Curated OER
What's Out There? Space Shuttle Exploration and Simulation
Students simulate life in space aboard the space shuttle. In this space exploration lesson, students work in small groups to model life aboard the space shuttle. Each student is given a job, conducts Internet research on space, and...
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Science at 100,000 Feet
Take your class up, up, and away with an engaging weather balloon simulation! Individuals get hands-on experience in creating and launching their own airborne labs to study how temperature and pressure affect substances at 100,000...
PBS
Experience a Solar Eclipse
Didn't catch the last solar eclipse? Now every day can be eclipse day, thanks to an interactive lesson from PBS' Space series for middle schoolers! The well-rounded multi-media experience includes video clips, an interactive, and...
Journey Through the Universe
Is There Anyone Out There?
What is an alien's favorite game? All-star baseball! Scholars start defining living and non-living. Then, they conduct experiments to research if life exists, keeping in mind that life could be in many forms, not just human.
Curated OER
Men in Space: From Goddard to Armstrong
Students view "Men in Space: From Goddard to Armstrong," taking a examine the the extraordinary lives of the men who conquered space.
Scholastic
Lesson Three: The Earth, Movement in Space
If you feel like you're standing still, you're wrong! The Earth is constantly rotating and orbiting under our feet. Demonstrate the Earth's movement within the solar system with a collaborative activity. With a candle or lamp in the...
Curated OER
Making Regolith
You may not be able to take a field trip to the moon, but that doesn't mean your class can't study moon rocks. Using graham crackers as the moon's bedrock and powdered donuts as micrometeorites, young scientists simulate...
PBS
NASA's Eyes on the 2017 Eclipse
How did the 2017 eclipse look in Los Angeles—or Chicago? Experience both views, plus many more, using a lesson from PBS's Space series for middle schoolers. Scholars follow the movements of the sun, moon, and Earth during the most recent...
Curated OER
Impact Craters: Holes in the Ground!
Students simulate crater formation through a lab activity. In this space science lesson, students calculate how much energy is transferred during meteorite impact. They identify different factors affecting the size and depth of craters...
Curated OER
Rover Races
Students identify the challenges encountered by astronauts in operating a planetary rover. In this space science lesson, students create a rover using their team members. They follow a command sequence from the driver and navigate...
Curated OER
Science Trail
Students explore the solar system by conducting Earth science experiments. In this Sun lesson, students identify the different seasons on Earth and discuss their purpose and cause. Students create a sundial and observe the changes to...
Curated OER
What's Out There? Space Shuttle Exploration and Simulation
Students role-play the jobs of space shuttle astronauts, conduct experiments, and research space using the Internet and offline experiments. Student-astronauts hold a "press conference" to share their information with others in a...
Curated OER
Nutrition in Space
Students compare and contrast the process of dehydration with the processes of freezing and canning. They predict energy sources that may be accessible in the future in different environments such as the moon and planets, most notably Mars.
eGFI
Design a Green Rooftop Garden
Design and construct buildings with rooftop gardens. Junior engineers work in groups to build two buildings and then perform experiments to determine whether or not a garden affects the building's temperatures. They graph and interpret...
Curated OER
I'm Gone
Students plan a mock mission to Mars. In this space science lesson, students work in cooperative groups and select one experiment to take on their mock mission. Students create a mission plan form and send a proposed experiment to NASA.
NASA
Eclipse Activity Guide
Ever made solar s'mores? Or recreated the solar system using peanuts? Astronomers young and old investigate all things solar using a variety of activities. Explore how the sun works, types of light it emits, and methods of charting the...
Curated OER
Gelatin Volcanoes
Students investigate magma flow using gelatin volcano models. For this earth science lesson, students sketch the magma bodies as observed from the top of their model. They explain why magma moves that way.
Curated OER
Cut-off Genes
Investigate the relationships between different deep-sea organisms by DNA sequencing. A worksheet provides instructions for DNA sequencing and space to work. They simulate gel electrophoresis by cutting out paper "DNA strands."...
Curated OER
Physical Changes to Matter
Pupils explore matter by conducting an in-class experiment. They experiment with water's various forms by melting and freezing water, identifying its new shape. These observations are recorded to supplement later discussion. They also...
CK-12 Foundation
Runaway Balloon
When a child lets go of a helium balloon, what happens to it? Does it float all the way to space? The simulator allows pupils to experiment on party balloons and weather balloons under different conditions to see what happens to them in...
Journey Through the Universe
Impact Craters: A Look at the Past
The Galle crater on Mars is also known as the Happy Face crater because of its appearance. First, scholars use pebbles and flour to simulate craters and study their properties. They then apply this knowledge to help decipher the history...
Curated OER
Earth Energy Budget Pre Lab
Students explore energy by conducting an in class experiment. In this climate change activity, students conduct a water vapor experiment in a soda bottle. Students utilize graphs and charts to analyze the results of the experiment and...
Curated OER
Energetic Atoms - Active & Spaced Out
Students discover the power of the sun through an outdoor experiment. In this solar power lesson, students view a PowerPoint presentation on atoms before they complete an atom worksheet. Students utilize a solar bag to...
Journey Through the Universe
Going through a Phase
Ignore the full moon, it's just a phase. Young scholars observe and record the moon during a full cycle before learning to predict future phases. Then the instructor leads a discussion on the other solar system objects that...