Eighth grade students at Swain School have been involved in a science project their grandparents probably could not even have imagined in their grade school experience a few generations ago.

Using advanced Lego building kits with servomotors which can be programmed for movements on a simulated Mars surface landscape, the students have emulated NASA's Mars Rover mission to the distant red planet.

At a demonstration of the science project recently in the school's Roger's Commons for lower-grade students and interested parents and grandparents, many of the young scientists marveled at their own success with the robots. Several groups, with robots they designed, built and programmed, demonstrated how their robots could pick up simulated Mars rocks and dump them in a bin on the simulated landscape of the red planet.

This is the first year for the project, which has nationwide participation through the national STEM program that combines Science, Technology, Engineering and Math concepts.

The STEM Education Coalition at the U.S. Department of Education, and the National Science Foundation, work to support STEM programs for teachers and students, along with other agencies offering STEM related programs.

Swain School modified the STEM and added an "A" for the art concept involved in designing the planet landscapes.

The initiative is in addition to the school's regular science program and is currently funded through the Swain Association.

More information about the STEM education coalition can be found on the Internet at www.stemedcoalition.org.