MARS — When Mika Smith first learned she would be designing a welcome sign for Mars Borough, one idea immediately came to mind.
“Aliens,” she said with a laugh.
Nearly a year later—and after hundreds of sketches, months of collaboration and countless hours refining their ideas—the students’ work has become a permanent part of Mars Borough.
Thousands of residents and visitors entering the community will now be welcomed by the colorful gateway sign Smith created with classmates Charlie Dillaman and Michael Norman as part of Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School’s Graphic Arts program.
For decades, tourists and visitors have stopped in Mars to photograph the borough’s famous flying saucer. Now, they’ll be greeted by another landmark celebrating the community’s one-of-a-kind identity.
Wednesday evening, Mars Borough officials gathered at the corner of Grand Avenue and Irvine Street to unveil the new gateway sign. Located on property owned by Dave Geyer, who has long allowed the borough to maintain the landmark location, the project reflected months of collaboration among Mars Borough, Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School, local businesses and the students whose work will now greet visitors for years to come.
The project began after the borough’s longtime wooden welcome sign deteriorated beyond repair.
“We were going to repaint it,” Borough Secretary Chris Clutter explained, “but it had reached the point where it was decaying.” Rather than simply replacing it, the borough partnered with Butler County Area Vocational-Technical School’s Graphic Arts program, where instructor Lee Ann Clutter transformed the need into a real-world design project for her students.
Three students—Mika Smith, Charlie Dillaman and Michael Norman—created original concepts that were presented to Borough Council last fall.
“The board was blown away by the three designs,” Lee Ann Clutter said. After reviewing the proposals, council selected Smith’s design featuring Mars’ iconic flying saucer, an alien peeking from behind the sign and colorful space-themed graphics.
For Smith, the inspiration came naturally.
“Aliens,” Smith said with a laugh when asked what first came to mind after learning the project would represent Mars Borough.
“I immediately thought of the big UFO they keep here. As soon as I started doing research, I really wanted to bring the UFO to life.”
Although each student developed an individual design, they worked together throughout the process, filling sketchbooks with ideas before moving their concepts into Adobe Illustrator.
“We probably did 20 or 30 sketches,” Smith said. “We really went all out on it.”
The project also became part of a SkillsUSA competition.
The students earned first place at the district level before advancing to the state competition, where they finished second.
For Smith, seeing the finished sign installed in the borough carries special meaning.
“It made me feel really great,” Smith said. “Being able to say that I had a sign made that I was able to design and being such a big part of the community really meant a lot.”
Lee Ann Clutter said students spent nearly eight months transforming the winning design into a permanent sign.
Using equipment available through Butler Vo-Tech, students cut the polycarbonate panels using a CNC router, printed and applied commercial-grade vinyl similar to vehicle wraps, and assembled the three-layer structure designed to withstand years of weather.
The project also showcased partnerships throughout Butler County.
Piedmont Plastics of Cranberry Township supplied the polycarbonate material, while Universal Manufacturing in Zelienople donated and fabricated the steel support frame. Mars Borough employees Andy Schultheis, Jim Louis, Greg Sypulsski and Graham Foreman removed the previous sign and installed the new structure.
Mayor Gregg Hartung said the sign represents more than a welcome marker.
Hartung also noted that visitors frequently stop to photograph Mars’ famous flying saucer, a landmark that has become synonymous with the borough’s identity over the decades.
The borough has approved two additional gateway signs that could eventually be installed at other entrances into Mars as students continue the project during the upcoming school year.
For Smith and Dillaman, however, Wednesday’s unveiling marked something even more meaningful than the completion of a school assignment.
Both plan to attend Indiana University of Pennsylvania to study graphic design this fall, and the Mars sign will become a centerpiece of their professional portfolios.
Long after graduation, countless people entering Mars will still be greeted by something they created.