Today, we had to say goodbye to the Perseverance rover exhibit in our atrium. After three years in our atrium, it was time for the rover to return to its home in Pasadena, CA, at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. We're sad to see it go!
The exhibit, which consisted of a 1/10th-scale model of the Mars 2020 rover, Perseverance, a full-scale model of one of its wheels, and an 8x10-foot selfie station, has been a feature in our atrium since Homecoming 2022, so it's pretty fitting that it would be packed up on Homecoming weekend.
In the three years we had Percy, the little desktop model had a huge impact! More than 100,000 visitors got to learn a little about NASA's newest Mars explorer through our mini-exhibit, and almost 15,000 got their hands on pieces of the expedition! After installing the mini-exhibition, our education team developed a popular hands-on, inquiry-based activity titled Roving with Perseverance, using pieces of the exhibit. This 1-hour-long experience took students and the public on a deep dive into Mars exploration. Visitors attending this program got to handle the wheel replica, a piece of the parachute, and a replica sample tube, all while discovering the components of the rover and how it operates.
Although the models may be gone, our team plans to continue offering Roving with Perseverance to visiting schools. We're working with Studio 231 on campus to have 3D printed replicas of the sample tube made, and we're sourcing some of the other components, like the parachute material and nylon rope, to continue sharing the story of Perseverance as it continues to explore Jezero Crater on Mars.