Category Archives: Ad Astra Academy

update: report

Project report Ad Astra Academy is a unique project that brings the excitement of exploration to students in poor regions of the world. We exploit curiosity, an essential human trait, to promote inquiry-based learning and unlock their potential. 20 kids from Rio de Janeiro’s City of God favela were selected to participate and, through a […]

update: documentary at Film Festival

A documentary based on the project was screened at the Borrego Springs Film Festival.  More information at: http://www.borregospringsfilmfestival.org/2019festival/2018/12/6/the-mars-academy The Mars Academy Director: Hank Leukart Four scientists travel to Brazil’s City of God, an impoverished Rio de Janeiro neighborhood, where they spend two weeks in a local school teaching kids about science. There, they surprise the kids […]

update: 1-week program

Ad Astra returned to Rio de Janeiro’s City of God in July of 2018, to continue the mission of inspiring young explorers to pursue their curiosity using the theme of planetary habitability. Partnering with the Instituto Presbiteriano Álvaro Reis (INPAR), the Ad Astra curriculum followed a 1-week format, culminating in a capstone project using data from NASA’s […]

Overview of project

Ad Astra Academy is a unique project that brings the excitement of exploration to students in poor regions of the world. We exploit curiosity, an essential human trait, to promote inquiry-based learning and unlock their potential. 20 kids from Rio de Janeiro’s City of God favela will be selected to participate and, through a hands-on […]