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GETTING STARTED-EXPLORING THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Search for a Habitable Planet
Modeling the Solar System (Temporarily see hand-out - available by May 2003 on http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/index.html)Used as an introduction or raggedy start, students make models of imaginary creatures, and then look for suitable homes. Our solar system is used for possible choices.
Why Explore?
Destination Mars!http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/activities/destmars/destmars.htm Students review the seven traditional reasons why people explore while working in teams to summarize and illustrate the ideas.
Solar System Distance Activity (Bead Solar System)
Mars Activity Book: K-12 Classroom Activitieshttp://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom Students construct a distance model of the Solar System using string and beads. They convert AU's to centimeters.
Human Solar System Part 1: Modeling Orbits in the Solar System
Modeling the Solar System (Temporarily see hand-out - available by May 2003 onhttp://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/index.html) Students construct a distance scale model of our solar system in a long hallway or playing field. They observe that space is mostly empty and speculate on the challenges of traveling to other planets. (Note: In workshops, we give participants a card with a planet's AU measurement and instruct them to take 4 steps for every AU. It moves more quickly to meet the objectives. Remember to call in the outer planets and the asteroid belt before discussing their observations.)
Modeling Sizes of Planets Part 2: Modeling the SS with Foods
Modeling the Solar System (Temporarily see hand-out - available by May 2003 onhttp://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/index.html) Students construct a distance scale model of our solar system in a long hallway or playing field. They observe that space is mostly empty and speculate on the challenges of traveling to other planets.
(Note: In workshops, we give participants a card with a planet's AU measurement and instruct them to take 4 steps for every AU. It moves more quickly to meet the objectives. Remember to call in the outer planets and the asteroid belt before discussing their observations.)
Modeling the Solar System (Temporarily see hand-out - available by May 2003 on
Braille Solar System
NASA Office of Space Science Southeast Regional Clearinghouse (SERCH)Using plastic Braille solar system mats, students experience the trip from the sun to Pluto through the tips of their fingers. Originally designed for vision-impaired learners, this activity is popular and meaningful with all audiences. (Note: The mats can be ordered by contacting Kathryn Treml at tremlk@cofc.edu).
Alka-Seltzer Rockets
Mars Activity Book: K-12 Classroom Activitieshttp://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom Using baking soda and vinegar, students propel an object across the floor, introducing the idea of how things move through space-Newton's Third Law of Motion.
Soda Straw Rockets
Mars Activity Book: K-12 Classroom Activitieshttp://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom Students construct rockets on soda straws and then launch by blowing through the straw.
Rover Races
Mars Activity Book: K-12 Classroom Activitieshttp://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom Students learn the challenges of operating a planetary rover and develop solutions in a participatory activity.
Mars Pathfinder: Egg Drop and Landing
Mars Activity Book: K-12 Classroom Activitieshttp://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom |
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EARLY SOLAR SYSTEM
Noblesville Fall
Exploring Meteorite Mysterieshttp://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/Activities/ExpMetMys/ExpmetMys.htm Using the story of the Noblesville Fall in 1991, students brainstorm what they might want to know about meteorites.
Building Blocks of Planets (Accretion)
Exploring Meteorite Mysterieshttp://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/Activities/ExpMetMys/ExpmetMys.htm In a demonstration, students see an illustration of planetary accretion.
Changes Inside Planets (Differentiation and Breakup)
Exploring Meteorite Mysterieshttp://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/Activities/ExpMetMys/ExpmetMys.htm Students conduct experiments to model the separation of light and heavy materials within a planetary body using gelatin. In a second activity, students model the break-up of a differentiated body using frozen hard-boiled eggs.
Searching for Meteorites
Exploring Meteorite Mysterieshttp://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/Activities/ExpMetMys/ExpmetMys.htm Water balloons filled with flour and pebbles help students model the distribution of materials after meteorite impacts.
Follow the Falling Meteorite (Triangulation)
Exploring Meteorite Mysterieshttp://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/Activities/ExpMetMys/ExpmetMys.htm Students demonstrate and experience the way remote objects or sites can be accurately located by triangulation.
