Space Explorers - The Franklin Institute

Space Explorers

Theme:Stars Planets Space Travel Living/Working in Space Planetary Settlement

9:00 Mission Briefing: Studying the Stars

Mission Briefing: Finding a Planet

Mission Briefing: Getting into Space

Mission Briefing: Astronaut Training

Mission Briefing: Building A Colony

9:30 Exploring Starlight (Spectroscopy)

Design Your Planet Straw Rockets Spacesuit Design Astronaut Crash Survival

10:00Snack Snack Snack Snack Snack

10:30Fun with FIlters Mystery Planet Explorer Alka-Seltzer Rockets Space Visor Engineering

Build A Rover11:00

LED Nebula Creating Craters Lazy Susan Action/Reaction Astronaut Training: Space Glove Challenge

11:303D Constellations Chromatography Planet Orbiting Shuttle Astronaut Training:Tight

QuartersFun with Flags

12:15Lunch / Recreational

ActivitiesLunch / Recreational




Activities

1:30Constellation Heroes Outrageous Orbits Rockets and Shuttles Astronaut Training:

Spacewalk RelayShelter Engineers

2:00 Glow in the dark Constellations

Toilet Paper Solar System Design A Spacecraft Postcards from Space Imagining Life

2:30 Wrap up/ Clean up Wrap up/ Clean up Wrap up/ Clean up Wrap up/ Clean up Wrap up/ Clean up3:00 Normal Pickup Normal Pickup Normal Pickup Normal Pickup Normal Pickup

Table of Contents Space Explorers

Theme Activity Name

Stars Mission Briefing: Studying the Stars

Exploring Starlight

- Spectral Emissions Chart

Fun with Filters

- Fun with Filters images

LED Nebula

3D Constellations

Constellation Heroes

Glow in the Dark Constellations

Planets Mission Briefing: Finding a Planet

Design Your Planet

Mystery Planet Explorer

Creating Craters

Chromatography Planet

Outrageous Orbits

- Outrageous Orbits template

Toilet Paper Solar System

Space Travel Mission Briefing: Getting into Space

Straw Rockets

Alka-Seltzer Rockets

Lazy Susan Action-Reaction

Orbiting Shuttle

- Orbiting Shuttle template

Rockets and Shuttles

Design a Spacecraft

Living & Working in Space Mission Briefing: Astronaut Training

Spacesuit Design

Space Visor Engineering

Astronaut Training: Space Glove Challenge

Astronaut Training: Tight Quarters

Astronaut Training: Spacewalk Relay

Postcards from Space

Planetary Settlement Mission Briefing: Building a Colony

Astronaut Crash Survival

Build a Rover

Fun with Flags

Shelter Engineers

Imagining Life

- Imagining Life drawing sheet

- Imagining Life cards

MISSION BRIEFING: STUDYING THE STARS

ACTIVITY TYPE: Group discussion

AUDIENCE: 2nd - 5th grade

TIME FRAME: 15 - 20 minutes

SUMMARY: Children will explore and discuss the characteristics of stars

and other cosmic objects.

MATERIALS: ● Whiteboard or chart paper and markers

● Pre-made star models (see Prepare Ahead section).

Materials:

○ 3 Styrofoam balls (rough styrofoam, not smooth): 1 sm, 1 med, 1 large

○ 3 3- or 5-mm round-head LED bulbs (e.g.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UWBJM0Q/ ) ○ 3 3V coin cell batteries (e.g.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008XBK7PG) ○ 3 Rubber bands (for securing LED’s to batteries)

○ Sharp blade (e.g. Exacto knife or boxcutter)

○ Acrylic paint (red, blue, yellow)

○ Masking tape

PREPARE AHEAD: Make the LED styrofoam ball star models:

● Begin by making a simple circuit with a coin battery

and an LED. Sandwich the battery between the prongs

of the LED with the longer prong of the LED on the

positive (+) side of the battery. Squeeze the prongs of

the LED against the battery-- the LED should light up. (If

it does not light up, try switching the orientation of the

LED.) Secure the LED to the coin battery using a rubber

band.

● Next cut a wedge-shaped hole in each ball (similar to how you carve a

jack-o-lantern). Once you have removed the wedge from the styrofoam ball,

created by THE FRANKLIN INSTITUTE

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UWBJM0Q/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008XBK7PG

use the knife to hollow out the ball so that the battery and LED will fit inside.

● Remove the LED/coin battery sandwich and paint the outside of each ball.

● Use 6 different balls varying the colors in each size.

For example: small--1 Red, 1 Yellow; medium--1

Yellow, 1 Blue; large--1 Red, 1 Blue.

● When you reassemble the balls, use masking tape to

secure the lids.

SAFETY NOTES: When preparing the LED star models, be very careful with the

knife or blade used to cut the styrofoam ball.

ENGAGE: Have you ever wanted to go to space? You’re in luck--the people at Mission Control have

decided to send a mission to colonize another planet, and they’ve chosen us as the team

to do it! This week we’ll need to choose a target planet, figure out what we’ll need to

travel there safely, and make a plan for the colony we’ll build when we get there!

To begin planning our mission, Mission Control needs us to do some research. Before

they can choose a target planet, they’ll need to know which star system to look in, so our

first task from Mission Control is to find out more about stars.

PROCEDURE: 1. Ask the children what they know about stars. Write their responses on the board or

chart paper.

● Where and how have you seen stars? What was it like?

● What are stars? What are they made of? What do they do?

● What are some ways stars can be different from each other?

2. Ask children to think about how we know these things about stars.

● What kinds of tools do we use to study stars?

● What kinds of tests and observations can we make about them?

● What kinds of tests and observations can we not easily make? (Can we take a


sample from a star? Can we stick a thermometer in a star? Why or why not?)

3. Invite the group to practice making observations about stars using some models. Dim

the room lights and take the Styrofoam star models to a corner of the room as far

from the group as possible.

4. Hold up one of the (lit) star models. Encourage the group to make observations about

the “star.” What kinds of things can they tell about it? What kinds of things can’t they

tell?

5. Hold up a second model and invite children to compare it to the first one. How is it

the same as the first one, and how is it different?

6. Repeat with the third model. (If necessary, put down one of the first two, or ask

another adult to help you hold all three.)

7. Discuss the results of their observations and how they connect to studying actual

celestial objects.

● What are some of the challenges of studying objects in space?

● What kinds of information are easier to get about celestial objects, and what things

are harder?

● What advice should we give to Mission Control about how to gather information

about potential targets for our mission?

8. Use this activity to frame and connect the rest of the day’s activities; for example:

● What kind of information about stars did we use in this activity? What tools or

strategies might we use to get that kind of information?

● What message or advice would you like to send to Mission Control based on what

we just did, to help them plan for our mission?

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● Stars are “energy engines” that produce enormous amounts of heat, visible light, and

other forms of radiation such as UV rays and X-rays.

● Stars are primarily made of gas (mostly hydrogen and helium) and plasma (a

superheated state of matter made of charged atomic particles).

● No one knows exactly how many stars are in the universe, but it is likely an

unbelievably large number--there may be 100 billion galaxies in the universe, each of

which could have 100 billion stars. However, only about 3000 are visible on Earth.

● Stars have different characteristics, including

○ Lumosity, or how much energy they give out (which contributes to

brightness)

○ Color, which is related to temperature-- hotter stars are blue or white,

cooler ones are orange or red


○ Size--star size is classified in a range including dwarf, main-sequence,

giant, and supergiant

● Because stars are generally much too far away to visit or even send space probes to

explore--and would be much too hot to survive being near, even if we could-- nearly

everything we know about stars has come from studying the light and other radiation

they give off.

● Some other cosmic objects:

○ Galaxies-- systems of millions or billions of stars, gas, and dust, held

together by gravitational attraction

○ Nebulae-- clouds of gas and dust, which often contain the beginnings of

new stars

○ Planets-- large, usually spherical objects that orbit around a star

○ Asteroids-- smaller, irregularly shaped rocky objects orbiting around a star

○ Comets-- small, icy objects with long tails of gas, orbiting a star on an

elongated path

SOURCE: Star Models from the My Sky Tonight toolkit supplement: www.afguonline.org

Background information from: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/universe/stars/


http://www.afguonline.org/

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/universe/stars/

EXPLORING STARLIGHT (SPECTROSCOPY) ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on activity

AUDIENCE: 2nd - 5th grade TIME FRAME: 30 - 40 minutes

SUMMARY:

Students investigate diffraction

patterns of different types of light.

MATERIALS: ● Diffraction grating cards (1

per student)

*Pre-made, or make them by cutting a hole in an

index card and covering with a piece of diffraction

film

● Fluorescent light source (bulb in small clip-on type

lamp)

● Incandescent light source (bulb in small clip-on

type lamp)

● Gas tubes (preferably hydrogen and neon)

● Gas tube power supply

● Laminated copies of Spectral Emissions Chart (1 per 2 children)

● Room that can be darkened

PREPARE AHEAD: Familiarize yourself with the operation of the gas tubes and power supply.

Set up light sources in an area of the room where they can be easily viewed by children.

If possible, have two viewing areas separate from one another (e.g., one in each corner of

the front of the room). This will allow you to have two light sources on at the same time

for students to compare, without their diffraction patterns overlapping or interfering. If

this isn’t possible, use a single location and turn on only one light source at a time.

SAFETY NOTES: Children should be warned never to use the diffraction grating to look directly at the

sun--it does not filter or protect against UV rays.


When using the gas tubes:

● Be sure the power source is turned off before removing or replacing tubes.

● Do not allow students to touch gas tubes or power source.

● Do not leave the tubes turned on for more than 1 - 2 minutes at a time.

ENGAGE: Mission Control is hard at work planning the group’s mission to space, and the first step

is gathering information about different kinds of objects in space, like stars! Review what

students know so far about stars.

Explain that Mission Control is interested in finding out more about the light that

comes from stars. How can we use the light from stars to learn what the star is like?

PROCEDURE: 1. Darken the room. Turn on the fluorescent

and incandescent lights and position them

so that children can see the bulbs.

2. Explain that these are their “stars.” Ask

children to observe and compare them

using just their eyes.

● How does the light from them look

the same?

● How is it different?

3. Introduce the diffraction grating. Demonstrate how to use it by holding the clear

part of the card up close to one eye and closing the other eye (or covering it with

their hand).

4. Turn off the fluorescent light and invite children to look at the incandescent light

through the diffraction grating.

● What do you observe?

● What different colors can you see?

5. Discuss how light can be made of different colors mixed together. Explain that the

diffraction grating is a tool that separates the different colors out to make them

easier to see. Ask the group where else they have seen light separated into

different colors (like a rainbow, or on the back of a CD/DVD).

6. Turn the fluorescent one back on and ask children to compare them.

● How is this one different?

● What colors do you see? What colors are missing?

● What could be different about the two lamps to make them have different

“rainbows”?


7. Explain that these “rainbows” are called spectra (singular: one spectrum). These

spectra are very important for studying stars. Each different kind of “stuff” that

the universe is made of (the chemical elements) has its own unique spectrum, almost like how each person has unique fingerprints.

8. Distribute the Spectral Emissions charts and invite children to observe and

compare the spectra of the elements listed.

● What are some similarities and differences between them?

● How could spectra like these help us figure out what stars are made of?

● If you looked at the light from a star and saw the spectrum for Argon, what

would that tell you about the star?

9. Invite the group to practice identifying spectra from stars. Explain that you will

show them some model “stars”, and their job will be to figure out what the star

is made of by looking at its spectrum and comparing it to the ones on the chart.

10. Place the hydrogen tube in the power source and turn it on, without letting the

children know which gas is inside. Ask children to first observe the tube and

predict what colors they will see when they look at this “star” through the

diffraction grating.

11. Invite children to look at the hydrogen tube with their diffraction grating. Turn

the gas tube off and discuss.

● What colors did you see?

● What connections can you find between the color you see with their eyes and

the colors separated out by the diffraction grating? Which colors were

unexpected?

12. Turn the gas tube on again. Challenge the children to try to identify the gas inside

by matching the spectrum they see to the ones on the chart. Encourage them to

look at which colors are present or missing, and how many lines they see-- are

there a lot of red and orange lines, or just one?

13. Turn the gas tube off and discuss the group’s ideas.

● Which element do you think this “star” is made of? What makes you think

so?

● Did you see a lot of different lines, or only a few?

● What colors were present? Which ones were missing?

14. Reveal the answer, and compare it to the group’s results. If they chose a different

spectrum, discuss the similarities and differences between them.

15. Turn the tube on and allow children to view it again, to see how it matches the

correct spectrum.

16. Repeat with the neon gas tube and any others available.

17. Discussion:

● What things did you discover about starlight?


● How do you think you could use information like this to learn about what

stars are made of?

● What do you want to tell Mission Control about how to use spectra in their

research about stars?

TAKE IT FURTHER: ● Use the diffraction gratings to look at other lights around the building--overhead

lights, exit signs, bright surfaces, etc. (But ensure that students do not use them to

look directly at the sun!) How are the diffraction patterns of these objects similar

to or different from the lights they saw in the activity?

ADAPTATIONS: ● Younger students may have difficulty reading the element names on the spectra

chart. Encourage them to talk about the spectra in whatever way they can (“the

one that starts with A” or “the second one from the top”). Knowing the names of

the elements is less important than the experience of matching their observations

to existing data.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● The study of light and how different types of matter absorb or emit it is called

spectroscopy (spec-TROSS-cuh-pee).

● Light from stars (and light bulbs!) is usually made up of multiple colors

(wavelengths) of light mixed together.

● A diffraction grating is a tool that helps to spread out and separate the different

colors so we can tell them apart. It is a piece of plastic containing thousands of

tiny, too-small-to-see grooves. The grooves bend light as it passes through, and

each color is bent a different amount, which spreads the colors out.

● Each different kind of matter (chemical elements like iron, carbon, hydrogen,

neon, etc.) gives off a very specific pattern of light, called a spectrum, and those

patterns can be used like “fingerprints” to tell what something is made of.

● Scientists use tools to help them see things they can’t see with just their eyes.

Instruments similar to diffraction gratings help astronomers study the light

coming from stars, and the light reflecting off planets and other objects in space,

to find out what those objects are like and what they are made of.

● Most stars and other objects in space are made up of more than one kind of

element, which means the spectra astronomers see are usually combinations of

the spectra for each of the elements. They use computer programs to sort out the

different spectra and identify which elements they belong to.


Spectral Emissions

Hydrogen (H)

Helium (He)

Nitrogen (N)

Oxygen (O)

Neon (Ne)

Argon (Ar)

Lead (Pb)

Gold (Au)

Silver (Ag)

Uranium (U)

FUN WITH FILTERS

ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on activity

AUDIENCE: 1st - 8th grades


SUMMARY: Children will explore the properties of light to investigate how different filters can

change what they see and then find out how astronomers use filters to learn more about

astronomical objects.

MATERIALS: ● Cosmic Visors (1 per child) - materials:

○ Red, blue, and green color gel filters (~1.25” x 8” piece per child)*

*Theatrical gels work best; other colored films may work but require

multiple layers

○ Heavy cardstock (9” x 12” sheet per child)

○ Paper clips for securing cosmic visors (1 per child)

○ Scissors

○ Masking tape

● Projector and screen or other method to present images

● Image slideshow (Fun with filters slideshow.pptx)

PREPARE AHEAD: ● Familiarize yourself with the content of the image

slideshow.

● Prepare the Cosmic Visors. Make one visor per

child, with roughly equal numbers of each color

among the class (e.g., ⅓ of the class receives blue, ⅓

receives red, and ⅓ receives green)

○ Cut the blue, green and red gel sheets into

strips about 1.25” wide and 8” long.

Depending on the size of your gel, you should end up with about six of each

color.

○ Cut half of the cardstock sheets in half. Cut a 1" x 7" window in each of


these pieces. This can easily be accomplished by folding the face mask in

half and making the cuts.

○ Cover the window by taping a

colored gel strip over it on one

side. Place tape along all 4 sides.

○ Make straps for your visors by

cutting the remaining cardstock

sheets into strips. Tape one strip to each side of each visor at the top (tape

heavily and on both sides to make sure strips are secure and durable).

○ The visors can be fastened in the back by paper clips to keep them over

people's eyes and on their heads.

SAFETY NOTES: None

ENGAGE: Astronomers often look at objects in space through filters of different colors. Although

this changes how the objects look, it helps them sort out details in the structure and

composition of the objects they are looking at.

To get an idea of how that works, we’re going to pretend we are aliens from different

worlds looking through “filtered eyes.”

PROCEDURE: 1. Distribute the visors and ask children to put them on. Help them adjust the visors so

that they can view objects easily through the filter but cannot easily see around the

edges of the facemask. When all visors are properly adjusted, let them look around.

● How does the room look different through your filter?

● What things are easier or harder to see?

2. Suggest that this may be how an alien from another planet might see the world, if

their eyes were adapted to different colors of light. In fact, imagine they ARE aliens

from another world who travel to other planets and report what they see to their

commander (you!)

3. Use the slideshow to take them on a journey to another world. With the first image

(tree with red sun), ask children to describe what they see by filter color: “Blue aliens,

what do you see? Green aliens, what about you?” etc.


● What is different about the groups’ responses? What is the same?

● What do you think it would look like if we could see all the colors together? What

makes you think that?

4. Repeat with the next two images (“help” message and fall foliage), inviting children to

share what they see and predict what the full-color image would look like.

5. Ask children to remove their visors and look again at each of the three images.

● Were your predictions correct?

● What things were easier to see with the visor on? Which things were more difficult?

● Where did the filter help you to see something that was harder to see with full-color

vision?

6. If desired, allow children to trade visors and view the images again through a

different color filter.

