Feel like a rocket scientist for the day. Using only paper and tape, scholars create a framework for a spaceship to Mars. Each sheet of paper costs $10 million and each piece of tape costs $100,000. Make sure you stay within budget!

Ideas take flight in an exciting activity on the NASA Gemini Program. Young scholars analyze photos from NASA's Gemini Program and place photos in the correct sequence of events. Academics also discuss the program and how the steps to...

The Space Race saw the Soviet Union and the US go from competitors to partners. Scholars read a letter regarding the first docking of the US and Soviet space craft. Young historians also complete a written assignment and participate in...

Race to the moon! An engaging activity focuses on NASA's Project Mercury and the Space Race. Scholars read a memorandum regarding the project and explore how it fueled Cold War tensions. Academics complete a worksheet and discuss the...

Earth to all instructors: Here's a resource to use about spacecraft. After learning about gravity and air resistance, scholars create landers with padding to help capsules land safely on Earth. They test their creations by placing a raw...

In this everyday editing activity, learners correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about the Mars Odyssey spacecraft. The errors range from punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and grammar.

The spacecraft is drifting too far off course! Two games help explain how a spacecraft can use its thrusters to maintain its position. The games have pupils be the components of vectors in order to create and counteract the...

Protect the marshmallows! Groups create contraptions that will keep marshmallows in a cup, even after dropping them from a certain height. This is a fun way to model the shock-absorbing capabilities of spacecraft.

Explore Apple's spaceship office building. Built in the shape of a circle, the office building offers a unique floor plan challenge. Young scholars use the dimensions of the building to estimate the square footage for each employee. 

How long do fresh foods last in space at the International Space Station? Which foods perish quicker than others? How can astronauts preserve their foods to make them last longer in space? Young scientists test the rates at which...

The classic egg-drop experiment gets a new bounce with an activity that asks pairs to design a lander similar to one used to land a rover on Mars within a fixed budget. The activity provides a great introduction to the idea of...

What do cereal, fog, and space shuttles have to do with newspapers? A collection of science investigations encourage critical thinking using connections to the various parts of the newspaper. Activities range from building origami seed...

Hear from deep space. Pupils learn how satellites transfer information back to Earth. They learn about three different ways to modulate radio waves and how a satellite sends information with only 0s and 1s. Using sound, class members...

Young historians turn into detectives in a thought-provoking activity on the Challenger Explosion. The activity uses an image of President Reagan watching the Challenger explode on live TV to help academics practice historical analysis....

Sometimes, a picture really does say it all. The activity uses a picture of astronaut Sally Ride to help elementary academics make observations and form conclusions. Young historians study the picture, complete short written prompts, and...

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,...

Pack just enough to fit. Crews determine what personal items to take with them on a trip to Mars. Each team must decide what to take with them on a two-and-a-half year trip to Mars and whether their items will fit within the allotted...

Groups simulate an orbit using a piece of string and a water balloon. Individuals spin in a circular path and calculate the balloon's velocity when the clothes pin can no longer hold onto the balloon.

An activity promotes reading comprehension. Readers analyze a text of their choice while activating prior knowledge and asking and answering questions. Scholars enforce multiple strategies to improve comprehension.

Did the image I drew match the image you saw? By simulating a satellite and a ground station, teams of two transmit data in the form of pixels in order to recreate an image. They use four different levels of brightness, creating slightly...

You might just be responsible for launching a future career in rocket science. Pupils use Alka-Seltzer® tablets as the power source for a film-canister rocket. These rockets must able to carry a clay payload and hit a target on a wall.

Waxed paper, newspaper, or aluminum foil? Keeping an ice cube from melting may require one or more of these materials. Learners design a box that will provide insulation so an ice cube stays intact for at least 90 minutes.

What a bright idea! Young scientists conduct an experiment on flowers to finish the last of a six-lesson unit on Cells. Putting the stems into dye-injected water and leaving it overnight results in flowers that glow. This is to simulate...

It is not always easy to walk the straight and narrow. In the sixth portion of a nine-part unit, groups actively recreate a graph depicting motion. Individuals walk toward or away from a motion detector while trying to match a given...