MARS — Mars senior citizens and Chatham University graduate students worked together Wednesday night to envision a future for the brough.

In the first of three focus group workshops, graduate students challenged residents of Penn Mar Plaza to “Focus on the Future” one scenario at a time.

In the first scenario, residents were asked envision a Mars that’s easily accessible, with lots of tourism opportunities.

Betty Molinaro has lived in Mars her entire life and moved to Penn Mar a year ago. She said one problem with attracting tourists is a lack of grocery stores and food markets.

“There’s nothing from Giant Eagle over to Route 8,” Molinaro said. “There’s no stores close (to us) anymore.”

Many stores, Molinaro said, also cater to people who don’t physically want to shop: They use apps to place orders and have their purchases delivered to them. For Penn Mar Plaza residents, shopping is an opportunity to interact with people.

It’s also an example of accessibility. When residents want to visit a place in town — or beyond — they mostly rely on the center’s residential bus. The bus schedule does not extend to weekends or nights.

“You depend a lot on your community when you have a disability,” said Sandy Tatem, a Penn Mar resident. “It’s the same with us.”

Chatham students asked residents to consider what Mars could be like with a NASA Discovery Center.

Two-year resident Cheryl Schuster said having such a center in Mars could be a way to give back to the community. But only if the center is accessible.

Schuster said she’s interested in being part of community events, such as crochet circles that take place at Mars Area Public Library.

“A lot of the problem is transportation,” Schuster said. “We can’t get to the library.”

Several residents said they would like to see sidewalks installed from Penn Mar Plaza to the heart of Mars.

Schuster suggested a bus system such as BART in Butler could start to remedy the problem.

Residents also said they would like to see more dining options in Mars, from fast food to community restaurants. Having evening venues like a movie theater and events at the plaza would provide residents with chances to socialize.

The workshop provided the Chatham students with many things to consider.

“(We want) to get a wide berth of opinions,” said Mary Schrott, a graduate student pursuing her MBA and master’s degree in sustainability. “To start a dialogue.”

The students will be running two other workshops, which are open to the public. The next citizen focus group will meet from 7 to 8 p.m. Oct. 16 at the Mars Area Public Library.