7. Use the remaining images in the slideshow to discuss how astronomers use filters to

learn about objects in space. If possible, click on the link on the telescope slide and

view an animation of telescope filters in use. Look at the images of cosmic objects

without visors, and then invite children to try looking at them with their visors on.

8. Look at the telescope images of the Dumbbell and Omega nebulas:

● How do the nebulas look different with different filters?

● How do astronomers use the different filter images to create a single composite

image?

● What things are easier to see in the individual images? What things does the

composite image help you see?

9. Look at the image of NGC 2818. What filters were used for this image? If the group

has completed the Exploring Starlight activity, connect this image to the way they

identified gases by their emission spectra. (Very narrow filters can let through only

the light from one element’s specific wavelengths).

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE?


● Visible light, infrared, UV, radio waves, microwaves, and even x-rays and gamma

rays are all types of electromagnetic (EM) radiation, a type of energy which

travels in the form of a wave. The only differences between them are their

wavelengths. The wavelengths of visible light are ones our eyes can detect, but we

have developed instruments that can detect the other types as well. Because it

doesn’t require matter to travel, EM radiation is one of the few things that can

cross the vast, empty distances of space. It is our primary tool for learning about

other objects in the universe.

● Filters block some wavelengths of light and let others through. This is useful to

astronomers who want to understand properties of cosmic objects. By isolating

one color or wavelength of light, they can see which areas of the object are

emitting different types of light and determine what is causing the objects to

shine.

● Astronomers don’t need to turn their images into color pictures to do their

research, but by assigning a color to each image and overlaying the images, they

can combine their data into one interesting and beautiful image!

● The Dumbbell Nebula is produced by a dying star (the tiny blue dot in the center

of the nebula image). Its outer layers are being ejected in an expanding shell of

gas. The gas is being excited by the energy of the dying star, causing it to emit

light. (This is the same process involved in the gas tubes from the Exploring

Starlight activity, but the gas inside the tube is excited by an electric current

instead of a star!) The red light comes from excited hydrogen and the blue and

green light from excited oxygen.

● The Omega Nebula is a cloud of gas and dust that is forming new stars. The

infrared (heat) radiation is emitted by dust clouds that are warmed by the new

stars. The visible light and radio waves are caused when these stars excite the gas

around them.

● NGC 2818 is another planetary nebula, a shell of gas excited by its dying star. The

filters used are designed to let in just the specific slivers of light that represent the

spectra of different elements--nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen.

● The Crab Nebula is a different kind of nebula--a supernova remnant. This is an

expanding shell of gas from a supernova explosion (an exploding star). This gas

shines across the whole EM spectrum. The image shows x-rays, visible light, and

infrared.

● M 83 is a spiral galaxy, like our own Milky Way galaxy, that is 15 million light

years from Earth. (Think about that: it is so far away that the light in this image


traveled for 15 million years before reaching our telescopes!) The image shows

ultraviolet light and radio waves--both of which are invisible to our eyes. The data

is converted to colors we can see to create the image.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum: http://missionscience.nasa.gov/ems/index.html

The Meaning of Color in Hubble Images:

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/behind_the_pictures/meaning_of_color/

SOURCE: Adapted from a Skynet Junior Scholars activity:

https://skynetjuniorscholars.org/supplements/50/file


http://missionscience.nasa.gov/ems/index.html

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/behind_the_pictures/meaning_of_color/

https://skynetjuniorscholars.org/supplements/50/file

Put on your cosmic visors.

You are an alien from another world. You have alien eyes.What do you notice about your vision?

Your job is to visit planet RGB and report back to your commander.

You have arrived.

Your commander will ask you to report what you see. Wait for instructions.

Click the mouse to look out of the window of your space ship.

Ok Alien. Now you have received a message from Planet RGB.

Can you decode it?

Here’s a more realistic view of a planet. Describe this through the different filters.

6

Primary mirror

Filter wheel

CCD camera

Secondary mirror

Filter wheel and

CCD animation

From the Faulkes

Telescope Project:

Astronomers use filters too!

http://support.faulkes-telescope.com/multimedia/ccd/CCD Fullscreen.swf

M 27, Dumbbell NebulaRed filter

Green filter

Blue filter

Image Credit: Ken Budill. This image combines 3 pictures: one through a red filter, one through a green filter, and one through a blue filter. Color Key: red=red, green=green, blue=blueTelescope: Yerkes 41-inch

Representational Images

Astronomers don’t just combine images taken through red, green and blue filters. They use narrow-band filters too. They even combine images from very different telescopes like x-ray telescopes and radio telescopes!

M 17, Omega Nebula

infrared energy

radio waves

visible light

Image Credit: NRAO/AUIColor Key: radio waves = red, infrared = green and visible light = blueTelescopes: Palomar 48 inch, 2MASS, Green Bank Telescope.

M 17, Omega Nebula

Image Credit: Josh Thum

The filters used here were infrared, red and green.

Color Key:• infrared = red• red = green• green = blue

Telescope: Yerkes 41-inch

NGC 2818, Planetary Nebula

Image Credit: Hubble Space Telescope. Narrow band filters for nitrogen, hydrogen and oxygen were used and then combined into this representational color image. Color Key: nitrogen = red, hydrogen = green and oxygen = blue. Telescopes: Hubble Space Telescope

M 44, Crab Nebula

Image Credit: NASA, ESA and J. Hester . Color Key: x-rays =light blue, visible light = green, dark blue, infrared energy = red. Telescopes: Chandra X-Ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope.

M 83, Southern Pinwheel Galaxy

Image Credit: NASA/NRAO/MPIA

Color Key:• radio waves =

red.• near-ultraviolet

light = green.• far-ultraviolet

light = blue.

Telescopes:GALEX (Galaxy Evolution Explorer), Very Large Array

LED NEBULAE ACTIVITY TYPE: Art activity/make-and-take

AUDIENCE: 2nd grade and up


SUMMARY: Children will design and construct a creative representation of a nebula.

MATERIALS: ● Black construction paper (1 sheet per

child) ● Various colors of tissue paper ● Glue ● Glitter ● Crayons or chalk ● LED bulbs, 5mm (one per camper) ● Coin cell batteries (CR2032) (one per camper) ● (Optional) clear tape ● (Optional) string ● Images of nebulae (see below)

PREPARE AHEAD: Print out color photos of nebulae.

ENGAGE: Lay out the printed photos of nebulae. Ask children to describe what they see. Does it remind them of anything they have seen? How big do they imagine these structures to be?

Here is an example of a planetary nebula, The Cat’s Eye Nebula. The white dot in the center is a white dwarf, or a very dense remnant of the original star that formed the nebula. Nebulae are enormous regions of gas, dust, and elements that are either the beginning or the end of a star’s life cycle. There are thousands of nebulae in our galaxy alone, each unique, so let’s create some of our own.

PROCEDURE: 1. Distribute black paper, LEDs, and batteries. Explain that the LED will represent

the star in the center of the nebula.


2. Instruct children to start by piercing or hole-punching a small hole in the black paper to slide the LED through. On the back of the paper, tape the legs of the LED around the battery. Remember to match the negative and positive sides of the battery to the negative (shorter) and positive (longer) legs of the LED. The legs of the LED can be bent slightly to help the battery lie flatter, but be careful that the legs don’t touch each other while attached to the battery as this will cause a short circuit.

3. Invite children to use the remaining materials to represent the gases surrounding the star, using the nebula photos for inspiration. Encourage them to think creatively about how to use the materials: they could cut shapes out of the tissue paper and lay them flat, layer the tissue over areas of chalk or glitter, crumple the tissue over the LED and glue down the edges, etc.

ADAPTATIONS: Challenge children to create a three-dimensional nebula instead of a flat one. One possible method might be:

● Start by taping the battery between the legs of the LED and wrapping tape around the them to keep them attached.

● Tape some string onto the LED (for hanging it up). ● Cut out different nebula-like shapes out of tissue paper then twist them around

the mini LED in a 3D arrangement, taping them in place. By layering the tissue paper, you get the cloud-like effect you can see in nebulae.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? The word nebula is Latin for “mist” or “cloud”, and that’s just what nebulae look like. Nebulae are large regions of dust, hydrogen, helium and other elements that can be found throughout the universe. They are either the result of new stars forming, or very big stars dying. There are many different types of nebulae, but star-forming regions, planetary nebulae, and supernova remnants are some of the most common. The gas and dust in a nebula can eventually collapse to form large clumps of matter that will continue to attract more matter until it is massive enough to form a star; these nebulae are known as star-forming regions. Planetary nebulae are formed at the end of a massive star’s life, when some stars become white dwarfs, or the very dense remnants of large stars. Originally they were named planetary nebula because they were thought to be star-forming regions, but that is now known to be false. Some nebulae are formed as a result of a supernova, or the explosive death of massive stars. The remains of the star’s core forms a white dwarf at the center of the supernova remnants.


The Crab Nebula (Supernova remnant)


The Eagle Nebula (star-forming)


The Ring Nebula (planetary nebula)


The Eskimo Nebula (planetary nebula)



3D CONSTELLATIONS ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on activity; make-and-take

AUDIENCE: 2nd - 8th grades TIME FRAME: 30 minutes

SUMMARY: Children will investigate the spatial relationships

between stars by making 3D models of known

constellations

MATERIALS: ● Printed copies of constellation diagrams (see below, 1 constellation per child)

● Printed copies of star distance charts (see below, 1 chart per 2 - 3 children), OR

Whiteboard/chart paper and markers (to post them for the class)

● Foam board or cardboard (~8” x 6” piece per child)

● Chenille stems (7 - 8 per child)

● Scissors (1 per child)

● Tape or glue

● Ruler (1 per child)

● Pony beads, sized to fit on pipe cleaners (7 - 8 per child)

● Push pin or skewer for poking holes in the foam board (1 per child)

PREPARE AHEAD: ● Print constellations diagrams out and cut them in half to separate the two

constellations.

● Cut foam board to fit the size of one constellation sheet.

● For younger groups, tape or glue the constellation printouts to the foam board

before beginning.

SAFETY NOTES: If children will be poking their own holes with a push pin or skewer, caution them not to

poke through the board into their fingers.

ENGAGE: ● What do you know about constellations?


● Can you name any? What do they look like?

● Do you think all the stars in constellations are the same distance from Earth?

● What do you think the constellations would look like if we were looking at them

from another planet?

Explain that in this activity, we’ll be making 3D models of a constellation (either the Big

Dipper or Orion) to help us understand where the stars are located in relation to each

other.

Explain that these will be scale models: one inch in our model will represent a certain

number of light years in space. Ask children if they know what a light year is. Explain

that a light year is a unit of distance (not time): it’s exactly how far light can travel in one

year. To put this into perspective, the distance between the Earth and the Sun (93 million

miles) takes about 8 ½ minutes for light to travel.

PROCEDURE: 1. Pass out the foam boards and constellation sheets. (Some children will get Orion,

and some will get the Big Dipper). Invite children to tape or glue the diagrams to

the boards. This will serve as the base of the 3D constellation models.

2. Demonstrate how to use the push pin or skewer to poke a hole through the foam

board at each star point. For younger groups, adults may need to assist with this.

3. Pass out chenille stems with the charts of scaled distances for each constellation,

or write them up on a chalkboard or whiteboard.

4. Invite children to cut a chenille stem to represent the distance of each star in their

constellation:

● For the Big Dipper model, the scale distance will be 20 light years = 1 inch. As listed on the chart, they will need to cut 5 pieces that are 4 inches long,

one piece that is 6 inches, and one piece of pipe cleaner that is 5 inches

long.

● For the Orion model, the scale distance will be 250 light years = 1 inch. As

above, children should cut chenille stems to the lengths listed.

5. Ask children to stick the chenille stem pieces into the holes on the foam board,

making sure the lengths are matched to the appropriate stars. Next, have them

attach a bead to the top of each chenille stem to represent the star.

6. When the models are finished, ask children to observe their models from different

angles (looking straight down, looking from the side, looking from across the

table, etc).

7. Discussion:

● What did the constellation look like as you observed it from different angles?


● How did it change?

● What do you think your constellation would look like from another planet in

our solar system?

● What might it look like from a planet in a distant galaxy?

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● Constellations are “pictures” in the sky that ancient skywatchers perceived by

imagining lines or relations between stars that appear grouped. Constellations

usually consist of a simple geometric shape that is imagined to represent a person,

animal, or object. (For example, the winter constellation, Orion, the Hunter,

consists of four bright stars at the corners of a trapezoid and three stars in a row

near the center, which doesn’t really look much like a person!)

● Creating the constellations helped people remember the positions of the stars.

Knowing the positions of the stars helped farmers keep track of the seasons and

travelers keep track of where they were.

● Chance alignments of stars have created the patterns we see in the sky. Stars that

appear to be next to each other may actually be very far from each other, and at

very different distances from Earth. Stars that appear to be of the same brightness

may also lie at vastly different distances from Earth. In that case, the star farther

away is truly much brighter than the one nearer to Earth.

● Astronomers have divided the sky (Northern and Southern hemispheres) into 88

regions, each containing a constellation.While these 88 may be officially

recognized, constellations are arbitrary groupings; different peoples and cultures

over time have grouped the stars in different ways, so in theory there can be any

number of possibilities!

● Constellations give modern-day skywatchers a means of keeping track of the

many bright stars in the sky. By looking for groups of stars in a particular pattern,

professional and amateur astronomers can locate specific stars within the group.

For example, many people can pick out the trapezoidal winter star pattern known

as Orion. Once they have found Orion, they can find Betelgeuse (the star in the

upper left “corner” of the trapezoid formed by the bright stars) and Rigel (the star

in the lower right “corner”of the same trapezoid), two of the brightest stars in this

region of the sky. Constellations are also used to locate other objects, such as

galaxies and nebulae (areas where gas and dust are clustered).


Big Dipper (Ursa Major)

Scale: 20 light years = 1 inch

Star Name Distance [light years] Approx. Scaled

Distance [inches]

Alkaid 101 5

Mizar 78 4

Alioth 81 4

Megrez 81 4

Phecda 84 4

Merak 79 4

Dubhe 124 6

Orion

Scale: 250 light years = 1 inch

Star Name Distance [light years] Approx. Scaled

Distance [inches]

Betelgeuse 640 2.5

Meissa 1050 4

Bellatrix 240 1

Alnitak 800 3

Alnilam 1340 5.5

Mintaka 915 3.5

Saiph 700 3

Rigel 800 3



CONSTELLATION HEROES ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on activity

AUDIENCE: 2nd - 12th grade TIME FRAME: 30 - 45 minutes

SUMMARY: Children will develop new names and stories for existing star patterns, in order to

explore the role that culture and history have played in creating constellations and to

reflect on their own values about heroes.

MATERIALS: ● Copies of Star Maps (see below, 1 per child)

● Writing/drawing utensils

ENGAGE: ● What are some constellations you know of? What do you know about why they

have those names?

● Ancient cultures named the patterns of bright stars in the sky after their

mythological heroes and monsters. Different countries and ethnic groups had

completely different stories to tell about the same groups of stars. For example,

the seven stars we call the Big Dipper were seen as a plow in England, as a

stretcher with a sick patient by the Skidi Pawnee tribe of North America, as seven

Watchmen guarding the pole of the sky in Siberia, and as part of a large bear by

many ancient cultures.

● What if we could start over and rename those star patterns today? Who are the

heroes we would now put in the sky?

PROCEDURE: 1. Divide children into groups of 2 - 3.

2. Tell them that they are astronomers assigned to help with a very important decision.

The world of astronomers has decided that the old star patterns are no longer

relevant and we have to start over again, renaming the constellations. We want to

name at least some of them after the greatest heroes of modern times. The group’s job

is to come up with one hero on whom all the group members can agree.

3. Explain the ground rules: The hero they select must be a real person, not a fictional


character. The person can be either someone alive today, or someone from history. It

can, for example, be a political leader, someone from the arts, a sports figure, a

scientist, a doctor, or a visionary. The group must be able to explain why the person is

their hero.

4. Once the group’s hero has been selected, the next step is to find a way to put them in

the sky. Hand out one of the blank star maps that accompany this activity and ask

them to make a connect-the-dots star pattern that represents their hero. Emphasize

that the pattern doesn’t have to look like the person. It could just be a symbol. (For

example, if they select a baseball player, the constellation could look like a bat and a

ball; or, if they pick Beethoven, the constellation could resemble a piano or a set of

notes.) They should be prepared to share their pattern with the class and explain

their reasoning.

5. Once the groups have reached their decisions, ask them to report briefly to the whole

class. In most classes, it’s rare that two groups pick the same hero, which helps

explain why we don’t redo the constellations. How could we ever get everyone on

Earth to agree?

TAKE IT FURTHER: ● Another possibility is to let children (especially younger ones) invent their own

hero and to create a story to go with him or her. The story can be realistic or can

be fantastic, like some of the ancient sky tales. Then they need to invent a nice star

pattern that fits with the hero.

● Encourage students to do this activity at home with their families (or perhaps at

large family gatherings.) A nice variant is to ask whom in the history of their

family they would nominate to be the family hero and then allow older members

of the family to tell the story (or stories) of those family heroes.

Note: The thing to notice in all these activities is that it’s often hard to agree. Once people

come up with their favorite hero, they don’t want to give it up for someone else’s. The same

was true for the constellation stories of the world’s cultures. It was sometimes hard to give

up the sky stories people grew up with and accept one uniform set of constellations for the

whole world.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● On a completely clear night, if you could see the entire sky (with no trees, hills, or

buildings in the way), you could see about 3000 stars. Even if you only see half as

many, that’s way too many dots of light to memorize. To make sense of this

throng, human civilizations have long tried to identify groups of bright stars that


made interesting connect-the-dots patterns.

