HUDSONVILLE -- For Hudsonville Christian third-grader Kirstin Montsma, learning about planets is an adventure.
That's why the 9-year-old proposed the name "Adventure" for NASA's Name the Next Mars rover contest.Kirstin is among nine finalists whose essays and names were picked from among 9,000 entries nationwide and 30 semi-finalists.
Three finalists were selected from each of three grade ranges: kindergarten to third; fourth to seventh; and eighth to 12th grades.
"It's an adventure to be able to learn about Mars, and it's an adventure to send them over to Mars," said Kirstin, who with the other semi-finalists will get to send a message to the future -- to be added to a microchip carried by the Mars Science Laboratory rover.
Participants' names are not listed so find the suggested rover name with the grade level, city, and state of the student and vote!
The poll will be open March 23-29.
Today, NASA was expected to activate an online system that lets people pick their favorite names. Each child's hometown and suggested rover name will appear in the poll.
Susan Montsma, Kirstin's mother, said she hopes the community will vote for "Adventure."
She said she was delighted when she discovered her daughter's name was among the finalists.
"Somebody called and then sent an e-mail," Montsma said. "It takes a while to sink in. It's really cool."
Hudsonville Christian third-grade teacher Cyndy Hoogeboom said she came across the contest while researching NASA's Web site as she prepared for class activities.
"I thought this might be a neat writing activity to use their skills," she said. "We've been just trying to develop awareness about the world around us. It's exiting for kids to be part of this and find out that God makes planets so far away from us, and with science we can find out about (them)."
All three third-grade classes at Hudsonville Christian sent entries to the contest.
The winner of the "Name NASA's Next Mars Rover Contest" will be announced in late April or early May. That student will get to visit NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
E-mail Nardy Bickel: nbickel@grpress.com
