The countdown is on to hear all about the Mars City project. The National Institute of Building Sciences (Institute), Total Learning Research Institute (TLRI) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are working together to bring building sciences into the classroom. The informational webinar about this exciting new science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) program is scheduled for this Wednesday, March 20 at 2:00 PM ET.

Buildings of the future will include more technology and advanced materials than ever before. The goal of the STEM program is to get students interested in building sciences in order to ensure the building industry will have a workforce with the necessary skills to design, construct, operate and manage the high-performance buildings of the future.

TLRI and NASA currently have an initiative called Mars City, which teaches STEM concepts in the context of conducting experiments on Mars. This imaginary city, simulated on the surface of the Red Planet, provides students with the necessary laboratory, living and learning spaces for such experiments. To expand the students’ learning experience to encompass building sciences, the Institute, TLRI an NASA are beginning to develop a Facility Operations Module for Mars City. Within the Operations Module, students will function as teams to operate and maintain the simulated facility, using such real-world tools as building information modeling (BIM) and a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS).

The webinar, hosted by the Institute, will provide an overview of the learning objectives and curriculum of the Mars City Facility Operations Module, the development of the CMMS environment and scenarios, and the structure for student participation.

Individuals, firms and organizations are encouraged to participate in the Mars City initiative, which serves to advance the entire building community.

People interested in attending the webinar must sign up in advance to get dial-in information. The webinar registration closes at 1:45 PM ET on Wednesday, March 20. To get ready for blast off, register now.