Curated OER
Modeling the Solar System
Students build a scaled model of the solar system. In this space science instructional activity, students arrange them according to their distances from the sun. They analyze each planet's unique features such as density and relative...
Teach Engineering
Red Rover Robotics
Help your class understand the importance of exploration using robots. with a resource that provides a short history of robotics as a lead into looking at Martian robotic exploration missions. The activity specifically looks at the...
NASA
Just How Far is That Star?
Pupils often wonder how we know the distance to various stars. Starting with a thought experiment and progressing to a physical experiment, they determine the brightness and distance to various stars. The evaluation requires critical...
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Trends of Snow Cover and Temperature in Alaska
Students compare NASA satellite data observations with student surface measurements of snow cover and temperature. They practice data collection, data correlations, and making scientific predictions.
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Get the Picture!
Astronomers practice downloading data from a high-energy satellite and translate the data into colored or shaded pixels. As a hands-on activity, they use pennies to simulate high-energy satellite data and they convert their penny...
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Geometry of Exploration: Eyes Over Mars
Students research how engineers and scientists generate linear and angular measurements with geometry to survey the Earth and Mars. They assess how geometric shapes affect navigation. A surveyor comes to the classroom and explains how he...
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Keep Your Eye on the Sky
Students examine the different types of satellites, cloud formations and weather patterns. In this weather lesson students use the Internet to research weather satellites, then write an article and create graphs.
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NIGHT AND DAY: DAILY CYCLES IN SOLAR RADIATION
Students examine how Earth's rotation causes daily cycles in solar energy using a microset of satellite data to investigate the Earth's daily radiation budget and locating map locations using latitude and longitude coordinates.
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Volcanoes and Urban Planning
Students analyze satellite image data of Volcan Villarica. In this earth science lesson, students identify dangerous areas surrounding the volcano. They propose a new safe location for the town.
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The Voyage Scale
Young scholars identify how models are powerful tools of exploration and that the sizes of the planets and distances between the planets in the Solar System span a large range. They make a sign for each planet they have created in the...
Curated OER
What's the Frequency, Roy G. Biv?
Introduce starting space scientists to the electromagnetic spectrum, expecially the portion of visible light. Teach them about wavelength and frequesncy. Then give them a roll of adding machine tape and a manila folder to make a...
Curated OER
Time That Period
Physical science starters play with a pendulum in order to experience periodicity. Detailed procedures and a worksheet are included for day one. For day two, learners will use a graphing calculator to help them plot orbit data from a...
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Seasons and Cloud Cover, Are They Related?
Students use NASA satellite data to see cloud cover over Africa. In this seasons instructional activity students access data and import it into Excel.
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A Comparison of Land and Water Temperature
Young scholars examine NASA satellite observations of surface temperature and investigate the seasonal changes of land and water temperature.
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The Aspect Ratio of Wings
Junior engineers examine aspect ration in airplane wings. Using the length and width of two differetn wings, they calculate the aspect ratios and compare drag rankings. An engineering or space science class would benefit from this...
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Space Travel
Learners study the International Space Station and space exploration. In this space travel lesson students describe the different types of engineers that contribute to space travel.
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Asteroids
Students study asteroids and how their size relates to a possible danger of one colliding with Earth. In this asteroids lesson students see how big an asteroid has to be to cause destruction to Earth.
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Blazing Gas
Fourth graders read and discuss the sun and the energy we use on Earth from the sun. In this sun lesson plan, 4th graders discuss the solar system, planets, and answer short answer questions.
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Aerospace Engineering
Twelfth graders examine the physics of rocket flight. They build and launch model rockets to measure their performances.
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Tropical Atlantic Aerosols
Students analyze NASA data from the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer. In this NASA data activity, students access an assigned website to examine information from the MISR on the Terra Satellite. They determine how desert dust...
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Searching For Protoplanetary Disks
Students download NASA Hubble Space Telescope views of star-forming regions in nebulae and look for evidence of planetary systems forming beyond our own solar system. They hypothesize about mysterious objects in NASA HST images.
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From Future Flight to Past Flight
Students complete a set of CD-ROM's to introduce them to the flight program at NASA. In groups, they research a topic related to flight and put their information on a CD-ROM. To end the lesson plan, they share their material with other...
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Stellar Observations
Ninth graders study the uses of spectroscopy and the operation of the Hubble space telescope. In this astronomy instructional activity students complete a lab activity that includes graphing star color and temperature.
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How does the Earth compare to the other planets?
Young scholars equate the size of the planets by determining their relative size. In this planet's size lesson, students use a variety of measurements to evaluate the sizes of the planets. Young scholars share their comparisons and...