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

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!!!

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Assembled for the Mars Society Chapters Council,

CopyRight ( C ) 2000 by Mars Society Chapters Council