Middle school students from around the globe learned how to identify life on Mars http://goo.gl/EbwKWb during the NASA, ECA Collaboratory, and Google Mission Mars Virtual Field Trip. #MarsFieldTrip Transcript: [♫ Inspirational background music ♫] Lisa May (Program Executive, NASA): The Mission To Mars Virtual Field Trip is a great way to bring classrooms together as if we were on a real field trip together, investigating something and learning about something new and magnificent. And we are really fortunate that we are able to share the excitement of Mars by taking classrooms around the world with us on our journey to Mars. James Green (Director of Planetary Science, NASA): It's a wonderful opportunity for us to be able to partner with the State Department and Google in a unique form that allows us to tell everyone about what we do. So what we did is we were connected over a virtual network with schools all around the world and having local students come by gave us the opportunity to get them excited see things and hear things from NASA scientists like they have never had that opportunity before. Tyshoun (8th Grade Student Participant, Kramer Middle School): We were chatting with people, kids all around the world about the NASA experience on the road to Mars and how Obama is going to send people to Mars in 2030 to see if there was ever life on Mars. Rosalind Daniels (8th Grade Science Teacher, Kramer Middle School): When I heard about this program I was so excited because it will allow the students to have a real life example of how we can interact with things going on in Space. So I feel like this is a great opportunity for them to expand their learning and become more interested in things going on in Space. Andrew (6th Grade Participant, Kramer Middle School): What was cool is that I got to talk to an expert of science. Leilani (8th grade participant, Kramer Middle School) : I asked a question and they will answer it and I know a whole lot of new things in less than one minute. Sharia (7th grade participant, Kramer Middle School): Because it is more interactive instead of just the teacher standing there and telling you. It's more interactive because you have other opinions not just one persons. Lisa May: Certainly kids of this age really crave a connection and to feel like they are a part of something bigger and it gives them that larger perspective and compatriots around the world that they can connect with. Andrew: Because maybe one of the other countries could have helped me out with questions that I didn't know and I will learn about it. Rosalind: I have a lot of students that are interested in robotics, they want to be engineers. I hope they understand that this is something that they can do. I am just hoping that by this experience their eyes will open and they will become more interested in this field. [♫ Inspirational background music ♫] Cinematography & Editing by Kelsey Brannan.