● Each civilization placed its own patterns in the sky, telling stories about the

figures they had constructed — stories that reflected their deepest hopes and

fears. Many of the ancient star patterns were named after great heroes of legend

or history, or after monsters that symbolized threats to human society (such as

wild animals, storms, floods, or ice.) These star patterns were called

constellations. Sometimes, there was a distinct smaller pattern within a

constellation figure, such as the Big Dipper, which is part of the ancient

constellation of the Big Bear. These smaller star groupings are now called

asterisms. ● Which bright stars belonged to a constellation and which did not depended on

whose constellations you adopted. The patterns and stories differed from

continent to continent and culture to culture. As long as astronomy was mostly a

local pursuit, astronomers only needed to know the local system of identifying

and naming the constellations. But by the beginning of the 20th century, as

astronomy became more international, some system was needed to allow

astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts around the world to understand each

other’s references to the sky.

● Astronomers from many countries formed the International Astronomical Union

(IAU) to promote cooperation among the world’s astronomers. The IAU divided

the sky into 88 boxes or sectors and called these boxes the constellations. Many of the sectors were named after a prominent ancient star pattern inside

them. So the whole box with Orion the Hunter in it was now the constellation of

Orion. It included not just the bright stars of the hunter’s pattern, but all the stars

in that box. For boxes that did not include a well-known ancient pattern, more

recent suggestions were used, such as the constellations of Telescopium and

Microscopium, in the Southern Hemisphere.

● Note that even some of the most famous star patterns don’t resemble the people

or creatures after whom they are named. But the state of Washington doesn’t look

like George Washington either! Constellations can just symbolize a hero or

monster as long as we agree on the symbol.

● (For more on the constellation names and how to pronounce them, see:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/Constellation_Names.html)

SOURCE: The Universe at Your Fingertips • Astronomical Society of the Pacific (www.astrosociety.org)


http://www.skyandtelescope.com/howto/Constellation_Names.html





GLOW-IN-THE-DARK CONSTELLATIONS ACTIVITY TYPE: Make-and-take

AUDIENCE: 2nd - 6th grades TIME FRAME: 25 - 30 minutes

SUMMARY: Campers will learn about star

fields by making their own

glowing constellation tubes.

MATERIALS: ● Cardboard tube, ~6

inches long (1 per child)

● Square piece of black

paper, ~4” x 4” or

enough to cover the end of the tube (1 per child)

● Pencils (1 per child)

● Rubber bands (1 per child)

● Phosphorescent (glow-in-the-dark)

stickers, ~½” diameter (4 - 5 per

child)*

*alternatively, use a hole punch to

punch circles from larger stickers

PREPARE AHEAD: Cut square pieces of black paper.

Hole-punch phosphorescent stickers, if

needed.

ENGAGE: Have you ever looked up at the sky and seen stars? How much of the sky could you see? What did it look like?

On Earth, we can never see the whole sky at once--we only see parts of it at a time. A

starfield refers to the set of stars visible in a particular field of view. Depending on


where you are and what is around you, your starfield might be bigger or smaller. What

kinds of places do you think you might see a large starfield? In what kinds of places

might the starfield be smaller? What makes you think so?

All civilizations have looked into the night sky and created patterns and shapes out of the

stars they saw grouped in a particular starfield. Most of those patterns, which we call

constellations, told important stories of heroes or monsters.

You’re going to make a small starfield of your own and create a constellation inside it.

PROCEDURE: 1. Distribute materials, and ask children to use the end of the tube to trace a circle

onto the center of the black paper. This will be their starfield.

2. Invite children to think about what kind of pattern or shape they would like to

make their constellation. Remind them that it will need to fit inside their starfield,

and should have no more than 4 - 5 stars.

3. If they like, children may draw the constellation and mark the locations of the

stars with pencil inside the starfield. Encourage them to leave a little space

around the edge of the circle; stars too close to the edge may get folded out of the

field of view.

4. When they have decided on the star locations, invite them to place a sticker at

each location.

5. To assemble the constellation viewers, have children place the cardboard tube

back over the circle they

traced. Instruct them to fold

the edges of the black paper

up around the tube and

secure in place with a

rubber band. (For younger

children this may require a

partner or adult to help.)

Note: the stickers should now

be facing into the tube.

6. Invite children to hold the

open end of the tube up to a

light or the sun for about 10

seconds.

7. Then encourage them to to


look into the open end of the tube with one eye.

● What do you see?

● What happens if you do not hold the end of the tube up to a light or the sun?

● What happens if you hold it up for a long time?

TAKE IT FURTHER: WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? The stickers are phosphorescent (or glow-in-the-dark), which means they absorb energy

from a source like a light bulb or the sun, then very slowly re-emit that energy as light. How do stars shine in the sky?

● To figure out why the stars shine, you have to start with what they are made of.

Stars are balls of burning, glowing plasma. They are powerhouses of energy, with

gigantic cores of fusion reaction that release energy into the universe as heat,

visible light and many other wavelengths of energy.

● Another important factor is the reason we can see stars in the sky: the speed of

light. Light (like other forms of electromagnetic energy) travels at a specific speed

(670 million miles per hour) and will continue to travel at that speed until it hits

something that blocks it. A light year is how far light travels in one Earth year.

The distance is around 6 trillion miles! When we look into the night sky we are

seeing light that has traveled anywhere from a few light years to thousands of

light years from its star to reach our eyes.

● Depending upon the distance, some of the light that is shining could have come

from a star that gave off that light millions of years ago. Even the light from our

Sun left about 8 minutes before we see it on Earth. Each time we see the light of a

star, we are seeing a star’s past. In some cases, a star could have lived and died;

becoming a white dwarf or even exploding and going supernova.


MISSION BRIEFING: FINDING A PLANET




SUMMARY: Children will discuss and brainstorm characteristics of planets and what features might

be needed to support life.

MATERIALS: ● Solar system comparison chart (see below)

● 13 Planets: The Latest View of the Solar System by David Aguilar (or similar book)

● Whiteboard or chart paper and markers

PREPARE AHEAD: Print a copy of solar system chart. Look at the book and decide which planets you will

read about with the group.

ENGAGE: Thanks to our research about stars and starlight, Mission Control is busying analyzing

different stars to choose which one might be close enough for us to travel to and have

planets for us to explore.

Our next task is to find out more about planets--what sizes and shapes they can be, what

different features they might have, and how we can investigate them from Earth--to

decide which one would be the best target for our mission.

PROCEDURE: 1. Ask the group what they know about planets:

● What is a planet? What are planets made of?

● What planets do you know about? What are they like?

● What is the same or different about those planets?

2. Make a list on the board or chart paper of planet types or characteristics the

group thinks of.


3. Read selected pages from the book that describe different planets in our solar

system. (Choose a selection that highlights different types of planets, such as

Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Neptune).

● What characteristics do these planets have?

● Is there anything we should add to our list of what planets can be like?

4. Explain that for our mission, we will probably want to find a planet that can

support life. Ask the group to think about what characteristics a planet needs to

support life and make a second list on the board or chart paper.

5. What things do we (and other animals) need to stay alive?

6. What would a planet need to have or look like to provide those things?

7. Keep these lists in a visible location throughout the day. Use this activity to frame

and connect the rest of the day’s activities; for example:

● What kind of information about planets did we explore in this activity?

● Which of the characteristics from our list will you add to your planet? Why

are you choosing them?

● What message would you like to send to Mission Control based on what we

just discovered?

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● By the simplest definition, a planet is a celestial object that orbits a star and

has enough mass for gravity to make it approximately sphere-shaped. However, scientists have disagreed over time on exactly how to define a planet,

especially in our own solar system. (This is where the debate over Pluto’s

planethood comes from.) In 2006 many astronomers agreed on a new definition of

a planet, for our solar system only, as an object that:

○ Orbits the sun

○ Has enough mass to be round or nearly round

○ Is not a satellite (moon) of another object

○ Has removed debris and small objects from the area around its orbit

They created a new category, dwarf planet, for objects that meet all but the last

criterion. This includes Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Makemake, and Haumea.

● Some planets are little more than large masses of rock; others have a solid core

surrounded by a gaseous atmosphere; still others have no solid core at all but are

giant balls of gases.

● Planets orbiting very close to their stars may be very hot, while planets very far

away receive little energy from their stars and are extremely cold. Planets without


an atmosphere to trap and regulate heat may have wild temperature swings from

hot to cold between day and night.

● While life may exist in the universe in forms we haven’t even imagined, living

things as we know them need a few basic things: energy (from the star), liquid

water, and a temperature range that doesn’t vary too drastically. To support this

kind of life, a planet probably needs to meet these criteria:

○ Be in the “goldilocks zone”-- not too close to the star and not too far away,

but “just right” for temperatures where water is liquid most of the time.

The distance depends on how big the star is and how much energy it gives

off.

○ Have an atmosphere to trap heat and regulate temperature, avoiding wild

swings between day and night. And at least on Earth, the gases in the

atmosphere are also needed for respiration.

○ Have an orbit that is close to circular, so the distance from the star

doesn’t change much during the orbit. A planet with a very elliptical orbit

would have drastic “seasons” since one end of the orbit is so much farther

from the star than the other.

SOURCE: Background information: https://www.space.com/25986-planet-definition.html ;

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/whatisaplanet ; http://ircamera.as.arizona.edu/NatSci102/NatSci102/lectures/habzone.htm


https://www.space.com/25986-planet-definition.html

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/whatisaplanet

http://ircamera.as.arizona.edu/NatSci102/NatSci102/lectures/habzone.htm


DESIGN YOUR OWN PLANET ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on activity

AUDIENCE: K - 6th grade TIME FRAME: 30 minutes

SUMMARY: Children will explore the different characteristics that make up a planet and then imagine and create their own new planet.

MATERIALS: ● Design Your Planet worksheet, see below (1 per child) ● (Optional) Solar system

comparison chart, see below ● Crayons or markers ● Playdough, multiple colors

(baseball-size amount per child) ● Pipe cleaners ● Cardboard scraps ● Toothpicks ● Pony beads ● Stickers

PREPARE AHEAD: Print copies of the Design Your Planet worksheet and optionally, the solar system comparison chart.

ENGAGE: Start by asking the campers what they already know about planets. Do they know how many planets there are in our solar system? Do they think there are other planets outside of our solar system? If so, how many? What might those planets look like? How big are they? How are they similar to or different from Earth? What do they know about the planets in our solar system? Use the comparison chart to talk about how our seven planetary neighbors are similar to or different from Earth.

PROCEDURE:


1. Hand out the Design Your Planet worksheets and allow children time to think and discuss their answers to the questions with each other. Then, based on those answers, they can draw a sketch of their new planet.

2. Allow children to choose an assortment of playdough, pipe cleaners, cardboard, toothpicks, pony beads, and stickers to create a 3D model of their planet based on their sketches.

3. Gather the group and reflect on their planet designs: ● Are your planets similar to any of those in our solar system? ● Why did you choose the characteristics you did? ● Are you hoping that your planet could sustain life? Have some extreme

weather conditions? Be a good choice for a human outpost? Something else?

TAKE IT FURTHER: Invite children to keep their playdough planets out and ready to use for the Mystery Planet Explorer activity.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? According to our current understanding of astronomy, stars and planets form from collapsing clouds of dust and gas within a nebula. As gravity pulls the material closer and closer together, the center of the cloud gets more and more compressed which makes it get hotter. This dense, hot core becomes the start of a new star. The cloud begins to spin and flatten out, like pizza dough spinning in the air. As the disc spins, the material within it begins to stick together. As these small clumps orbit within the disc, they sweep up surrounding material, growing bigger and bigger. The gravity of these chunks pulls in more dust and other clumps. The bigger they become, the more material they attract, and soon, the beginnings of planets — called "planetesimals" — are taking shape.

In the inner part of the disc, most of the material at this point is rocky, as much of the original gas has likely been gobbled up and cleared out by the developing star. This leads to the formation of smaller, rocky planetesimals close to the star. In the outer part of the disk, though, more gas remains, as well as ices that haven't yet been vaporized by the growing star. This additional material allows planetesimals farther from the star to gather more material and evolve into giants of ice and gas. After millions of years, countless bumps and smashes between these planetesimals have built up much larger — and many fewer — objects that now dominate their regions, and a planetary system is reaching maturity.

SOURCE: Background information: http://hubblesite.org/hubble_discoveries/discovering_planets_beyond/how-do-planets-form https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/solar-system/


http://hubblesite.org/hubble_discoveries/discovering_planets_beyond/how-do-planets-form

https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/menu/solar-system/

http://www.voyagesthroughtime.org/planetary/sample/lesson5/pdf/goldilocks.pdf


http://www.voyagesthroughtime.org/planetary/sample/lesson5/pdf/goldilocks.pdf

Design Your Own Planet What is your planet’s name?

Does your planet have rings?

Is your planet rocky or gaseous?

Does your planet have moons? How many?

Is your planet bigger or smaller than Earth?

How long is one day on your planet?

Is your planet hotter or colder than Earth?

How long is one year on your planet?

Does your planet have liquid water, ice, both, or neither?

Is there anything else remarkable about your planet?

Sketch your planet here:



MYSTERY PLANET EXPLORERS ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on exploration



SUMMARY: This activity explores remote sensing

techniques and different ways we are

able to learn about and explore planets. Children will assume the roles of scientists, and

observe a mystery planet first from the Earth’s surface, then from above the Earth’s

atmosphere, and finally in a flyby mission.

MATERIALS: ● Cardboard paper-towel tubes (1 per 2

children)

● Rubber bands (1 per 2 children)

● Bubble wrap (~4” square per 2

children)

● Play dough planets from Design a

Planet activity

● Paper towels (1 per child)

● Paper and pencils for note taking

PREPARE AHEAD: ● Children should have completed the

Design a Planet activity first.

● Wrap a layer of bubble wrap around one

end of each of the paper towel tubes,

fastening the bubble wrap in place with a

rubber band.

ENGAGE:


How do astronomers learn more about cosmic objects that are really far away? What

kinds of tools do they use? Where are most astronomical telescopes located (rural or

urban areas)? Why? Are there telescopes that are not on Earth? Why do you think that

is?

Explain that we are going to be exploring a mystery planet. To do so, we’ll take three

types of observations: observations from Earth, from the Earth’s atmosphere, and finally

in a flyby mission (similar to the New Horizons mission).

PROCEDURE: 1. Distribute paper towels and ask each child to cover their playdough planet with

the paper towel to hide it from view.

2. Divide the group into pairs. Ask one member from each pair to take their (hidden)

planets and line up along one side of the room. Give the other member of the pair

a cardboard tube “telescope”, paper, and pencil, and ask them to stand at the

other end of the room, opposite their partner.

Observing from Earth

3. Explain that the person with the “telescope” will start by making observations of

their partner’s “mystery planet,” and then they will switch roles.

4. Explain their first observations of this mystery planet will be taken using a

telescope from Earth. The cardboard tube represents the telescope; the bubble

wrap represents the Earth’s atmosphere. Give them a minute to take observations,

and record their notes.

5. Ask the partners to switch roles. Have the planet-holder put down and cover up

their planet. Deliver the telescopes to the other side of the room while the second

partner uncovers their planet.

6. After the second partners have made their observations, cover all the planets

again and discuss their findings.

● What were you able to learn about this mystery planet from Earth?

● What were some of the difficulties of observing from Earth?

Observing from the Hubble Telescope

7. Invite the children with the telescopes to take two steps forward and remove the

bubble wrap from the cardboard tube. Explain that they are now simulating

observations from the Hubble Space Telescope, which orbits our planet 347 miles

above the Earth’s surface--well outside our planet’s atmosphere. Because the

Hubble Space Telescope is in such high demand for scientists, they can now

observe their mystery planet for only 10 seconds.


8. Ask the planet-holders to uncover and hold up their planets while those with the

telescopes observe. After 10 seconds, ask the planet-holders to cover their planets

again while the observers record their observations.

9. Switch roles and repeat.

10. Cover all the planets again and discuss the group’s experiences:

● Did you observe anything new about your planet? What was it?

● How did this observation compare to the first one? What was easier, and

what was challenging?

Observing from a flyby mission

11. Have the children with telescopes step a little bit closer to their partners, so that

they are only a few feet away. This time, they are going to be making observations

during a flyby mission--a space probe sent to fly past the planet. Because it is a

flyby mission, they will have only have 3 seconds to observe at this distance.

12. Repeat the process as before, with the planet-holders uncovering their planets for

only 3 seconds each time.

13. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of flyby missions. Campers might ask

why New Horizons isn’t orbiting or landing on Pluto. Feel free to explain that it

will be going too fast when passing by Pluto, and will not have enough fuel to

change the path and enter into orbit. Therefore, scientists have to be very creative

with how they go about studying anything as far away as Pluto.

14. Invite partners to give each other their mystery planets to hold in their hands.

● Were there any features you weren’t able to take note of during your

observations?

● How is this similar to astronomers studying the planets in our solar system?

● What kinds of things might be easier to discover if we could actually visit the

planets?

● Can you think of any ways we could get that information without actually

visiting?

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● The National Academy of Sciences has ranked the exploration of the Kuiper Belt –

including Pluto – of the highest priority for solar system exploration. So NASA

launched the New Horizons mission in 2006 which did a flyby of Pluto and its

moon, Charon, during the week of July 14, 2015.

● Generally, New Horizons seeks to understand where Pluto and its moons “fit in”

with the other objects in the solar system, such as the inner rocky planets (Earth,


Mars, Venus and Mercury) and the outer gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and

Neptune).

