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Home » Travel » Mars Exploration Celebration Days – 8 Out-of-this-World Ways to Have Fun in Mars!

Mars Exploration Celebration Days – 8 Out-of-this-World Ways to Have Fun in Mars!

By: Liz  /  Published: July 11, 2019  /  Updated: December 24, 2020  /   Leave a comment

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Mars Exploration Celebration Days is a quirky weekend festival for people who love all things planet Mars, whether it’s the science of the Red Planet or just a love for Martians, UFOs and kooky things. 

The Mars Exploration Celebration Days event takes place in the borough of Mars (just north of Pittsburgh) every other year to coincide with the Mars calendar year of 687 Earth days.

I was lucky enough to land in Mars for this year’s celebration and I found fun everywhere I looked!

Mars Exploration Celebration Days

8 Out-of-This-World Ways to Have Fun  

a Mars UFO sign

1. Prove you were in Mars.

The flying saucer is a permanent fixture in Mars so be sure to stop by the town square for some photo fun. Originally built by a resident in the 90’s from two large oil tanks, the spaceship weighs a hefty 3000 pounds and proudly serves as the most famous extraterrestrial landmark in Mars.

Mars Exploration Days

Mars Exploration Days

2. Look for signs of alien life.

Friday night’s costume contest brings out the humans and aliens in droves. Of course, there weren’t really aliens in attendance (or were there?) but there were alien-inspired creatures everywhere.

Mars Exploration Days costume contest - Mars Days

Mars Exploration Days

Mars Exploration Days

aliens in Mars PA - Mars Exploration Days

3. Marvel at the mini-museum headed to the moon.

This was one of the most fascinating exhibits I encountered at Mars Exploration Days and certainly the most unusual. Carnegie Mellon University, in a hugely collaborative project, has created what is essentially a miniature museum to send to the moon. Weighing just 8 ounces, the tiny museum is made up of thousands of artworks, lithographs, musical scores, earthly samples, nano-objects, mechanisms, even a ballet written for the moon and a moon-scented perfume.

It’s a cross between an art museum and a natural history museum made of four microchambers: earth, metasphere, moon and ether, and the poetically entangled visual narratives are designed to share the complexities of our existence with whoever may find it. It’s mindblowing! You can read more about the MoonArk here.

Exact replica of the MoonArk

This disk stores some of the over 90,000 illustrations that are part of the museum.

4. Solve the mystery of the Mars Escape Room.

Sign up at the library for an escape room time and see if you can solve the clues to ensure your escape!

Mars Escape Room

5. Identify all the aliens in the Little Martian Scavenger Hunt.

Kids will love searching out all the creatures! If you’re paying attention, you’ll see I spotted one of them in the Escape Room.

Mars Scavenger Hunt sign

6. Eat where the Martians eat (and drink). 

Stop by one of the food trucks for your fill of festival fare, enjoy ice cream and baked treats at the Peach Tree and quench your thirst with some hometown brews at Stick City Brewing. You can get a beer at their festival booth or visit the actual brewery about a block from the festivities. If it’s still morning, get your caffeine pick-me-up at the Mars Brew House.

A group of people standing in front of a building

A garden in front of a house

Stick City Brewing exterior

7. Nerd out with NASA.

On Saturday and Sunday, the streets are lined with NASA experts sharing their knowledge about all things extraterrestrial. Learn about the equipment used in space, experience virtual reality and be sure to check out the Rov-E Rover, a tiny version modeled after some of NASA’s most famous rovers, including the Curiosity. The rover can drive, stream video and roll over obstacles.

NASA Rov-E-Rover

NASA display Mars booth

Half-scale model of NASA InSight lander

Rover wheels

Rover wheels

space vehicle

A group of people standing in front of booths

8. End the night with the drone show.

Much quieter than fireworks but just as much fun, don’t miss the moment when 100 drones light up the sky at dusk!

