Students complete study on butterflies using real caterpillars, keep individual daily journals of observations, and complete timeline for their caterpillar/butterfly.

How fun it must be to play Frisbee in space! That is just what a NASA engineer gets to do, and you can learn how, too. Follow the instructions provided in this informational article to create your own satellite launcher. Afterward,...

Students explore the history, science, and journey through flight. They use the Internet to access information in order to participate in active writing assignments. They conduct other activities and build their own virtual plane.

Students design and construct an experiment that will be launched into space aboard a NASA research shuttle. How better to gain and appreciation for (and, hopefully, a love of) scientific investigation than to do real science and be...

Students plan the first manned mission to Mars. They discuss, in small groups, some of the information that the group might have heard regarding the red planet and decide which types of occupations should be included in a crew for the...

Students construct a rocket using soda straw. In this physics lesson plan, students determine the nose cone length that produces the best rocket. They explain the importance of using a control in an experiment.

Students design, construct, and fly paper rockets that travel the greatest distance possible across a floor model of the solar system. They construct small flying rockets out of paper and propel them by blowing air through a straw.

Young scholars construct simple altitude tracking devices for determining the altitude a rocket reaches in its flight. They estimate the altitude a rocket achieves during flight.

Human computers? Although it may sound like science fiction, the term was used to describe the women who made the NASA calculations before the advent of electronic computers. A 21-slide presentation introduces viewers to the women who...

Students analyze the factors that affect exploration such as religion, trade, territorial expansion, and science. In this Great Explorations instructional activity, students determine the names of famous explorers as well as their routes...

Learners explore the possibility of being on Mars and being able to identify the Earth.  In this space lesson students complete a set of calculations to see if this is possible. 

Students create a model of the solar system out of candy. They write a book about their travels through the Solar System, beginning at age ten and reaching Pluto at age seventy.

Learners complete this introductory lesson in which they find out about the scenario for a simulated online space mission. They review vocabulary and complete a review sheet to reinforce the details of the mission and its goals.

Students watch demonstrations of paper folded designs that do and do not fly and discuss their observations. They identify problems that they, the Wright Brothers, or NASA scientists face when designing an aircraft, and identify...

Tenth graders experiment with gravity and air pressure. In this geometry lesson, 10th graders build their own kits and fly it. They investigate the questions: what keeps a kite in the air and what are some important factors when flying a...

Students research the tetrahedral kites invented by Alexander Graham Bell. In this components of flight lesson, students examine the kites made by Bell and his team. Students create their own kite and add them together as a class to...

In this momentum worksheet, students will calculate the maximum forward momentum of the Apollo 11 lunar spacecraft at three different stages of its space travel.

Students conduct an experiment. In this physical science lesson, students learn about Isaac Newton's theory that for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction. Students show this theory by looking at how a rocket is propelled...

Students plan an airport visit. In this Airplanes and Airports instructional activity, students observe the people, activity, and machinery at airports. Then students compare the characteristics of their observations at the airport....

Students create a model of the birth of a star and demonstrate the stages of the star's lifecycle.  In this star lifecycle lesson plan, students mix flour and water in a jar to model the birth of a star, then role-play the entire...

Students explain and explain the interactive relationships between forces of lift and gravity, thrust and drag, as they apply to airplanes in motion. They know that Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the first airplane based on these...

What is a Leap Year and why do we have it? Find out with this Leap Day/Leap Year response to reading learning exercise in which scholars read a short passage and use their new-found knowledge to answer five questions with short...

Young scholars, through teacher lecture and class discussion, explore the three different types of muscles in the human body and the effects of microgravity on these muscles. They explain what happens to muscles in outer space and...

Pupils use a ball to push and pull to demonstrate the concept of force. In this force lesson plan, students talk about the importance of force in space and use balls to demonstrate this phenomena.