● Pluto and its largest moon, Charon, belong to a third category known as "ice

dwarfs." They have solid surfaces but, unlike the terrestrial planets, a significant

portion of their mass is icy material. Using Hubble Space Telescope images, New

Horizons team members have discovered four previously unknown moons of

Pluto: Nix, Hydra, Styx, and Kerberos.

● A close-up look at these worlds from a spacecraft promises to tell an incredible

story about the origins and outskirts of our solar system. New Horizons also will

explore – for the first time – how ice dwarf planets like Pluto and Kuiper Belt

bodies have evolved over time.

SOURCES: Background information:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/overview/index.html

For more information:

http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/nh-fact-sheet-2015_1.pdf

http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/NHMissionFS082114HiPrint.pdf


http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/overview/index.html

http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/nh-fact-sheet-2015_1.pdf

http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/NHMissionFS082114HiPrint.pdf

CREATING CRATERS ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on exploration

AUDIENCE: PreK - 5th grade TIME FRAME: 15 - 30 minutes

SUMMARY: Children will make craters by dropping balls into a tub of

flour and begin constructing explanations for how craters of different sizes are made.

MATERIALS: ● Printed copy of crater images (below)

● Wide bins or bowls, at least shoebox-sized, to contain flour (1 per 2 - 3 children)

● Flour* (enough to fill each bin ~3” deep)

● Cocoa powder* (1 8-oz. container per class)

● Shaker jar for cocoa

● Balls of varying size and density--ping-pong, golf, tennis, marbles, etc. (1 of each

type per 2 - 3 children)

● Bins to hold the balls (1 per 2 - 3 children)

*Fine light- and dark-colored sand can be used in place of the flour and cocoa if necessary

to avoid using food products, but it does not form craters or hold their shape as well as

flour.

PREPARE AHEAD: ● Spread the flour about three inches deep in the bins.

● Sprinkle a very thin layer of cocoa on the surface of the flour to provide contrast

between the craters and surface. This works best if the cocoa is in a large shaker

jar. (Keep it to a thin layer: if you use too much cocoa, the scent can become

overwhelming/distracting)

● Hang the crater images near your set-up area at a height such that the children

can look at them closely.

SAFETY NOTES: Allergy Alert: Wheat/gluten. Check for children with wheat allergies and take

appropriate precautions, or substitute a wheat-free alternative to the flour.


ENGAGE: Mission Control has asked us to find out information about the Moon--and now they

want to know more about some shapes they see on the Moon. Here are some pictures

(show crater photos). ● What do you see in these pictures? What shapes do you see?

● What do you think those could be? What do you think could have made them?

Those holes in the moon are called craters. Let’s say it together: CRA-TERS! We’re going

to do an experiment to find out more about how craters are made.

PROCEDURE: 1. Divide the group around the bins of

flour. If possible, station an adult at each

bin, or at every two bins.

2. Explain that in this experiment, the bin

is the Moon’s surface. Ask them to make

observations by looking or gently

touching. What does it look (or feel) like?

3. Distribute one ball to each group. Invite

children to pass it around and describe

its properties--large, squishy, hard, light,

heavy, etc.

4. Ask children to make a prediction: What will happen if they drop the ball into the

bin?

5. Give specific instructions for dropping the ball: invite one child in each group to

hold it straight out in front of them, over one side of the bin, and let go.

6. Ask children to carefully take the ball out of the bin (or have the adults do it) and

look at the craters.

● What do the craters look like?

● Which of the crater pictures looks most like the crater they made?

7. Distribute a second type of ball and ask children to predict what kind of crater it

will make.

● Will this crater be the same as the first one or different?

● Do you think this one will make a big or little crater? What makes you think

that?


● Can you show me with your hands how big the crater will be?

8. Invite a different child in each group to drop the second ball on the opposite side

from the first crater. Encourage them to observe and compare the craters.

● What does this crater look like?

● How is it different from the first one? How is it the same?

● Which of the crater pictures looks most like this crater?

9. Distribute the remaining balls and invite children to see what different kinds of

craters they can make. Encourage them to try different things, and observe and

compare their results:

● Which was the biggest/widest? Which was the deepest?

● Why do you think that little one went so deep?

● Would you like to try again from higher up?

● What kind of crater will it make this time?

10. If necessary, re-set the bins by smoothing over the flour and sprinkling a new

layer of cocoa over the top.

11. Challenge children to explore further with more complex questions:

● How can you make different sized craters with the same ball?

● Or with two balls of the same size?

● Can you find two balls that might make the same size crater?

12. Gather the group together to reflect on their discoveries. Use the crater pictures to

help children connect their learning back to the Moon.

● What different kinds of craters did you make?

● What things made big craters? What things made smaller ones?

● Why do you think this one crater on the Moon is bigger than another?

● What message should we send to Mission Control about craters and how

they are made?

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● The Moon’s surface has two types of terrain: the highlands, which are old and

covered in craters; and the maria, which are younger and smoother. The maria

are giant craters that were flooded by lava, and are mostly found on the side of

the Moon facing the Earth. Most of the Moon’s surface is covered by regolith, fine

dust and rocks created by impacts.

● Most of the craters on the Moon were formed in the early days of the Solar

System, when there were a lot more asteroids and impacts happened frequently.

When an asteroid hit the Moon, it would be travelling so quickly that it would

explode on impact, leaving behind a crater, often surrounded by rays of

material ejected from below, as you can see in the image of the crater Tycho. (In


the flour model, you might have seen rays of white flour against the dark cocoa on

the surface.

● These asteroids were also hitting the Earth and forming craters here as well, but

the wind, rain, volcanoes, and earthquakes on Earth erased many of the

craters over time. Some of the asteroids hit the oceans, where no craters could be

formed, and the atmosphere of the Earth also slowed down many of the smaller

asteroids and meteors enough that they would explode or vaporize before hitting

land.

● The Moon has no water, atmosphere, or weather, so the craters on the lunar

surface have stayed in place for millions of years.

SOURCE: Adapted from My Sky Tonight: https://www.astrosociety.org/education/my-sky-tonight/


https://www.astrosociety.org/education/my-sky-tonight/


CHROMATOGRAPHY PLANET ACTIVITY TYPE: Art activity


TIME FRAME: 20 minutes

SUMMARY: Children will make a creative representation of an

imaginary planet using marker chromatography.

MATERIALS: ● Black construction paper (1 - 2 per child)

● Coffee filters (1 - 2 per child)

● Water soluble markers

● Plastic lunch tray (1 per child)

● Pipettes or eye droppers (1 per child)

● Cups of water (1 per 3 - 4 children)

● Glue

● (Optional): Glitter or metallic markers

PREPARE AHEAD: Children should have completed the Design Your

Own Planet and Mystery Planet Explorer activities.

ENGAGE: Ask children to think a little bit more about the

planets they designed earlier. What kind of surface features might they see? Will there

be large oceans, small lakes, many rivers, tall mountains, vast deserts, lush plant life, or

maybe huge dust storms or clouds of swirling gases in different colors? How might those

features look if you were seeing it through a telescope on Earth?

PROCEDURE: 1. Give each child a coffee filter. Invite them to create a representation of their

planet by coloring on the filter with the different markers.


2. To create the swirling effect seen on many planets, have children put the coffee

filter on a plastic tray and use a pipette to drop 20 - 30 drops of water on the

design. (For the best results, drop a bit more water on the darkest colors and let

them bleed into the lighter colors.)

3. Leave the filter planets out to dry and observe them periodically. What is

happening to the designs? How are the different colors changing?

4. After the coffee filters are dry, glue them onto the black paper and decorate with

glitter or metallic markers if desired.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? Chromatography (cro-ma-TOG-ra-fee) is the process of separating the different

chemicals in a mixture so that they may be identified individually. There are many ways

in which chromatography is done; this particular method relies on the fact that paper

absorbs different substances differently. The different pigments in the ink travel up

through the paper at different speeds and thus separate, allowing them to be seen

individually.

A “single color” ink pen or marker can be made up of a variety of other (surprising)

colors. This demonstrates a physical change because no new material is made; we are

simply separating the colors from one another. Like all physical changes, this one is (in

theory) reversible; the pigments could be collected and recombined to make the black

ink—but in this case it would be a fairly complicated process!


OUTRAGEOUS ORBITS ACTIVITY TYPE: Art activity/movement activity



SUMMARY: Children will explore the concepts of

rotation and revolution and make a paper

model to take home.

MATERIALS: ● Copies of Outrageous Orbits

Template (1 per child)

● Black cardstock, cut into strips:

○ 4” x 1” (1 per child)

○ 11” x 1” (1 per child)

● Brads/paper fasteners (3 per child)


● Crayons or markers

● Open area large enough for the group to move easily

PREPARE AHEAD: Cut the cardstock into strips as above.

ENGAGE: ● What do you know about how planets move in space?

● What different ways does the Earth move? What about the Moon?

● What effects do these movements have for us on Earth?

● How do you think it would be the same or different on other planets?

PROCEDURE: Paper Orbit Models

1. Distribute the templates, scissors, and coloring materials. Invite children to color

and cut out the shapes. They may color them to resemble the Earth, Moon, and

Sun, or use them to create a planetary system of their own design.


2. Help children assemble the orbit model (see photo above):

● Use a brad to attach one end of the long cardstock strip behind the center

of the star.

● Use another brad to attach the opposite end of the long strip and one end of

the short strip behind the center of the planet.

● Use a third brad to attach the opposite end of the short strip behind the

center of the moon.

Movement Activity

3. Ask the group to take their completed models and stand in a circle with you at the

center.

4. Invite the group to demonstrate the rotation and revolution of the planet, both

with the paper model and with their bodies:

● The planet’s rotation is what causes day and night. What does that look like

on the model?

● If I were the star and you were the planets, what would rotation look like?

(spinning in a circle in place)

● Revolution is the planet’s orbit around the star. What does that look like on

the model?

● If I were the star, how would you revolve around me? (walk in a circle

around the center person)

● Planets revolve and rotate at the same time. What does that look like?

(spinning in a circle while walking around the center person)

5. Ask half of the children to become moons and each stand by one of the “planet”

children. Invite the group to demonstrate the rotation and revolution of the moon

with the paper models and their bodies:

● The moon’s rotation faces it towards or away from its planet. What does that

look like on the model? Now, “moon” people, show us your rotations!

● The moon’s revolution is the orbit around its planet. What does that look

like? “Moons,” show us your revolutions!

● Moons also revolve and rotate at the same time. Show us what that looks

like!

6. Challenge the group to put all the movements together! Begin with only the

revolutions--moons walk around planets while planets walk around you. Once

they have mastered this, invite them to add the spinning/rotation. (This will

usually end with a lot of bumping, falling over, and laughing!)

TAKE IT FURTHER:


● Play “Simon Says” using revolving, rotating, and other related actions.

● Act out different types of solar systems -- multiple planets at different distances

from the star, planets with multiple moons, etc.

● Explore the speed of rotation and revolution by acting out different combinations

as a group. What if rotation is fast but revolution is very slow? What does that

look like? What does it mean for the people on the planet? (more days in a year).

What if rotation is very slow? What does that mean? (few days in a year and they

are longer)

● Divide the group into pairs and have them try to act out one Earth month: the

Earth person rotates 28 times in the same time the Moon person revolves around

them once.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● An orbit is a circular (or sometimes oval-shaped) path that an object makes

around something else.

● The Earth orbits around the Sun. One orbit, or revolution, is one Earth year.

● The Moon orbits around the Earth. One orbit around the Earth takes 28 days

(about one month).

● Many other objects in space have orbits. Other planets orbit the sun (or other

stars) and other moons orbit other planets. The Space Station and artificial

satellites orbit the Earth. Spacecraft and probes orbit the objects they travel to.

Some stars even orbit each other.

● The Earth, Moon, and other objects also rotate around their center point. The

rotation of the Earth is what gives us day and night. It is day when your side of the

Earth faces the sun and night when it faces away.

● The revolution of the Earth around the Sun contributes to Earth’s seasons--but

only because the Earth’s axis is tilted, so different parts of the Earth tilt towards

or away from the sun at different points during its orbit. If a planet’s axis were

straight up-and-down relative to its star, revolving around the star would not

cause any change in seasons--each part of the planet stays at the same distance

from the sun throughout the orbit.


Color the Earth, Moon and Sun. Cut out the Sun, Earth and Moon. Use strips of paper and brads to make the Earth orbit the Sun and the Moon orbit the Earth.

sun earth

moon

Color the Earth, Moon and Sun. Cut out the Sun, Earth and Moon. Use strips of paper and brads to make the Earth orbit the Sun and the Moon orbit the Earth.

sun earth

moon

TOILET PAPER SOLAR SYSTEM ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on activity

AUDIENCE: 2nd - 8th

grades TIME FRAME: 20 minutes

SUMMARY: Children will make a scale model to visualize the distances between planets in our solar

system.

MATERIALS: ● Long hallway or large open space (42

- 84 feet long)

● Toilet paper (1 roll per 10 children)

● Marker or small stickers (¼ - ½”

diameter, 10 per 10 children)

● Copies of Distance Chart (see below,

½-sheet per 10 children)

ENGAGE: What is the farthest distance you have ever

been from home? How long did it take you

to get there? How long do you think it would

take to drive 100 miles? How about 1000

miles? The distances we can visualize and

experience here on Earth are far smaller

than those out in space. Even here in our

planetary neighborhood, the other planets

in our solar system are so far away they are hard to comprehend. Let’s use some

ordinary toilet paper to get an idea of those distances.

PROCEDURE: 1. Give each group of 10 children one roll of toilet paper, a distance chart, and a

marker or 10 small stickers to mark the distances.


2. Depending on the amount of available space, instruct groups to use either the

“short version” numbers or the “long version” numbers from the distance chart

3. Have one child from each group hold the end of the roll of toilet paper and be

“the Sun.”

4. Ask the next child to count the number of toilet paper squares to get to Mercury.

and mark that spot with a marker or sticker. If desired, they may stand by the

sticker while the rest of the group continues unrolling.

5. Encourage groups to continue counting toilet paper squares until they get to the

next planet and mark that spot. (Remind them that each distance is measured

from the Sun, not from the previous planet). If you have enough children, have

them stand next to their planet. Keep going until you get to Pluto.

6. Ask the children to look along the distance of the toilet paper to see how really

far away the outer planets (Jupiter-Pluto) are from each other and from the inner

planets (Mercury-Mars). Is there anything they see that is surprising to them?

7. Discuss this model as a representation of the Solar System:

● How is this model like the actual Solar System?

● What aspects of the Solar System does it illustrate or help us understand?

● How is this model not like the Solar System? What parts might be inaccurate

or left out?

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● This activity is a model of the distances of the planets in our solar system. Models

are important tools for scientists to explain ideas, objects, or processes that we

can’t directly observe with our eyes. Models often begin as simplified versions and

are not usually completely accurate. As scientists gather more and more data they

put that back into their models to make them more and more accurate.

● This model effectively illustrates the relative distances between objects in the

Solar System. However, it shows planets making a straight line going out from the

Sun, which isn’t the case, since they are always in different places in their orbits

around the sun. Also, their orbits are ellipses rather than perfect circles, so these

distances are just average distances from the Sun.

● Note: Pluto is classified as a dwarf planet rather than a planet. It is located at the

beginning of the Kuiper Belt, an area beyond Neptune containing large numbers

of cosmic objects such as comets, asteroids, and other dwarf planets such as Eris,

Makemake, and Haumea.

SOURCE: Project ASTRO https://astrosociety.org/edu/family/materials/toiletpaper.pdf


https://astrosociety.org/edu/family/materials/toiletpaper.pdf

Planet Distance from Sun

[km]

Distance in squares of

toilet paper

[short version]

Distance in squares

of toilet paper

[long version]

Mercury 57,910,000 1.0 2.0

Venus 108,200,000 1.8 3.7

Earth 149,600,000 2.5 5.1

Mars 227,940,000 3.8 7.7

Jupiter 778,330,000 13.2 26.4

Saturn 1,429,400,000 24.2 48.4

Uranus 2,870,990,000 48.6 97.3

Neptune 4,504,000,000 76.3 152.5

Pluto 5,913,520,000 100.0 200.0

Planet Distance from Sun

[km]

Distance in squares of

toilet paper

[short version]

Distance in squares

of toilet paper

[long version]

Mercury 57,910,000 1.0 2.0

Venus 108,200,000 1.8 3.7

Earth 149,600,000 2.5 5.1

Mars 227,940,000 3.8 7.7

Jupiter 778,330,000 13.2 26.4

Saturn 1,429,400,000 24.2 48.4

Uranus 2,870,990,000 48.6 97.3

Neptune 4,504,000,000 76.3 152.5

Pluto 5,913,520,000 100.0 200.0


MISSION BRIEFING: GETTING INTO SPACE




SUMMARY: Children will explore the components necessary for a spacecraft and discuss the

challenges and limitations of launching humans into space.

MATERIALS: ● Book: Floating Home by David Getz


ENGAGE: Now that we have researched stars and planets, Mission Control is narrowing in on a

target for our exploration mission. The next big question is: how are we going to get

there?

Our job today is to research what kind of machine we’ll need to get ourselves into space,

how it will work, and what sorts of problems we might have to solve along the way.

PROCEDURE: 1. Ask the group to think about vehicles that could take people to space:

● What vehicles do you know that could take a person to space?

● What kinds of challenges or problems could there be in getting people to

space?

● What different things do those spacecraft need to do to get the person into

space? To keep them safe?

● What parts does a spacecraft need to have to help with each of those things?

2. Make lists on the board or chart paper of things a spacecraft needs to do and

parts it needs to have.

3. Introduce the book Floating Home. Ask the group to pay special attention to the

spacecraft in the book and look for tasks it does and parts it has.