Mars Exploration Days - firefly drone show

With such an out-of-this-world variety of strange oddities, exploratory and hands-on STEM and STEAM activities for kids, NASA demonstrations, speakers, and of course, traditional festival-style entertainment, food and drinks, Mars Exploration Celebration Days is a hometown festival of fun.

Which Mars Exploration Celebration Days activity would you and your family enjoy most?

Pin this Mars Exploration Celebration Days post for travel inspo!

Mars Exploration Days - Mars PA

For more information on Mars Exploration Celebration Days, click here and for things to do in the Butler County, PA area, connect with the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau Also, for a great meal in Butler County, don’t miss the haunted Harmony Inn!

Related topics
Pennsylvania Travel

About Liz

Liz is a midwestern mom gone southern (accent in transition). She lives in North Carolina and loves cooking, baking, traveling, movies, crafts, hot and cold tea, wine, pizza and the occasional nap. She also revels in the fact she's a crazy cat lady.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Terri Steffes says

    July 22, 2019 at 10:32 am

    I was in charge of our Young Astronaut Club at my school. My kids would love this!!!

    Reply
  2. Alissa A Apel says

    July 15, 2019 at 5:55 pm

    That’s such a fun place to go. I went to a gallery opening once that had real looking alien skulls. They were fake of course. I was interesting because they looked so real.

    Reply
  3. rika says

    July 14, 2019 at 10:23 pm

    It sounds like a fun place! My kids would enjoy this place! They love learning about planets and space.

    Reply
  4. Heather says

    July 13, 2019 at 8:09 am

    What a fun and cool day to celebrate! I need to check this out for sure!

    Reply
  5. Louisa says

    July 13, 2019 at 6:06 am

    This is my first time learning about Mars, Pennsylvania. Looks like a lot of fun and great learning opportunity to children and their parents.

    Reply
  6. Swathi says

    July 13, 2019 at 2:54 am

    I never know about Mars, Pennsylvania, I need to go there, looks like real fun place for both kids and adults.

    Reply
  7. Lia Mae says

    July 13, 2019 at 2:52 am

    That is cool, great for the family for sure.

    Reply
  8. Ruth I says

    July 12, 2019 at 10:24 pm

    Wow, this is such an amazing event. The alien figures looks great! I love all of this.

    Reply
  9. MELANIE EDJOURIAN says

    July 12, 2019 at 12:29 pm

    This sounds like a really fun festival. My children would love it there especially seeing the drone show.

    Reply
  10. Ash says

    July 12, 2019 at 12:07 pm

    My son loves outer space so he definitely would have gotten a kick out of this event!! It looks so fun!!

    Reply
  11. Tammy says

    July 12, 2019 at 11:14 am

    Love this. I live close to the Kennedy Space Center and this subject has always fascinated me. I will have to check this out for sure.

    Reply
  12. Shoshana Sue says

    July 12, 2019 at 3:46 am

    Haha I love this! I would love to visit Mars, and see all you have shown us. Such fun and quirky . My kids would also really enjoy this

    Reply
  13. Ashley says

    July 11, 2019 at 8:14 pm

    I had no idea this place was real. It looks like you had a lot of fun with it and all the photo ops.

    Reply
  14. Jill says

    July 11, 2019 at 8:10 pm

    What a fun festival! My boys would love it! They’re into all things space at the moment.

    Reply
  15. Tasheena says

    July 11, 2019 at 5:45 pm

    This looks like such an amazing time. This looks like something my family would love.

    Reply
  16. Amber Myers says

    July 11, 2019 at 3:55 pm

    Oh my gosh, how fun! I wish we lived closer. We’d so go to this. We’re all about quirky.

    Reply
  17. Jeanette says

    July 11, 2019 at 2:09 pm

    My son would LOVE this! Anything that has to do with space he would love! This looks like it was a lot of fun!

    Reply
  18. Melissa Chapman says

    July 11, 2019 at 2:02 pm

    I never knew about Mars, Pennsylvania but it is so much fun that they embrace their namesake withthis festival. It seems like a great town to visit during this time of year and learning about the planet would be so awesome.

    Reply

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