Rockets, robots highlight Mars New Year
Martian weekend
Lisa Stelzner engages her daughters Arielle Barnett,5, and Abigil Barnett, 3, in the Astronauts in Training display at the Mars New Year festival Friday. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
Korean astronaut Soyeon Yi, the first and only South Korean to travel to space, shares her experiences aboard the International Space Station during a keynote presentation at the Mars New Year celebration. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
Mars STEAM teacher Colleen Hinrichsen, engages Jaxson Cascio, 2, at the “Astronauts in Training” display during the Mars New Year festivities on Friday. The exhibit offered a variety of mental and physical challenges designed to spark curiosity and learning. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
Arielle Barnett, 5, plays with one of the many robots at the astronaut training display run by Mars STEAM teacher Colleen Hinrichsen and her husband Lorentz Hinrichsen during the Mars New Year festivities Friday. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
Mars STEAM teacher Colleen Hinrichsen and her husband, Lorentz Hinrichsen, engage children at the “Astronauts in Training” display during the Mars New Year festivities on Friday. The exhibit offered a variety of mental and physical challenges designed to spark curiosity and learning.Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
Mylan Satteson, left, and Nene Vela set up toy rockets to launch during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Children climb the saucer monument during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Mylan Satteson jumps on a toy rocket launcher during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
A boy tries to catch a toy rocket during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Sudeep Lanka, left, and Nivyan Banuri launch toy rockets in the air during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Sudeep Lanka, left, and Nivyan Banuri launch toy rockets in the air during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Sudeep Lanka, left, and Nivyan Banuri launch toy rockets in the air during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Sudeep Lanka, left, and Nivyan Banuri launch toy rockets in the air during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Mylan Satteson jumps on a toy rocket launcher during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Ari Satteson, left, and Nene Vela set up toy rockets to launch during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Nene Vela jumps on a toy rocket launcher during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Crowds watch as rockets are launched by the Pittsburgh Space Command during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Winnie Showalter, right, plays basketball during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Jack Showalter and his mom Trish Hredzak play basketball during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
A rocket launched by the Pittsburgh Space Command falsl to the ground by parachute during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Jack Showalter and his mom Trish Hredzak play basketball during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Several children play basketball during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Marc Clayton, left, helps his daughter Poppy sink a basket during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Taves Mrozek tries to climb the Mars spaceship statue during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Lisa Stelzner engages her daughters Arielle Barnett,5, and Abigil Barnett, 3, in the Astronauts in Training display at the Mars New Year festival Friday. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
-
Korean astronaut Soyeon Yi, the first and only South Korean to travel to space, shares her experiences aboard the International Space Station during a keynote presentation at the Mars New Year celebration. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
-
Mars STEAM teacher Colleen Hinrichsen, engages Jaxson Cascio, 2, at the “Astronauts in Training” display during the Mars New Year festivities on Friday. The exhibit offered a variety of mental and physical challenges designed to spark curiosity and learning. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
-
Arielle Barnett, 5, plays with one of the many robots at the astronaut training display run by Mars STEAM teacher Colleen Hinrichsen and her husband Lorentz Hinrichsen during the Mars New Year festivities Friday. Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
-
Mars STEAM teacher Colleen Hinrichsen and her husband, Lorentz Hinrichsen, engage children at the “Astronauts in Training” display during the Mars New Year festivities on Friday. The exhibit offered a variety of mental and physical challenges designed to spark curiosity and learning.Harold Aughton/Special to the Eagle
-
Mylan Satteson, left, and Nene Vela set up toy rockets to launch during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Children climb the saucer monument during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Mylan Satteson jumps on a toy rocket launcher during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
A boy tries to catch a toy rocket during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Sudeep Lanka, left, and Nivyan Banuri launch toy rockets in the air during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Sudeep Lanka, left, and Nivyan Banuri launch toy rockets in the air during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Sudeep Lanka, left, and Nivyan Banuri launch toy rockets in the air during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Sudeep Lanka, left, and Nivyan Banuri launch toy rockets in the air during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Mylan Satteson jumps on a toy rocket launcher during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Ari Satteson, left, and Nene Vela set up toy rockets to launch during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Nene Vela jumps on a toy rocket launcher during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Crowds watch as rockets are launched by the Pittsburgh Space Command during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Winnie Showalter, right, plays basketball during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Jack Showalter and his mom Trish Hredzak play basketball during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
A rocket launched by the Pittsburgh Space Command falsl to the ground by parachute during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Jack Showalter and his mom Trish Hredzak play basketball during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Several children play basketball during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Marc Clayton, left, helps his daughter Poppy sink a basket during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
Taves Mrozek tries to climb the Mars spaceship statue during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
-
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
MARS — Rockets and robots attracted earthlings to celebrate the new year on the red planet Saturday, the last day of Mars New Year festival.
The two-day event featured visitors from NASA and the Kennedy Space Center, STEAM exhibits, drone shows, rocket demonstrations and a lot of robots, which children could operate.
Sharon Rabold, of Butler, came both days with her daughter Amber Wolfe and her 4-year-old twin daughters Vera and Moriah.
“We loved them,” Vera said about the rocket launch.
They took in other activities including Friday’s drone show, but the rocket demonstration was the girls’ favorite.
The Pittsburgh Space Command rocket club, which launched the rockets, is a chapter of the National Association of Rocketry, which was founded in 1958, according to members John Brohm of Pittsburgh and Rod Schafer of Lower Burrell, who assisted in the launch.
In a ballfield not far from Grand Avenue, where most of the activities took place, club members fired several rockets that soared 200 to 300 feet into the hazy sky before gently falling back to Earth with the help of parachutes.
The small rockets used in the demonstration are sent skyward by a solid propellant that is safe for hobbyists, Schafer said.
The 50-member club, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year, holds monthly rocket launches near Grove City, Brohm said. Experienced club members launch larger rockets at the club events.
Steve and Marisa Haney of Neville Island brought their 3-year-old daughter Gemma, who operated a robot on a huge vinyl map of Mars laid on the ground.
“She’s of the age where she’s learning,” Steve said.
Using an iPad, Gemma steered a robot around the map, picking up and placing objects in different locations.
The family also attended the last Mars New Years two years ago.
In the “Robotic Village” tent, Adriana Vela, of Cranberry Township, watched as her 7-year-old son, Jorge, tried out several robotic activities, but his favorite was playing tic-tac-toe against a robot. He also enjoyed the rocket demonstration.
She said her son likes science and space and they visited the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh Friday.
Nene Vela jumps on a toy rocket launcher during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Crowds watch as rockets are launched by the Pittsburgh Space Command during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
Marc Clayton, left, helps his daughter Poppy sink a basket during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
The Martian Melodies Orchestra Concert was held during the annual Mars New Year celebration on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Rob McGraw/Butler Eagle