4. Read the book, pausing occasionally to ask for the group’s observations about the

spacecraft or to point out key ideas in the text or pictures.


5. Invite the group to reflect on what they’ve learned from the reading:

● What kinds of tasks did the space shuttle in the book perform?

● What components did it have?

● Is there anything we should add to our lists?

6. Keep the lists in a visible location throughout the day. Use this activity to frame


● What does this activity tell us about what a spacecraft does or the parts it

needs? Is there anything new we need to add to our lists?

● Which of the parts from our list will you add to your spacecraft design? Why

did you choose them?


just discovered?

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● Spacecraft, like other machines, are systems of parts that work together to

perform a task. Each part has a specific function that is part of the larger job of

the machine. The task of carrying humans safely into space involves a lot of

separate smaller tasks, for example:

○ Overcoming Earth’s gravity to get into space

○ Controlling the direction and speed of movement

○ Communicating with Earth

○ Keeping the passengers alive and safe

○ Providing necessities for life and comfort--food, sleep, hygiene,

entertainment

● A spacecraft needs to have systems of parts that accomplish each of these tasks,

such as:

○ An engine and fuel to provide thrust and motion

○ Wings or fins and a navigation system to help control the flight

○ Air and water recycling systems

○ Sensors to detect malfunctions or other dangers

○ A communication system for talking to people on Earth

○ Places for the crew to sit, eat, and sleep


STRAW ROCKETS ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on

exploration

AUDIENCE: PreK - 5th grade


SUMMARY: Children will explore projectile motion using a drinking straw rocket.

MATERIALS: ● Flexible drinking straws, standard size (1 per child)*

● Straight, jumbo size (milkshake) straws (1 per child)*

*The standard straws should be able to slide inside the jumbo straws easily, but

without too much extra space

● Adhesive labels, 1” x 2.5” (at least 3 per child plus extra for experimentation)

● Modeling clay or poster putty (~0.25” diameter ball per child)


● Roll of masking tape

● Open area for launching rockets, preferably 15 - 20 feet long

● (Optional) Paper, pencils, and crayons/markers

PREPARE AHEAD: ● Use masking tape to mark out a “launch line” for children to stand behind when

launching rockets.

● Prepare a basic rocket for demonstration by capping one end of a jumbo straw

with a piece of clay or putty.

● Prepare a rocket with fins and nose cone by cutting two of the labels in half (the

short way) to make four 1” x 1.25” pieces. Wrap one around the end of the straw

to seal it and create a nose cone. Attach both ends of each of the other three pieces

to the opposite end of the straw, folding and creasing each piece to create a fin

(see diagram above).

SAFETY NOTES: Remind children to use caution when launching the rockets to avoid hitting each other.


ENGAGE: Mission Control has asked us to investigate how rockets work, to plan for getting us into

space. To find or design the best rocket, we’ll need to know more about how a rocket

moves through the air.

● How does a rocket get off the ground?

● What happens once it is in the air?

● What parts of the rocket do you think might affect how it flies?

● Are there any other things that might affect how the rocket moves or where it goes?

PROCEDURE: Investigating launch variables (10 - 15 min):

1. Introduce the clay-topped straw as your model rocket:

● How could I launch this rocket into the air?

● What different things could give it the “push” it needs to launch?

2. Demonstrate launching the rocket using the smaller straw:

● Bend the neck of the straw to a right angle

● Slide the long end of the straw into the larger “rocket” straw

● Stand at the “launch line” marked on the floor

● Blow through the short end of the straw to launch

3. Encourage the group to make observations about your launch:

● What gave the “push” to launch the rocket?

● Where did it go? How high? How far down the launch zone?

● What shape was its path?

4. Ask the group to brainstorm what things about the launch you could change, for

example the bend of the straw, or how hard you blow. Invite them to predict how

each one might affect the launch.

5. Distribute straws and clay. Invite children to make their model rockets and test the

different variables and their predictions at the launch zone. Ask questions and

provide challenges to focus their explorations:

● What happens if you blow harder or less hard?

● What happens if you make the launcher straw completely straight? What if it is bent

just a little bit?

● What shape was the rocket’s path that time?

● What’s the best way to launch the rocket the highest?

● What’s the best way to launch it the farthest?


Investigating rocket design (for older groups; 15 - 20 min):

6. Ask the group to compare the straw rocket to the shape and design of actual rockets:

● How is it similar to rockets you have seen?

● How is it different?

● What parts does a real rocket have that might affect how it flies?

● How could we add those to this design?

7. Distribute the labels and scissors. Show your example rocket to provide an idea of

how to use the labels, but encourage children to try their own ideas. Ask questions to

help them think about the variables involved:

● Should the fins be tall or short? Wide or narrow? What makes you think so?

● What would happen if you put the fins in the middle instead of at the end?

● Will you leave the clay on the end or take it out? How will that change the rocket?

● What do you think would happen if you added more clay? Or put the clay

somewhere else on the rocket?

8. Encourage children to test their rockets in the launch zone, and revise or redesign as

necessary.

Discussion

9. Bring the group together to discuss their discoveries.

● What did you find out about how the launch angle changes a rocket’s flight?

● What did you find out about how fins or a nose cone affect a rocket’s flight?

● What else should we tell Mission Control about the best way to design a rocket for

our mission?

TAKE IT FURTHER: Provide paper, scissors, and masking tape and invite children to come up with their own

designs for fin shape, nose cone, etc. Challenge them to optimize their design for a

particular feature, such as traveling the highest or the farthest. Encourage them to test

their designs, learn from the things that don’t work, and continue improving on their

ideas.

ADAPTATIONS: Youngest groups (PreK - K) may still be developing the fine motor skills needed for

adding the fins and nose cone. You might pre-assemble the rockets with the clay tops and

adhesive label fins and use the completed ones for the launch variables exploration; or,

make some with fins and some without, and invite children to compare how they

behave.


WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● Rocket engines work based on the principle of Newton’s Third Law of Motion: For

every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. In a rocket engine, heat from

ignition of the rocket fuel causes gases inside to expand rapidly and be forced out of

the tail of the rocket, creating a downward force; the opposite reaction is the upward

thrust which pushes the rocket into the air. In this activity, you use moving air

(blown from your mouth) to provide the thrust.

● When a rocket flies through an atmosphere, it experiences drag, caused by air

resistance and turbulence, which slows it down. Features like the cone-shaped nose

help to reduce air resistance, allowing the rocket to fly faster or farther. This factor is

primarily important for rockets while they are flying in the Earth’s atmosphere,

because once a rocket leaves the atmosphere, there is no longer any air resistance.

● Fins help stabilize the rocket’s flight and keep it moving in the same direction.

Unstable rockets can tumble or change course and end up in completely the wrong

place. This instability is also generally due to air resistance and turbulence, so fins

are also more important for rockets that fly through the air, and less important once

they are in space.

● Mass is also important in a rocket; the heavier the rocket, the more thrust is required

to keep it moving. Also, the way the mass is distributed along the rocket affects the

stability of its flight.

● The rockets in this activity are simple projectiles. They are launched with an initial

force, but once they leave the launcher, the only forces acting on them are gravity

and drag (air resistance). The path of a projectile is a parabola (like an upside-down

U) that depends on the angle at which it is launched. Modern rockets have a

continuing thrust from their engines, as well as more complicated control systems,

including movable fins and exhaust nozzles that allow the controllers to correct the

rocket’s course while it is flying--however, they take advantage of projectile motion to

plan the rocket’s path so that the minimum amount of fuel and correction is needed!

SOURCE: Activity adapted from 4HCCS Aerospace Project Series: Stage 2, Lift–Off (BU-6843).

Background information:

https://spaceflightsystems.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/TRCRocket/practical_rocketry.html


https://spaceflightsystems.grc.nasa.gov/education/rocket/TRCRocket/practical_rocketry.html

ALKA-ROCKET EXPLORATION ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on activity



SUMMARY: Children will explore Newton’s Third Law of Motion with an antacid-powered rocket

launch.

MATERIALS: ● Fuji-style film canisters with airtight lids (1 per

child)

● Squeeze bottles for water, 24 - 36 oz (1 per 3 - 4

children)

● Alka-Seltzer (antacid) tablets (at least 2 tablets

per child)

● Lunch trays (1 per child)

● Goggles (1 per child)

● (Optional) timers or stopwatches (1 per 2 - 3

children)

● (Optional) Source of warm/hot water and cold/ ice water

● (Optional) for Exploded Art:

● Water-based craft paint, several colors

● Butcher paper or chart paper (~2 ft. per child)

● Outdoor area

PREPARE AHEAD: Fill water bottles with water. Break 8 - 10 antacid tablets into (approximate) quarters to

save time during the experiment.

For (optional) Exploded Art: Prepare squeeze bottles of paint by mixing about ⅓ paint to ⅔

water. It should have plenty of color but be very runny, just a little thicker than water.


SAFETY NOTES: Do not put your face, or allow children to put their faces, directly over the canisters while

waiting for them to launch. Goggles are to be worn at all times to protect against

unexpected projectiles.

ENGAGE: Think about a rocket. What makes it go? Usually when we think about rockets soaring

into space we think about the fire and smoke coming out of them. What direction is all

that energy and gas going when it comes out of the rocket? And what direction does the

rocket go in return? This is known as Newton’s Third Law of Motion: every action

creates an equal and opposite reaction. The gas goes down, which pushes the rocket up.

We can’t make fiery explosions, but let’s see if we can use a different kind of fuel to

provide the “push” to launch a rocket into the air.

PROCEDURE: Investigating the “rocket fuel”

1. Introduce the antacid tablets. Ask if anyone has seen them before or knows what they

do. Explain that they will be testing to see if this will make a good rocket fuel.

2. Distribute a tray, film canister, and piece of antacid tablet to each child. Invite

children to make observations about their piece of “rocket fuel.”

3. What does it look like? Feel like? Smell like?

4. Ask children to put their piece of tablet into the canister and add a small squirt of

water.

5. What do you notice about the mixture? What is happening?

6. Where do you think the bubbles are going when they come out of the water?

7. What do you think would happen if we put a tight lid on the canister so no bubbles

could get out?

Test launch

8. Invite the group to test the idea together. Have children put on their goggles and help

them fill their canisters about half-full of water.For younger groups, you may want to

have children practice putting the lid tightly on the canister a few times before

adding the tablet.

9. Distribute another piece of antacid to each child, but ask them to wait and do the


following steps all together:

● Drop the tablet piece in the canister.

● Put on the lid tightly. (Leave it right side up.)

● Stand back and watch!

10. Discuss the results of the test:

● What happened?

● Did something get launched into the air? What was it?

● What part(s) didn’t move?

● What do you think made the “push” that launched the lid? What was the action and

what was the opposite reaction?

Rocket launch

11. Explain that the test showed that the fuel could successfully launch something into

the air; now let’s try to launch something that looks more like a rocket--the canister

itself!

● How could we make the fuel push the canister into the air instead of the lid?

● What do you think would happen if we turned the canister upside-down?

12. Model how to snap the lid on the canister and place it upside-down on the tray. If

necessary, invite children to practice this with empty canisters.

13. Distribute more antacid pieces as needed, and remind children of the steps involved

in the launch:

● Drop the tablet piece in the canister.

● Put on the lid tightly.

● Turn it upside-down.

● Stand back and watch!

14. Launch the rockets together. Remind everyone to stay back from the launch area

until all the rockets have finished.

● What did you notice about the rocket launches?

● Were they all the same? What was the same or different between them?

Optimizing the fuel mixture (for older groups)

15. Brainstorm things they could change about their rocket fuel that might affect how

fast the rocket launches or how high it goes. These might include:

● Amount of water

● Temperature of the water

● Amount of antacid

16. Challenge children to explore changing these variables to find the best fuel mixture

for their rocket.


● What combination of water and tablet makes it launch the fastest?

● What combination makes it travel the highest?

● What is the best combination for your rocket? Why do you think so?

17. Discussion:

● What did you discover about using this kind of fuel for a rocket?

● What worked well, and what were some challenges?

● Would this make a good fuel for a real rocket? What makes you think so?

TAKE IT FURTHER: Use the Alka-Rockets to create works of exploded art! (Do this outdoors or in a space

that can safely be paint-splattered.) Give each child a large sheet of paper to use instead

of the tray. Squeeze watered-down paint into the canisters instead of the water. Drop in

half of an antacid tablet, close the lid, place upside down on the paper and stand back.

Repeat with different colors on the same paper until desired picture is created.

ADAPTATIONS: For youngest children (PreK - K), the exploring of variables could be omitted.

For older children (4th - 5th), challenge children to look for specific relationships

between variables and outcomes by changing only one variable while keeping

everything else the same, e.g. trying different amounts of antacid but keeping the

amount and temperature of the water the same each time. Encourage them to measure

amounts and times as carefully as possible for accuracy.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● Newton’s Third Law of Motion says that for every action or force, there is an equal

and opposite reaction or force. In this activity, one force is generated down toward

the table (expanding gases pushing downward out of the canister) while the opposing

reaction pushes the rocket up in the opposite direction.

● When water is added to the antacid tablet, bubbles of carbon dioxide gas are given

off. When the lid is fitted tightly to the canister, this gas is contained within an

enclosed space. As more gas is given off, the pressure inside the canister rises until

there is enough force to overcome the seal of the lid. The built-up pressure exerts

enough force to shoot the lid or canister into the air, forming the rocket.

● In an actual rocket, heat from ignition of the rocket fuel causes gases inside to

expand rapidly and be forced out of the tail of the rocket, creating the downward

force.


LAZY SUSAN ACTION-REACTION ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on

demonstration

AUDIENCE: K and up


SUMMARY: Children will explore Newton’s

Third Law of Motion with a lazy

susan and a bat.

MATERIALS: ● 12” - 18” heavy-duty, “lazy

susan”-style swivel stand

for TVs or monitors (1 per

class)

● Soft foam bat (1 per class)

● (Optional): Paper and drawing materials

SAFETY NOTES: There is a possibility that the volunteer could fall during the demonstration. For safety,

be sure that the volunteer stands in the center of the lazy susan, and be ready to catch

them if they lose balance. If possible, try this demonstration yourself first to get a feel for

what is going to happen.

ENGAGE: Think about working in space. What are some of the challenges you can imagine while

trying to do basic tasks outside of a space station? Think about all the steps involved in

unscrewing a panel to replace a battery or switching out a new hose for an old one that

has worn out. What are the challenges? How might you solve them? Let’s experience one

of those challenges, then think about how we might overcome it.

PROCEDURE: 1. Invite one child to stand on the floor and swing the bat. Ask them to point in the

direction they swung the bat. Ask them which way their feet went. (Trick


question! They didn’t move.) The force of friction between their feet and the floor

prevented us from seeing the opposite movement.

2. Now, let the child know you will reduce that friction by having them stand on a

lazy susan and swinging the bat.

3. Help the child onto the lazy susan and instruct them to swing very slowly at first.

Once they are comfortable, ask them to try one more big but steady swing.

4. Ask them again to point in the direction they swung the bat. Now point in the

direction their feet went. There it is: action and reaction!

5. Invite other children to take turns on the lazy susan and experience the effect.

6. As a class, discuss when this might be an issue on a spacewalk. What are their

ideas for overcoming this challenge?

TAKE IT FURTHER: How does this same principle apply to spacecraft maneuvering in space? Discuss how

you could use action and reaction to propel or steer a spacecraft. Invite children to draw

a design for their action-reaction propelled spacecraft.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? Newton’s Third Law of Motion says that for every action or force, there is an equal and

opposite reaction or force. In this activity, the action is swinging the bat. The opposite

reaction cannot be perceived when a person is standing on the ground. The friction

between their feet and the floor is too great. However, once that friction is lessened the

person’s feet will spin in the opposite direction they swing the bat. This also happens

when using tools in the lessened gravity of space. Like the astronaut with the drill in the

photo above, if the astronaut does not fix themself to the spacecraft, when they turn on

the drill, their body will spin instead of the screw they are trying to work with!

NASA had an entirely new drill designed for use during spacewalks. This staple of

NASA’s space tool box is call a “pistol-grip tool.” Here are some ways it is different than

drills down here on Earth:

● It must withstand quick fluctuations in temperature by hundreds of degrees. The

ISS orbits the Earth every 90 minutes, passing in and out of the sunlight each time

it does. In such an environment, liquid lubricants would cause a power tool to

seize, so the pistol-grip tool uses dry film lubricants that evaporate at room

temperature.

● It is incredibly light. The pistol-grip tool is made of Lexan, a glass-infused plastic,

and wrapped in aluminum tape.

● Astronauts have limited mobility in their space suits, so tools have to be larger


and have specially designed handles and triggers that astronauts can use with

their suit gloves.

● The pistol-grip tool functions much in the same way a regular power drill does,

with a battery that slots into the handle, only it has a large information screen

where astronauts can change the speed and torque. The drill is designed to turn

slowly but still produce enough torque to undo bolts and fasteners.

Most of the other tools NASA uses are specifically designed for one task, but the

pistol-grip tool remains the primary tool used by spacewalkers in the 21st century.

Perhaps in the future, robots will perform these tasks with tools affixed to their arms, but

for now, the best solution for a broken space station is an astronaut and his trusty space

drill.

SOURCE: http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a24639/space-drill-used-by-nasa-astronauts/


http://www.popularmechanics.com/space/a24639/space-drill-used-by-nasa-astronauts/

ORBITING SHUTTLE ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on activity;

make-and-take



SUMMARY: Children will use paper space shuttles to model how orbits are created by a force pulling

toward the center.

