the URL] cxx      .html or .txt
Assembled for the Mars Society Chapters Council, 
by Erik,  Nirgal@space.com   Dec. 18, 2000
revised by Bruce, Bmackenzie@alum.mit.edu,  Dec. 19, 2000
CopyRight ( C ) 2000 by Mars Society Chapters Council