Edible Rocks
Exploring Meteorite Mysterieshttp://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/Activities/ExpMetMys/ExpmetMys.htm Students observe and describe physical characteristics of an edible sample in preparation for describing rock or meteorite samples. |
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PLANETARY SURFACES AND INTERIORS
Looking Inside Planets (Modeling Planets Interiors)
Modeling the Solar System (Temporarily see hand-out - available by May 2003 on http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/index.html)Students model the interior structures of the planets using a data sheet as a resource.
Strange New Planet
Mars Activity Book: K-12 Classroom Activitieshttp://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom Students make multi-sensory observations, gathering data and simulating remote sensing missions.
Strange New Planet
Mars Activity Book: K-12 Classroom Activitieshttp://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom Students make multi-sensory observations, gathering data and simulating remote sensing missions.
Exploring Soils Lesson 2: Tricky Terrain -Investigating Planetary Soils
Destination Mars!
Making and Mapping Volcanoes
Destination Mars!http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/activities/destmars/destmars.htm Students are introduced to lava layering as they construct a volcano. Then they investigate an "unknown" volcano to record its history. (NOTE: In workshops this is often divided into two activities using the first part to introduce planetary processes and the second part when studying plane surface exploration.)
Impact Craters-Holes in the Ground! Activity B: Making Craters in Dry Materials
Exploring Meteorite Mysterieshttp://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/Activities/ExpMetMys/ExpmetMys.htm) Students manipulate the variables of velocity and mass to investigate crater formation.
Regolith Formation
Exploring the Moonhttp://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/activities/ExpMoon/Regolith.pdf Students model and observe the formation of regolith on the lunar surface. (NOTE: : Workshop activity was done with chocolate graham crackers impacted by a large rock.)
Lunar Surface (Cookie Moon)
Exploring the Moonhttp://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/activities/ExpMoon/Regolith.pdf Students study moon surface features as they make a model in playdough, clay or plaster of Paris using maps and images of the moon's surface. (In the workshop cookie dough is used. The model can then be cooked and eaten.)
Cake Batter Lava (Viscosity)
Exploring Planets in the Classroom-Hands on Activities Hawai'i Space Grant Collegehttp://www.spacegrant.hawaii.edu/class_acts/CakeLavaTe.html Students use cake batter to simulate surface lava flows.
Gelatin Volcanoes
Exploring Planets in the Classroom-Hands on Activities Hawai'i Space Grant Collegehttp://www.spacegrant.hawaii.edu/class_acts/GelVolTe.html Students develop an awareness of how magma moves inside volcanoes, what dikes look like underground, and why Hawaiian volcanoes have rift zones by watching red food coloring injected into gelatin.
Exploring Crustal Material from a Mystery Planet
Mars Activity Book: K-12 Classroom Activitieshttp://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom Students observe crustal material samples and infer the history of the "mystery" planet.
Mud Splat Craters
Mars Activity Book: K-12 Classroom Activitieshttp://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/classroom Students observe crater formation in mud to introduce the idea of fluidized craters as seen on the surface of Mars.
Venus Topography Box
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/education/educators/venus_t.htmlStudents learn how to map the topography of a "planet" whose surface is hidden from view. Remote sensing, measuring, surface features, mapping, and interpreting data are all part of this activity. |
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SUN FOCUS
Kinesthetic Astronomy Lesson 1: Sky Time
Modeling the Solar System (Temporarily see hand-out - available by May 2003 on http://www.spacescience.org/Education/ResourcesForEducators/CurriculumMaterials/ Kin_Astro/1.htmlStudents explore the concepts of rotation, orbits, axis, and seasons through choreographed bodily movements and positions that provide educational sensory experiences.
Energy Beads (UV Beads)
Wren Enterprises, Inc.Students develop an awareness of ultraviolet light with beads that turn bright colors when exposed to bright light. Students experiment with blocking ultraviolet rays.