MATERIALS: ● Space shuttle templates (shuttle_template.pdf), printed on heavy cardstock or

cardboard (1 per child plus one for demonstration)*

*Alternately, glue multiple layers of lighter cardstock together, or print on paper

and glue to cardboard


● Single-hole punches (3 - 4 per class)

● Cotton string (2-ft. length per child plus 4 - 5 ft. for demonstration)*

* Yarn can be substituted, but works less well

● Straight, standard-size drinking straws (~½ straw per child)

● Paper clips (3 - 4 per child)

● Metal washers, 0.75 - 1.25” diameter (at least 5 per child)


● Roll of masking or packing tape

PREPARE AHEAD: ● Cut enough 2-ft. lengths of string for the class

● Cut the drinking straws in half to give a half-straw for each child. (Pieces should

be ~3” long; if using longer straws you may need to cut them into more than two

pieces.)

● For younger groups who may have difficulty using scissors, cut out the space

shuttle templates and punch the holes in advance.

● Attach a longer (4 - 5-ft.) length of string to one of the paper shuttles for

demonstration


SAFETY NOTES: Provide enough room for testing the shuttles that children can swing them without

hitting each other.

ENGAGE: ● What is an orbit? What shape is it? Why do you think things like moons, satellites,

and space shuttles go in circles around planets, instead of some other shape?

● Have you ever been on something that went around in a circle (carousel,

merry-go-round, amusement park ride)? What did it feel like?

● Have you ever made something go in a circle around you? What was it? How did

you do it?

● What do those things have to do with how a shuttle orbits the Earth? Let’s see

what we can find out!

PROCEDURE: Demonstration

1. Ask a volunteer to stand next to you, holding the paper shuttle. Explain that you

are the Earth; “launch” the shuttle by giving the person a gentle push and having

them walk in the direction of your push as long as they can.

● Where did the “shuttle” go?

● What shape was the path it made?

2. Ask the “shuttle” to return. “Launch” the shuttle again, but this time hold on to the

the end of the string opposite the shuttle. (Note, depending on the space available,

you may need to hold partway up the string to make the radius of the circle

smaller.)

3. Encourage the “shuttle” to keep moving when the string grows tight. If they can’t

go straight forward, what can they do to keep moving? Remind them that they are

still trying to move away from the Earth (you) as much as possible. (They should

be able to turn sideways and begin walking in a circle around you.)

● How is the shuttle moving now?

● What shape is it making?

● Why doesn’t it fly away like it did the last time?

● What would happen if I let go of the string?

4. Guide the group’s thinking to the idea that this is what happens when an object is

in orbit-- it is moving but doesn’t fly away from the planet because a force is

pulling it towards the center.


● What do you think that force could be?

Making Orbiting Shuttles

5. Distribute the shuttle templates, crayons/markers, and scissors and invite children

to decorate their shuttles and cut them out.

6. Assist children to assemble their orbiting shuttle models as follows:

● Punch two holes in the shuttles where indicated.

● Thread a piece of string through the holes and tie off, leaving a long thread

hanging from the bottom of the shuttle.

● Thread the string through half of a drinking straw.

● Tie a paper clip to the non-shuttle end of the string.

● Hang a washer on the paper clip.

7. Demonstrate how to launch the shuttle. Hold the straw (without touching the

string) and swing your hand in a circular motion until the shuttle begins to fly in a

circle around your hand.

8. Invite children to try launching their own shuttles into orbit. Ask questions to

guide their explorations:

● What is the best way to move your hand to make the shuttle orbit?

● What happens if you move your hand faster? Slower?

● What if you move your hand in bigger circles? Smaller circles?

● What happens if you add more washers to the paper clip?

● What happens if you add weight to the shuttle (with paper clips or by taping

on washers)?

9. Discuss the group’s discoveries:

● What did you find out about how things make orbits?

● What are some ways you changed how your shuttle orbits?

● How is this model the same as how actual objects orbit in space? How is it

different?

ADAPTATIONS: ● For youngest groups (PreK - K) the goal is not for children to understand gravity

and centripetal force. Simply experiencing that the string keeps the shuttle

moving in a circle and exploring changes in that relationship will lay the

foundation for later understanding of the forces involved.

● The shuttle demonstration could be done with another adult instead of a

volunteer if children will have difficulty following directions.

● Another way to demonstrate orbiting and centripetal force is to tie the length of

string to the roll of tape (or similar small object) and swing it around with your


hand. This could be used instead of or in addition to the two-person shuttle

demonstration.

TAKE IT FURTHER: Explore the relationship between the force of gravity and the speed of rotation:

● Use a marker to make a mark on the string about 7 inches from the shuttle.

Encourage students to make this mark line up with the top edge of the straw each

time so the radius of the orbit stays constant.

● Change the force of the gravitational pull on the shuttle by adding or taking away

washers from the paper clip. Does the shuttle rotate faster or slower?

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE?

● Satellites in orbit around the Earth do not need engines to “drive” them around.

They are able to orbit the Earth because they have a rapid forward speed that

prevents gravity from pulling them to the ground. Earth’s gravitational pull bends

their forward motion just enough to make their path curve in an orbit around the

Earth. A stable orbit requires a balance between this forward motion and

gravity. Without the force of gravity pulling orbiting objects toward Earth, they

would fly off into space in a straight line. Without a rapid forward motion,

however, Earth’s gravitational force would pull them down to the ground.

● In this activity, the string provides a pull toward the center of the orbit, simulating

the force of gravity. (This force toward the center is called a centripetal force). Even though you are not touching the string, the shuttle orbits your hand because

the weight of the washer supplies a force that pulls on the string. Without this

centripetal force, the shuttle would fly off in a straight line.

● In this model, friction between the string and the straw (and between the shuttle

and the air) will eventually slow down and stop the shuttle without your hand to

keep it moving. In space there is little to no friction, so once an object establishes

a stable orbit it will keep orbiting indefinitely unless something else changes it.

SOURCE: Adapted from the Discover the Universe: Space Shuttle Orbiter activity by American

Museum of Natural History: https://www.amnh.org/content/download/1906/25333/file/du_u12_shuttle.pdf


https://www.amnh.org/content/download/1906/25333/file/du_u12_shuttle.pdf

ROCKETS AND SHUTTLES ACTIVITY TYPE: Active game



SUMMARY: Children play a movement game to reinforce space-themed vocabulary and concepts.

MATERIALS: ● Open area large enough for the group to stand and move around easily.

PREPARE AHEAD: This activity is a variation on the children’s game “Ships and Sailors” (also called

“Captain’s Orders”). If you are not familiar with the game, you may want to look up

instructions or videos online to become comfortable with how to lead it.

SAFETY NOTES: None

ENGAGE: Have you ever played the game Ships and Sailors? What about Simon Says? This game is

like those, but it’s all about things that happen in space!

PROCEDURE: 1. Explain the basic rules of the game: You (the leader) are Mission Control and will call

out different commands for them to follow. Introduce the commands below and have

children practice them until they are comfortable. For younger groups, start with just

the first few commands, adding others in later:

● Rockets: Line up along one wall (or side of the space), arms above head like a

rocket cone

● Shuttles: Line up along the opposite wall, arms at sides

● Rocket Launch: Crouch down with rocket-cone arms. Wait for command

“Liftoff!” and jump into the air.

● Crash Landing: Drop to the ground and freeze where you fall.


● Space Station: Spin in place

● Satellite Report: Extend arms and move them around like antennae, making

“beep! boop!” noises; continue until the command “Message Received.”

● Orbit the Moon: Two people; one person stands still while the other runs in a

small circle around them.

● Dock the Shuttle: Group of three; two people make a “dock” by facing each

other and joining outstretched arms; “shuttle” person lies flat on the ground

underneath the bridge of their arms.

● Black Hole: Everyone runs into a clump at the center of the space. Don’t move

again until the command “Big Bang.”

● Big Bang: Everyone scatters to the edges of the space.

2. Anyone who makes a mistake gets “sent back to Earth.” Their job is to sit out and be

on the lookout for others’ mistakes.

3. Start by giving commands slowly and gradually speed up to make it more challenging

to follow.

4. After a few rounds, invite children to take turns being Mission Control.

5. Challenge the group to come up with new commands of their own:

● What other objects or actions are there in space?

● How could you show them with your body, or with two or three people?

ADAPTATIONS: ● Depending on the age and size of your group, you could play the game until

everyone is eliminated but one; that person is declared the winner and becomes

Mission Control for the next round.

● If youngest children have difficulty being “out,” consider having them sit out for

just one or two commands before coming back in; or leave it out altogether--just

point out mistakes but allow them to continue playing.


DESIGN A SPACECRAFT ACTIVITY TYPE: Art/design

activity



SUMMARY: Children will consider the

parts a spacecraft requires

and create a two-dimensional

representation of their own

design.

MATERIALS: ● Images of spacecraft designs (see below)

● Blank paper

● Construction paper, variety of colors (2 - 3 sheets per child)


● Glue sticks (1 per child)

● Pencils, crayons and/or markers

● (Optional) adhesive foam shapes (5 - 8 oz. container per class)

● (Optional) stickers or other decorating materials

PREPARE AHEAD: Print copies of the spacecraft designs.

ENGAGE: In order to travel to another planet, we will need a spacecraft to get us there. Let’s think

about what parts our spacecraft might need, and design one of our own!

PROCEDURE: 1. If the group has already completed the Mission Briefing: Getting into Space activity,

remind them of that discussion and refer to their lists of what a spacecraft needs. If

not, ask the group to brainstorm what different parts a spacecraft would need if it

were carrying us on a mission into space.


● Where will we (the astronauts) sit?

● Will we need places to eat? Sleep?

● How will we communicate with Mission Control on Earth?

● What part will give it the “push” into space?

● How will it steer?

● What other things might it need?

2. Show the example images.

● Which of those parts do you see in these designs?

● What else do you notice about these spacecraft?

3. Invite children to create their own design for a spacecraft. Encourage them to think

about what parts their craft will need and how they will incorporate those parts into

their design. They may want to sketch out their ideas on blank paper before making

the final design.

4. Introduce the construction paper, scissors, and other materials for children to use in

creating their designs.

5. Invite children to share their finished designs with the group and talk about the

different components their spacecraft has. How does their design show the different

parts?

TAKE IT FURTHER: Challenge children to make two designs or drawings: one showing the outside, and one

showing the inside.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● Spacecraft are machines designed by people to travel in space. Some spacecraft

carry people or cargo, while others, like probes and satellites, are designed to

collect or transmit information.

● Like other machines, spacecraft are made of systems of parts that work

together. Each part has a specific function that is part of the larger job of the

machine. For example, a spacecraft designed to carry people into space might

need an engine and fuel to provide thrust and motion, wings or fins to help

control the flight, a navigation system, a communication system for talking to

people on Earth, places for the crew to sit, eat, and sleep, etc.

● Engineers who design spacecraft and other machines start by making models of

their designs--something that shows what the machine will be like--before actually

building it. These might be drawings, plans, or smaller, simpler versions of the

actual object.





MISSION BRIEFING: ASTRONAUT TRAINING ACTIVITY TYPE: Group discussion



SUMMARY: Children will explore and discuss the requirements and challenges of astronauts living

and working in space.

MATERIALS: ● Book: Astronaut Handbook by Meghan McCarthy

● Book: Moonshot by Brian Floca (optional)


ENGAGE: Our target planet is chosen, our spacecraft is designed… the next step in preparing for

our mission is to get ourselves ready for life in space. A trip to a distant planet could take

months--or even years! Today’s task from Mission Control is to find out what kinds of

challenges we might face, and practice some skills we’ll need to live and work in space.

PROCEDURE:

1. Ask the group to think about what living aboard a spacecraft might be like.

● What things do you do every day that you’ll need to do on the spacecraft?

● What other things might an astronaut need to do?

● How do you think it might be different to do those things in space?

● What other challenges do you think we might face while living in space?

2. Make two lists on the board or chart paper: one of tasks astronauts need to do in

space, and one of challenges or problems with living and working in space.

3. Introduce the book Astronaut Handbook. Ask the group to pay special attention to

what situations or conditions the astronauts are preparing for.

4. Read the book, pausing occasionally to ask for the group’s observations or to point

out key ideas in the text or pictures.

5. Invite the group to reflect on what they’ve learned from the reading:

● What situations did the astronauts prepare for?

● What did they do to get ready for them?

● Is there anything we should add to our lists?


6. Keep the lists in a visible location throughout the day. Use this activity to frame


● What does this activity tell us about living and working in space?

● Is there anything new we need to add to our lists from this activity?


just discovered?

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● One of the biggest challenges of life in space is weightlessness. Once a spacecraft

is in orbit, or far enough away from the pull of Earth’s gravity, the people and

objects inside have no gravitational force pulling them down. Objects and people

float away unless they are fastened to something else.

● Another challenge is the small space. Spacecraft need to be as small and

lightweight as possible, so astronauts get used to working in tight spaces and

having only things they really need.

● Sleep: Since there is no gravity, there is no up or down and astronauts can sleep

in any orientation--but they must zip or strap themselves to a bunk, wall, or seat

so they don’t float away while sleeping.

● Hygiene: Running water isn’t possible without gravity, and escaped water

droplets can cause big problems for a shuttle’s machinery, so astronauts use a

variety of methods for staying clean, such as rinseless (dry) shampoos,

swallowable toothpaste or spitting into a washcloth, or vacuum systems that suck

liquid away. (This includes toilets! They have leg straps to hold the astronaut in

place and a vacuum to suck the waste away.)

● Eating and Drinking: All food is prepackaged and precooked; there are no

refrigerators or stoves in a spacecraft. Every astronaut has individual meals that

can be prepared just by heating or adding water, and they are eaten directly out

of the container. Salt and pepper are dissolved in water and squirted into

food--because the flakes might float away and get into the machinery. Similarly,

tortillas are used instead of bread to avoid escaping crumbs.

● Cleaning: Most cleaning is done by wiping surfaces with pre-moistened sanitizing

wipes--no washing dishes or scrubbing floors with water!

● Free time: Astronauts can pass the time by exercising, watching movies, reading

books, playing video games, or just looking out the window. (Board games can be

tricky since the pieces would float away!)

SOURCE: Background information: https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/living/


https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/living/

SPACESUIT DESIGN ACTIVITY TYPE: Art/design activity



SUMMARY: Children will explore the requirements for a spacesuit and create a design of their own.

MATERIALS: ● Printed copy of spacesuit photos (see below)

● Copies of spacesuit template (see below; 1 per child)

● Crayons and/or markers

● Whiteboard, chalkboard, or chart paper

● (Optional) Blank paper and pencils for drawing

● (Optional) Additional art materials, such as:

○ Construction paper, variety of colors (2 - 3 sheets per child)

○ Scissors (1 per child)

○ Glue sticks (1 per child)

○ Adhesive foam shapes

○ Stickers or other decorating materials

PREPARE AHEAD: For younger groups, you may want to prepare an example design to illustrate ways to

use the materials.

ENGAGE: When you hear the word “astronaut” what do you picture? Someone in a puffy white suit

and round helmet? Why do you think astronauts need to wear spacesuits? What does a

spacesuit need to do?

Let’s think about the different parts a spacesuit needs to have, and then design one of our

own.


PROCEDURE: 1. Ask the group to brainstorm a list of different things a spacesuit might need to have

or do. Write a list or draw a simple diagram on the board or chart paper to help

children remember the needs:

● What does an astronaut need to do in a spacesuit?

● What part could help with that?

● What might they need to keep them healthy and safe?

2. Show the group the photos of spacesuits and invite them to make observations about

the suits:

● What parts do you see in this suit?

● What do you think the different parts are for?

● How are the suits the same? How are they different?

3. Distribute the templates and other materials. Invite children to design the spacesuit

that they would like to wear on the mission. Encourage them to be creative in what

their suit looks like and how it meets the different needs.

4. As children work on their designs, encourage them to think and talk about the parts

their spacesuit needs and how they will represent them in their design.

● What part of your spacesuit is that? What will that part do?

● What other parts will you add to your spacesuit?

● What parts of your spacesuit will keep you safe?

● What job does that part of the suit help you to do?

5. Invite children to share their finished suit designs with the class, pointing out the

different parts represented in their design and what they are for.

ADAPTATIONS: For older groups (2nd grade and up), encourage children to think about more specific

needs and how the suit components will meet them (e.g. ventilation, hydration,

communication). Invite them to think of their own ideas for things they would want their

suit to do and invent parts to accomplish them. Children may also wish to draw their

designs from scratch rather than using the template.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● On Earth, people rely on the atmosphere (air) to provide oxygen for breathing,

atmospheric pressure to balance the pressure inside our bodies, and heat to keep

us warm. Space shuttles and the space station can provide these things with an

artificial atmosphere, but to explore and work in space, people need to take

their environment with them!


● Spacesuits have oxygen tanks for breathing; they are pressurized (inflated) to

mimic the pressure of an atmosphere; and they have a separate layer with tubes

of circulating water to provide cooling and ventilation.

● Spacesuits also have to protect astronauts from flying objects as well as

harmful radiation in space. Some parts of the suit are hard (the torso and helmet)

for extra protection, but other parts need to be flexible for movement. These are

made from layers of specialized materials that provide protection--including

Kevlar (the material used in bullet-proof vests) and Teflon (the material used to

coat non-stick pans)

● Astronauts may be in a spacesuit for many hours at a time, so the spacesuit also

needs to provide for their basic body needs. It is equipped with a water bag and

straw for drinking and a “diaper” for urine collection. Spacesuits also include

radio and microphone for communication, computer systems that monitor the

astronaut’s heart rate and other vital signs, a head lamp, and a video camera to

transmit what the astronaut is seeing.

● An additional piece, like a backpack, can be attached to the suit that can propel

the astronaut short distances to maneuver around the outside of the spacecraft.

