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