Build Your Own Comet
Dr. Dennis Schatz, Pacific Science Centerhttp://www.noao.edu/education/crecipe.html Students may assist leaders in constructing a comet of dry ice and dirt. The model can then be used to demonstrate why comets have tails and why the tail always points away from the sun, sublimation, orbits of comets, and concepts of radiation pressure and solar wind.
Comet on a Stick-Modeling a Comet in Flight
http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/educ/index.htmlStudents use a model of comet and solar winds to consider the influence of the Sun on comets. Students consider the strengths and weaknesses of this model.
Make a Comet Model and Eat It! (Edible Comets)
http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/educ/index.htmlUsing what we think we know about comets, students create an edible model. One sample is given to another research team to determine its structure and composition.
Aerogello
Aerogel, a silica dioxide gel with the lowest density solid known, will be used on STARDUST to collect comet and interstellar dust particles. Students simulate and observe the collection of particles substituting gelatin for the aerogel.
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LOOKING FOR LIFE BEYOND EARTH
Searching for Life on Mars
Destination Mars!http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/activities/destmars/destmars.htm Imaginary Martians - Students draw creatures based on literary readings. Looking for Life - Students develop operational definition of life. They use their definition to look for evidence of life in sample. This experiment is based on a 1976 Viking Lander experiment. Mars Critters - Students design a life form that might survive on Mars.
Size and Shape Matters
Size and Shape Imaged
Fingerprints of Life?http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/Websites/AstrobiologyEducation/index.html Students gain appreciation for the importance of relative size and morphology in identifying microscopic structures as viewed with the scanning electron microscope. In the first activity students sequence unlabeled electron micrographs. The second is a computer slide show that gives students images and information and then asks them to draw conclusions about three unlabeled Martian meteorites.
Creature Features
Fingerprints of Life?http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/Websites/AstrobiologyEducation/index.html Students observe teacher-made creatures and record data simulating future sample return.
What Makes a World Habitable? (Extreme Environments)
Life on Earth...and Elsewhere? Educator Resource Guidehttp://nai.arc.nasa.gov/teachers/teacher_catalog.cfm Students assess the possibility of life in the solar system using Habitability Cards.
What Can Life Tolerate? (Extreme Environments)
Life on Earth...and Elsewhere? Educator Resource Guidehttp://nai.arc.nasa.gov/teachers/teacher_catalog.cfm Playing a rummy-type game Life on the Edge students explore the idea that organisms living under extreme conditions on Earth can serve as analogs for extraterrestrial life. |
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MISSIONS TO THE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM
How to Make a Saturn Model
http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini_make2.htmlAfter creating a model of Saturn using discarded CD's, students contemplate Saturn's rings using the fact sheet "Why does Saturn have rings?".
Seeing Saturn and Its Rings
Students use model from previous activity to observe how the view of Saturn and its rings changes depending on the relative positions of Saturn and Earth.
Europa Wedges
http://www-a.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/wedges/intro.html
Europa Geology Jigsaw Puzzle
http://www.ssep.org/orbits/pdf/EUROPA.PDFUsing images taken by Voyager and Galileo, students investigate the possibility of on ocean under Europa's icy crust. (NOTE: This was presented as a paper activity; however, the first URL allows the student to manipulate the pieces on-line.)
Gak
This is a recipe for a polymer putty similar to GAKTM (a trademark). After looking at images of Europa's icy surface, students look at similar designs in the polymer.
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ASSESSMENT AND EXPLORATION CHALLENGE
Dancing with the Planets (or just Mars)
Destination Mars!
http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/activities/destmars/destmars.htmStudents use their knowledge of the solar system to create a dramatic group demonstration. (NOTE: In workshops this is often used as an assessment and includes broader information than given in the published activity.)
Asteroid Resources (Edible Asteroid Mining)
Exploring Meteorite Mysteries
http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/Activities/ExpMetMys/ExpmetMys.htmStudents map and core an edible asteroid. This is part of a sequence that explore the potential resources available to space travelers. |