SOURCE: Background information: https://er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/suitnasa.html; https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/fa/eva.html


https://er.jsc.nasa.gov/seh/suitnasa.html

https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/fa/eva.html






SPACE VISOR ENGINEERING



SUMMARY: Campers will investigate the UV-blocking

properties of different materials to

determine which material would be the

best choice for a spacesuit visor.

MATERIALS: ● UV color-changing beads, medium blue, deep blue, purple, and/or pink (2 of the

same color per pair of children)*

*These colors work best for registering levels of color change; others will work less

well or not at all

● Petri dishes, 10 cm diameter (1 per pair)

● Samples of transparent or translucent materials, ~6 cm square or big enough to

cover half of the petri dish (1 of each material per pair):

○ Plastic from milk cartons

○ Plastic from soda bottles (clear and/or green)

○ CD jewel case lids and/or petri dish lids

○ Plastic wrap

○ Colored cellophane (red, yellow, blue)

○ Cotton fabric

○ Wax paper

● UV flashlights (1 per pair)*

*not required, but recommended if going outdoors is not possible

● Copies of UV bead color chart (1 per pair of students, see below)

● Masking tape (1 roll per class)

● Paper and writing utensils for recording data


● Sturdy scissors for cutting plastic

PREPARE AHEAD:


Cut the plastics and other materials into pieces large enough to cover half of a petri dish.

SAFETY NOTES: Children should exercise caution when using the UV flashlights and avoid shining them

toward faces and eyes.

ENGAGE: An astronaut’s spacesuit has a lot of different parts, and each one has a specific and

important job to do. Let’s think about just one-- the visor on the spacesuit helmet.

● What jobs does the visor need to do?

● What other things might be important to think about when designing the visor?

One important job of the visor is to protect against UV radiation. This is the same part of

sunlight that causes sunburn on your skin--but it is much stronger in space.

● What things do we use to protect our skin against sunburn?

● How do you think those things would work as materials for a visor? What makes

you think so?

Mission Control would like a report on what material to choose for our spacesuits’

visors. Let’s test some different materials and

see what we can find out.

PROCEDURE: 1. Divide the group into pairs. Give each

pair a UV flashlight and a petri dish

containing two beads of the same color.

2. Explain that the flashlights emit UV

light (which we can’t see) as well as

visible light (which we can see). Invite

children to try shining the flashlights on

the beads.

● What do you notice about the beads?

● What happens when you turn the flashlight off?

● How do you think we could use this to test materials for our spacesuit visor?

3. Distribute the color charts, material samples and paper for data recording.

Explain that pairs will test different materials by covering one of the beads,

shining the light on it, and then comparing its color to the chart to see how much

UV light got through. The second bead will stay uncovered as a control.


● What color would you expect to see if the material blocked all the UV light?

Some of the light? None of it?

● Why do you think it’s important to keep one of the beads uncovered?

4. Invite pairs to test the UV-blocking properties of the different material samples,

using a procedure like this:

● Put the two beads on opposite sides of the petri dish.

● Cover one side with the test material, making sure the bead is fully

covered. Tape the material in place if needed--but make sure it will come

off easily and quickly.

● Put the color chart close to the petri dish for comparison.

● Shine the UV light on the petri dish for about 30 seconds, or until the

uncovered bead has fully changed color.

● Turn off the UV light, quickly remove the test material, and compare the

color of the covered bead to the chart.

● Record the type of material and the UV index number from the chart that

tells what color the bead turned.

● If the color fades too quickly or there is disagreement about the color,

repeat the test.

5. Make a chart on the board or chart paper with a column for each of the materials

tested. As pairs finish their tests, ask them to write the UV index number they

found for each material in the appropriate column of the chart.

6. Gather the group and discuss their results.

● Which material lets the least amount of UV light through?

● Which material lets the most UV through?

● What other criteria does a visor material need to meet? How do these

materials meet those criteria?

● Which of these materials is the best choice for a visor? What makes you think

that?

TAKE IT FURTHER: ● Try to improve on the visor material by trying multiple layers of a material,

combinations of different materials (e.g. a CD cover with a layer of red cellophane

on top), or testing other materials from around the room. Propose a design for the

visor material that provides the best combination of strength, visibility, and UV

protection.

● The Mission: Starlight program collects the results of these tests from students

around the world and displays them on a website. Visit the site with the class (web


address is in the Sources section below). Compare the class’s results to the global

averages, look at differences between data from different countries, and even

upload your own results.

ADAPTATIONS: ● For older groups (5th and up), add a data analysis component by having children

calculate the average UV index for each material, based on the class’s data, and

create a graph to illustrate the results

● If UV flashlights are not available, this experiment can be done outdoors using

sunlight, weather conditions permitting. Children will need to quickly move

indoors or to a well-shaded location to check the beads before they fade and

record the results, so choose an area where they can easily move from sun to

shade and back.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● Some of the criteria required for a spacesuit visor:

○ Strength--even tiny cracks from an impact or the tiny rock fragments

(micrometeoroids) that fly through space could allow air to leak out

○ Weight--weight is a concern for everything on board a spacecraft, because

more weight requires more fuel to launch it into space

○ Transparency--Astronauts must be able to see as clearly as possible in

order to work efficiently

○ UV protection--UV radiation is an increased hazard in space, and

astronauts on a spacewalk may be exposed for several hours at a time.

● Astronauts’ visors have coverings to reflect sunlight. Outer visors are made from

UV-resistant polycarbonate, a type of plastic that is light in weight and allows

visible light to pass through. They are coated with gold to reflect UV light.

● Spacesuits contain reflective coatings of Mylar which offer some protection from

UV light, but it is the multiple-layer approach from many different durable fabrics

which offers the full protection.

● Many of the materials tested in this experiment are different types of plastic,

which may have different light absorbing and reflecting characteristics, as well as

differences in strength and transparency:

○ HDPE (high density polyethylene): Anything with a recycling code #2, such

as plastic milk jugs

○ PET or PETE (polyethylene teraphthalate): Anything with a recycling code

#1, such as soda bottles


○ LDPE (low density polyethylene): Plastic sandwich bags, plastic grocery

bags, some plastic cling wraps

○ PVC (polyvinyl chloride): Some types of plastic cling wrap

○ Polycarbonate: CD jewel case

○ Polystyrene: petri dish covers

SOURCE: Adapted from the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Mission: Starlight lesson:

http://rsc.li/mission-starlight


http://rsc.li/mission-starlight


ASTRONAUT TRAINING: SPACE GLOVE CHALLENGE ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on activity/active game



SUMMARY: Children will experience the challenges and limitations of working with spacesuit gloves.

MATERIALS: ● Oven mitts (1 pair per 2 children)

● Large rubber or garden gloves (1 pair per 2 children)

● Ice tongs, large tweezers, or similar tools (1 per 2 children)

● LEGO, K’NEX or similar building materials* (classroom set)

*For PreK - K, use larger size DUPLO or Kid K’NEX

● Paper cups, 8 - 12 oz. size (~100)

● 24-piece (or similar-sized) jigsaw puzzles (1 per 2 children)

● Stopwatch or timer

PREPARE AHEAD: Set up six activity stations, with materials for 3 - 4 children at each station:

● Station 1: Gloves and LEGO/K’NEX

● Station 2: Gloves and paper cups

● Station 3: Gloves and jigsaw puzzles

● Station 4: Oven mitts, tongs, and LEGO/KNEX

● Station 5: Oven mitts, tongs, and paper cups

● Station 6: Oven mitts, tongs, and jigsaw puzzles

SAFETY NOTES: None


ENGAGE: What do you think it’s like to wear a spacesuit? What things do you think we might have

to do on our mission while wearing a spacesuit?

Working in a spacesuit takes some training, so let’s get some practice with moving and

fixing things while wearing space gloves!

PROCEDURE: 1. Introduce the tasks at each station:

● LEGO stations: Connect as many pieces together as you can

● Puzzle stations: Add as many pieces to the puzzle as you can

● Cup stations: Stack the cups into a pyramid, adding as many as you can

2. Point out that at some of the stations, they will be wearing gloves, and at other

stations they will wear oven mitts, but have tongs to help them. Remind them that

in space, you can’t take your gloves off, so they will need to do everything without

removing the gloves or mitts, until the time is up.

3. Divide the group between the stations and ask them to put on their gloves or oven

mitts. Give the signal to begin, set the timer for 2 - 3 minutes, and stop them at the

end of the time.

4. Ask children to remove their gloves and disassemble the structures or puzzles for

the next person to use. Then, invite children to rotate to the next station and

repeat.

5. When everyone has visited each station, gather the group to discuss their

experiences:

● What was it like to work with the gloves? With the mitts and tongs?

● Which tasks were easier or harder to do?

● How do you think this activity was like actually working in space, and how

was it different?

● What challenges do you think astronauts have working in space?

● What might astronauts have to fix while they are in space?

● How do you think tools can help astronauts do their work?

ADAPTATIONS:


● For younger groups, you could simplify the activity by reducing the number of

stations, e.g. doing the three tasks with gloves but not tongs, or doing only one of

the tasks with both gloves and tongs.

● For older groups, you could structure the activity as a relay: the first person on

each team completes the first task, then hands the gloves to the second person,

who completes the second task, etc.

TAKE IT FURTHER: ● Allow children to practice one of the tasks multiple times. Can they improve with

practice?

● Challenge children to design a better tool, using materials found in the classroom,

that will make one of the tasks easier to do while wearing the oven mitts.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● In order to stay safe and healthy in space, astronauts wear spacesuits that are

made of multiple layers of protective material and are pressurized (inflated). This

includes the gloves--which are thick and bulky and can make it challenging to

manage repairs and other tasks that require astronauts to use their hands.

● Astronauts use a variety of tools to tighten bolts, clean mechanisms, and perform

other repairs. The tools have to be specially designed to be used in a vacuum (no

atmosphere or air pressure) and to be held and used with thick spacesuit gloves.

● All tools have to be fastened to the astronaut’s suit in sealed bags or with tethers--

if they are loose and drift away there is no way to retrieve them! (In 2008, an

astronaut working on the International Space Station lost an entire bag of tools

when it popped loose from her suit and floated out of her reach. It eventually fell

back toward Earth and burned up entering the atmosphere.)

SOURCES: Background information:

https://www.airspacemag.com/space/tools-of-the-astronaut-trade-15273242/

https://www.space.com/6131-astronaut-laments-lost-spacewalk-tool-bag.html


https://www.airspacemag.com/space/tools-of-the-astronaut-trade-15273242/

https://www.space.com/6131-astronaut-laments-lost-spacewalk-tool-bag.html

ASTRONAUT TRAINING: TIGHT QUARTERS ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on exploration/active game

AUDIENCE: PreK - 5th


SUMMARY: Children will experience the challenges and limitations of working in small spaces.

MATERIALS: ● K’NEX or similar building materials (classroom set)

● Blank paper (~1 sheet per child)


● Paper cups (~100)

● Jumbo craft sticks (~100)

● Timer or stopwatch (1 per class)

PREPARE AHEAD: ● Create a tight workspace by arranging tables or desks in a square so that there is a

small open area in the middle (~4 ft. square). You will need one square workspace

for every 6 - 8 children.

● Build a structure for each workspace that uses 15 - 20 K’NEX pieces and place it on

one of the tables. (The exact shape isn’t important, just that it can stand on the

table and be reproduced by children.)

● Set out the cups and craft sticks on another table in the square and the paper and

markers on a third.

ENGAGE: What do you think it is like to live and work on a spacecraft? What kinds of jobs do

astronauts need to do while they are inside?

We’re going to need some training to do our jobs on our space mission, so let’s get some

practice with what it might be like to work aboard a spacecraft.


PROCEDURE: 1. Introduce the workspaces and explain that these will represent our spacecraft--

astronauts inside the spacecraft can’t leave it until the mission is done.

2. Assign 6 - 8 children as the “crew” for each spacecraft. Explain that each member

of the crew will be responsible for a task:

● Repair work: Use the K’NEX pieces to build a structure that matches the

one on the table.

● Systems check: Count the number of pieces of each color in the K’NEX

structure and record the numbers on a piece of paper.

● Communications: Draw a picture of the K’NEX structure, making it as

accurate as possible.

● Science Experiment: Use cups and craft sticks to design and build as tall a

tower as you can, without it falling over.

● Mission Commander: Watch the rest of the crew; make sure they don’t

leave the spacecraft or lose pieces, and look for places where there are

problems or things aren’t working.

3. Assign 1 - 2 children to each role, and ask them to take their places in the

spacecraft.

4. Set a time limit of 2 - 3 minutes; announce when to begin and when to stop.

5. If desired, invite children to switch roles and repeat the activity.

6. Bring the class together to discuss their experiences:

● What was it like to do these jobs inside the “spacecraft”?

● What were some of the challenges?

● Mission Commanders, what kinds of problems did you see happening?

● What do you think we could change to make things run more smoothly?

● What things about this activity might be similar to working in a spacecraft?

● What things do you think would be different?

ADAPTATIONS: For younger groups, you can simplify the tasks, for example:

● Systems check: choose just one color to look for, and put a dot on the paper for

each piece of that color (without worrying about accuracy of counting)

● Repair work: build any structure, rather than reproducing the existing one

● Leave out the Mission Commander role, or assign them to be timekeepers and tell

their crew when to start and stop.


For older groups, challenge each “crew” to come up with ways to improve their work

process. Allow them to repeat the activity multiple times, and see which crew can come

up with the process that is the most accurate (no mistakes, dropped pieces, etc.) and

efficient (completed in the shortest time).

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? Astronauts have many different roles and duties aboard a spacecraft. Sometimes one

person may play more than one role:

● The mission commander is responsible for the success of the mission and for the

safety of the crew and the vehicle.

● Pilots and flight engineers are responsible for operating the spacecraft as well as

any satellites or unmanned vehicles.

● Mission specialists help manage and maintain the many different machines and

systems aboard the craft as well as doing most of the repairs and maintenance

outside the spacecraft.

● Science officers and payload specialists are responsible for performing

scientific experiments or tests with the cargo (payload) while in space.

One of the challenges of life in a spacecraft is the lack of space. The crew live and work in

very close quarters, which requires a lot of cooperation and teamwork. Systems for

living and working have to be as efficient as possible to make things run smoothly; for

example, a spacecraft may only have four sleeping bunks for an eight-person crew, so

they have to be carefully scheduled to work and sleep at different times.

SOURCES:

Adapted from: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/k-4/features/A_Living_in_Space.html

Background information: http://www.brighthub.com/science/space/articles/77764.aspx


https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/k-4/features/A_Living_in_Space.html

http://www.brighthub.com/science/space/articles/77764.aspx

ASTRONAUT TRAINING: SPACEWALK RELAY ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on activity/ active game



SUMMARY: Children will experience the

challenges and limitations of

working on a spacewalk.

MATERIALS: ● Thin rope or sturdy yarn (~80 ft per class)

● Large carabiners or binder clips (8 per class)

● Chairs or stools (4 per class)

● Open area (~8 - 10 ft. square)

● Large garden or rubber gloves (4 pairs per class)

● Red, yellow, green, and blue markers (1 of each color per class)

● Sheets of paper (4 per class)

● LEGO DUPLO or colored wooden blocks in red, yellow, green, and blue (1 block

per child; equal numbers of each color)

● Chenille stems--red, yellow, green, and blue (1 stem per child; equal numbers of

each color)

PREPARE AHEAD: ● Set up the spacewalk area by placing four chairs or stools in a square,

approximately 8 feet apart. Create “slide wires” by tying lengths of rope securely

from each chair to the next, and diagonally across the middle of the space (see

diagram above).

● Designate one of the chairs as the “airlock” and place materials for the task

stations on the other three: Markers and paper on one chair; blocks on a second

chair; chenille stems on the third chair.


● Prepare four “tethers”: Cut a 2-ft. length of rope. Tie one end to a carabiner or the

metal loop of a binder clip, and tie the other end to a second carabiner or binder

clip.

SAFETY NOTES: None

ENGAGE: Get ready for a spacewalk! We’re going to suit up and play a game to see what it might be

like to have to repair something on the outside of our spacecraft.

PROCEDURE: 1. Divide the class into four teams, and assign each team a color (red, yellow, green,

or blue).

2. Explain that the goal of the game is for each member of the team to complete the

three “repair” tasks as quickly as possible and return to the “airlock”. The first

team that successfully gets all their team members through the relay is the

winner.

3. Introduce the tasks:

● Station 1 - Tighten a bolt (using a tool to repair a component): Find your

team’s marker color. Take off the cap, make an “X” on your team’s paper,

replace the cap.

● Station 2 - Replace a part (attaching a new component): Find a block in

your team’s color. Add it to your team’s tower without breaking or

knocking over any towers. (The first person will start the tower by

stacking/connecting two blocks together.)

● Station 3 - Repair a wire (manipulating wires or cables): Find a chenille

stem in your team’s color. Shape it into a circle and twist the ends together.

Leave it in a pile with the rest of your team’s circles.

4. Introduce the equipment:

● The gloves represent the gloves of the spacesuit. They must be worn at all

times while doing the challenges and handed off to the next “astronaut”

when completed.

● The tether is fastened to the “astronaut’s” clothing with one of the clips,

and the other end is clipped to one of the slide wires.

5. Introduce the rules:

● Astronauts may do the tasks in any order but must complete all three tasks

before passing their gloves and tether to the next person on their team.


● Astronauts must remain attached to their tether and slide wire. In order to

move to another section of rope, they must slide their carabiners/clips to an

adjacent rope and then attach themselves to that.

● They may reach for the tasks as long as they remain connected to the slide

wire via their tether.

● No passing is allowed. If two astronauts are along the same rope and need

to pass each other, one person will need to find an alternative route.

6. Ask groups to choose the first astronaut for their team. Give each one a pair of

gloves and attach their tethers, fastening them to a slide wire at the “airlock”

chair. When all are ready, give the signal to begin.

7. Discussion:

● What was the spacewalk experience like? What things were challenging

about it?

● How do you think this relay was like an actual spacewalk, and how was it

different?

● What else might tethers be used for in space? What are other ways to anchor

astronauts in place?

● Can you think of other ideas for safely moving around in space? How would

they be better? What might be some problems with them?

ADAPTATIONS: For younger groups, simplify the activity in one or more of the following ways:

● Leave off the diagonal slide wires and use only the outside square.

● Leave out the tasks and just ask children to clip to the wire, slide to the end, clip to

the next wire, etc.

● Remove the competitive element by not dividing into teams and instead seeing

how fast the whole class can complete the tasks. Keep it moving by allowing the

next person to start as soon as the previous person has moved from the first wire

to the second.

For large groups or to shorten the game, set a timer for four minutes. The team that gets

the most people successfully through all three tasks in that time is the winner.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● This activity teaches students about an astronaut's challenge of moving within the

confines of a limited space and working within the confines of a spacesuit (more


specifically, gloves which reduce finger sensitivity) to complete very manual

tasks.

● Historically, a tether's primary use was to supply oxygen to the astronauts while

its secondary use was to keep the astronaut anchored to the spacecraft. It was

found to be cumbersome and it limited the movement of the astronauts. Today,

they are used primarily as a safety measure to keep astronauts anchored as they

work in the cargo bay. Scientists and researchers introduced a slide wire along

which a tether could be moved so that larger distances could be covered while

completing tasks.

SOURCE: Adapted from the Canadian Space Agency’s activity Moving and Working in Space.


POSTCARDS FROM SPACE ACTIVITY TYPE: Active game



SUMMARY: Children play a creative, kinesthetic game to reinforce vocabulary and concepts about

space.

MATERIALS: ● Open area large enough for the group to stand and move around easily.

ENGAGE: We’re off on a mission in space! Let’s send some pictures back to Earth to show what it’s

like to be an astronaut.

PROCEDURE: 1. Designate an open area as the “stage” and have the group sit facing it.

2. Explain the basic idea of the game: the stage area will become the “picture” for the

postcards you are sending to Earth. You will call out the theme you want for the

postcard, and the people on the stage will have to freeze in poses that show the

theme, while the audience takes the picture.

3. Give an example for demonstration. For example, announce the theme of “Space

Station” and model how they might be:

● floating in the space station

● fixing the space station

● a shuttle docking at the space station

● a computer on the space station

● the whole space station itself

Encourage the children to be creative in their interpretations.

4. Choose 3 - 5 children to be on stage at a time. Ask them to turn their backs to the

audience.


5. Call out a theme, followed by “go!” On the word “go”, they must quickly turn

around and freeze in their pose. (Remind them not to move at all--not even their

eyeballs!)

6. While they hold their poses, invite the children in the audience to mime holding a

camera and say “click!” as if they are taking pictures.

7. After a few seconds, say “Mission accomplished!” to signal the performers to

relax.

8. Invite applause and appreciation from audience; encourage questions about what

the performers’ poses were and why they chose them.

9. Give each group of children two or three themes; then ask them to rejoin the

audience and choose a new group.

10. After a few rounds, invite children in the audience to choose themes, reminding

them to choose things they might see or do in space.

11. Some possible themes:

● Blast off!

● Space station

● Sleeping in space

● Food in space

● Spacesuit

● Stars

● Sun

● Satellite

● Space tools

● On the Moon

ADAPTATIONS: For older groups, play the game like Charades. Divide the group into teams and have the

teams try to guess what their teammates’ poses are.

For youngest groups, you may want to pause between announcing the theme and saying

“go!” to allow children time to think of a pose.

Instead of choosing a few performers at a time, this could be played as a whole-group

activity with everyone making poses for each theme.


MISSION BRIEFING: BUILDING A COLONY ACTIVITY TYPE: Group discussion/ hands-on activity



SUMMARY: Children will discuss the requirements for humans to live on another planet and create a

design for a planetary colony.

MATERIALS: ● Printed copies of colony design images, 1 - 3 sets per class (see below)


● Blank paper (at least 1 sheet per child)

● Pencils, crayons, and/or markers

ENGAGE: After months (or even years!) of travel aboard a spacecraft, we’ll eventually reach our

target planet--but what will we do once we get there? How will we survive on an alien

planet?

Our final task from Mission Control is to make a plan for the colony we’ll need to build

when we arrive. What features will it need to have to keep us safe, healthy, and happy?

How will we transport and build the machines and buildings we need?

PROCEDURE: 1. Ask the group to think about what we might need in order to live on another

planet. If you’ve completed the Mission Briefing: Astronaut Training activity, you

may want to refer to the lists the group generated in that discussion.

● How might living on another planet be different from living on Earth, or in a

spacecraft?

● What things do you do every day that you’ll need to do in the space colony?

● What things will our colony need to have to keep us healthy and safe?

● What else might we need or want in our colony?

● What buildings, machines, or tools will we need to meet each of these needs?


2. Make lists of needs for humans living in a space colony, and the structures or

tools needed to meet them.

3. Show the group the images of colony designs, and explain that these are some

other people’s ideas of what a planetary colony could look like.

● What features do you see in these colonies?

● What do you think the different structures or machines are for?

● What similarities do these designs have? What are some differences?

4. Divide the class into groups of 3 - 4 and distribute paper and writing materials.

Invite the groups to work together to plan and draw their own design for a space

colony. Remind them to refer to the lists the group created for ideas of what to

include. Ask questions to guide their thinking and design process:

● Will your colony have one building, or more than one? What are the

advantages and disadvantages of having one vs. multiple buildings?

● Where will you eat, sleep and work? How will you get your food?

● What else do you think your colony needs?

5. Invite groups to share their designs with the class and talk about why they chose

the features they did.

6. Keep the lists and the groups’ designs in a visible location throughout the day. Use

this activity to frame and connect the rest of the day’s activities; for example:

● What does this activity tell us about living in a planetary colony?

● Is there anything new we need to add to our lists from this activity?


just discovered?

ADAPTATIONS: ● Ask the members of each group to choose a role they will play in the colony: food

supply specialist, building/structural engineer, research scientist, medical officer,

etc. Invite them to take responsibility for planning the parts of their colony that

relate to their job.

● The colony design activity may be done individually, if desired, instead of in

groups.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? What do we expect for our everyday life on Earth?

● Shelter from weather – a home and clothing

● Clean drinking water and a sanitary living environment

● Breathable air

● Nutritious food


● Adequate sleep and leisure time

● Physical well-being and medical care

The needs of humans living on another planet would be similar to those on Earth, but

some would be specific to the new environment:

● Shelter from radiation, micro-meteorites, dust, the surrounding vacuum and the

extreme temperature environments

● Less water use, and systems to recycle water--including hygiene facilities that use

very little water

● Breathable air – a way to either recycle old air or supply new air

● Nutritious food – to be either brought and stored or produced in the colony

● Medical facilities for minor problems (cuts, rashes, infections), and more serious

problems (broken bones or heart attacks)

● Sleeping quarters

● Exercise facilities to keep the heart, muscles, and bones strong.

● Temperature regulation systems to compensate for the temperature extremes.

● Communication systems (contact with Mission Control as well as family and

friends on Earth)

● Recycling or disposal of waste--without harming the planetary environment

● Monitoring systems for the life-support systems (air- and water-quality

monitoring, radiation dose measurements)

● A food preparation and eating area

● Work areas for exploration experiments (geology, biology, chemistry, etc.).

When a space habitat is designed, it is important that it should be:

● Safe – this is the most important consideration

● Robust – strong, reliable, durable, requiring minimal maintenance

● Lightweight – the average fridge weighs 100 kg and is clearly not an option in a

space habitat!

● Launchable – the different elements have to fit an available rocket in terms of

weight, shape and power requirements

● Effective – it must do what it was designed to do

● Affordable – space exploration is expensive, so all steps to reduce costs without

compromising performance and safety must be taken

SOURCE: Background information: http://www.scienceinschool.org/2011/issue19/habitat


http://www.scienceinschool.org/2011/issue19/habitat#w11



http://www.scienceinschool.org/2011/issue19/habitat






ASTRONAUT CRASH SURVIVAL



SUMMARY: Campers will think like astronauts to learn the difference between useful tools on Earth and useful tools in space.

MATERIALS: ● Crash Survival Supplies sheet (see below, 1 per camper) ● Crayons or markers ● Scissors (1 per camper) ● Glue ● 11 x 17 construction paper or heavy paper (1 per camper)

PREPARE AHEAD: (Optional:) Cut out the crash survival supply cards in advance to speed up this activity.

ENGAGE: We have just crash landed on the Moon! We need to make a spacewalk, carrying our supplies to an outpost that is miles away. We don’t have the muscle to bring everything we packed on the ship, so we’ll need to decide which things are the most important

PROCEDURE: 1. Divide the class into groups of 3 - 4. Distribute the Survival Supplies sheet. 2. Invite children to look at the 12 items on the Crash Survival Supplies sheet and

think about which ones might be the most critical, just helpful, or probably not necessary. Encourage them to discuss their thoughts with their crewmates:

● What do we need to survive in the first minute? In the first hour? In the first day?

● In what situations would a supply be important? ● What are some different ways we could use these supplies? How could we

repurpose one to fit a need other than its intended use? 3. Ask children to cut out the cards and line up their supplies in order of most to

least important. When they have decided on their final order, they should glue them onto their paper.

4. Encourage children to use crayons or markers to color the cards, if desired.


5. Once the whole class has their lists completed, encourage discussion and reflection about what children thought were most and least important. Offer the reasonings below about what a NASA engineer might believe is most or least important. (There are no right or wrong answers as there may be some unorthodox uses for some of these supplies!)

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? Astronauts and aerospace engineers need to use a lot of forethought when packing supplies--Mission Control cannot bring them the lunch they forgot on the counter back on Earth! Once they are in space, they must be resourceful and use whatever they have to solve any problems that come up.

Item Rank Explanation

Oxygen 1 The most pressing survival requirement

Water 2 Replacement of tremendous liquid loss on side of the Moon exposed to sunlight

Constellation Map

3 Primary means of navigation; stars are visible if you look away from the Sun in the sky

Food 4 Efficient means of supplying energy requirements

FM transceiver 5 For communication with any rescue ship on line of sight

Rope 6 Useful in scaling cliffs or use in case of emergency

First aid kit 7 Needles for medicines and vitamins fit special aperture on suit

Raft 8 No water to float on, but carbon dioxide bottle is a possible propulsion source

Flares 9 Possible distress signal when rescue ship or outpost is sighted

Heater 10 Not needed unless on dark side of the Moon

Compass 11 Useless; the Moon has no global magnetic field

Matches 12 No air on the Moon, so matches will not burn

SOURCE: Adapted from: https://www.astrosociety.org/edu/family/materials/crashlanding.pdf


https://www.astrosociety.org/edu/family/materials/crashlanding.pdf

Crash Survival Supply Sheet

Box of matches

These might be useful to

make a signal fire or

campfire in case of a crash

on Earth, but would they

be useful on the Moon?

Two 100 lb tanks of oxygen These tanks would weigh

100 pounds on Earth, but in

the Moon’s lighter gravity,

they would weigh less than

17 pounds each.

Magnetic compass

True North on Earth varies

from magnetic North by as

much as 23 degrees. How

well could you navigate on

the Moon with this?

Dehydrated food

Astronaut food is light

weight and compact. Just

add water and that packet

of mush could taste like a

pot roast.


Self-igniting signal flare

This flare could work

underwater or in the

vacuum of space.

Solar-powered FM

Transceiver

This radio transmitter and

receiver requires only

sunlight to function

properly.

50 feet of nylon rope

Nylon rope is tough and

lightweight.

Moon constellation map

Navigating by the stars on

the Moon would be very

much the same as

navigating by the stars on

Earth.


Portable heating unit This unit is designed to

work on its own batteries

with no external power

source.

5 gallons of water

Water is essential to life

and to reconstituting

dehydrated food.

First Aid kit Hypodermic needles fit

special openings in the

standard issue space suit.

Self-inflating raft with

carbon dioxide canister

This raft is standard issue

on shuttles that land on

Earth, in case of an

emergency water landing.


BUILD A ROVER ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on activity



SUMMARY: Children will design and build a vehicle for

exploring another world using recycled

materials.

MATERIALS: ● Pictures of planetary rovers (see below)

● Corrugated cardboard pieces, any size and shape,

up to 4” x 4” (one per child)

● Aluminum foil roll or pre-cut sheets (one roll/box

per class)

● Glue and/or tape dispensers (classroom set)

● A variety of building materials to inspire

imaginations (several of each item per child), such

as:

○ Round shapes for wheels: spools,

cardboard tubes, foam hair curlers, plastic

drink lids, CDs

○ Long, thin shapes for axles: chopsticks,

skewers, pencils, dowels, straws

○ Structural elements: popsicle sticks, small cardboard boxes,

plastic/styrofoam bowls or cups

○ Small, lightweight items for parts: bottle caps, cotton balls, soda can tabs,

game pieces, small aluminum tins

○ Decorative elements: stickers, construction paper, colored electrical tape

● For older groups, consider including functional pieces such as suction cups,

magnets, hinges, wire, etc.

● (Optional) Blank paper and pencils for sketching designs


PREPARE AHEAD: For younger groups, some materials may need advance preparation, such as cutting

cardboard into squares, cutting curlers or tubes into circular slices, etc.

ENGAGE: We’ve made it to our destination and are ready to

explore a new world! How much can we see by walking?

What if we want to see more of the planet than that?

What kind of vehicle might we need to explore another

planet?

Look at photos of planetary rovers. Ask children to

identify different features and look for similarities and

differences between them.

● What tasks does the rover need to do?

● What parts or features help it accomplish those tasks?

● What might be different about doing those tasks on another planet instead of

Earth? What might be some challenges of that environment?

PROCEDURE: 1. Ask children to think about what features

their rover will need to have. Invite them

to sketch out their ideas on paper first if

they like.

● What kind of environment will your

rover be moving around in?

● Will it carry people or not?

● What tools, instruments, or detectors

might it need to have?

● How will it get power to move?

2. Introduce the building materials and encourage children to begin creating their

designs.

3. As children work on their designs, encourage them to think and talk about the parts

their rover needs and how the materials they use represent them.

● What part of your rover will that be? What does that part do?

● What other parts are you going to add to your rover?


4. Invite children to share their finished designs with the group and talk about the

different parts their rover has.

● What task does each part do, and why is it important for your rover?

● What challenges did you have making your model? How did you solve the problems?

ADAPTATIONS: Younger groups may skip the sketching step, if desired, and begin directly with building.

For older groups, challenge children to use rubber bands, magnets, etc., to create parts of

the rover that perform an action--wheels that turn, swing arms that move, magnetic

“grabbers” that pick up metal objects, etc.

TAKE IT FURTHER: Offer the option of designing a landing module instead of (or as well as) a roving vehicle.

What components does a lander need that are different from a rover?

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? ● Like other machines, planetary vehicles are made of systems of parts that work

together. Each part has a specific function that is part of the larger job of the

machine.

● Parts of a rover vehicle might include:

○ A drive mechanism (engine/motor)

○ Wheels or treads for moving over the ground

○ A battery to provide power and solar panels for recharging

○ Communications equipment to send and receive information/commands

○ Places for crew to sit and steering mechanism

○ Remote-controlled arms or other instruments for collecting samples

○ Instruments for analyzing samples of rock, gases, etc.

○ Computer systems to control the various parts

● The parts of a rover are specifically designed for the environment it will be in.

The wheels must be suited to the type of ground (sandy, rocky, soft/swampy); the

machinery must be able to handle the environmental conditions (hot or cold

temperatures, wind, rain, or no atmosphere at all); the tools and instruments must

be able to collect the right kind of samples and data for that planet.

● Engineers who design space vehicles and other machines start by making models

of their designs--something that shows what the machine will be like--before

actually building it. These might be drawings, plans, or smaller, simpler versions

of the actual object.


NASA’s Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV)


NASA’s next generation concept vehicle, Lunar Electric Rover


Audi concept Moon Rover


Three generations of Mars Rovers (above); concept for manned Mars rover from the

movie The Martian (below).


FUN WITH FLAGS ACTIVITY TYPE: Design activity/make-and-take

AUDIENCE: K - 6th grade TIME FRAME: 35 - 45 minutes

SUMMARY: Children will think about what symbols or colors

represent a colony on their planet to create a Fuse

bead flag.

MATERIALS: ● Printed copy of flag images (see below)

● Perler or Fuse beads (1 20,000 piece bucket

per class)

● 5” - 6” square peg boards (or larger) (1 per child)

● Plastic lunch trays (1 per child)

● Wax paper (1 roll per class)

● Electric iron (1 or 2 per class)

● 5 - 10 bowls, cups, or plates to separate beads

● Scratch paper


● Magnet tape (optional, 1” per child)

PREPARE AHEAD: Pour out a mixture of beads into separate containers for each table. Plug in and turn on

the iron(s).

ENGAGE: Where have you seen flags before? Who or what were those flags for? What are some

colors you have seen on flags? What are some shapes you have seen on flags? What are

some pictures you have seen on flags? What do you think those colors, shapes, or

pictures mean to the people those flags represent? Show children some of the flag

examples to spark discussion.

We’re going to design flags to represent our new planetary colonies!


PROCEDURE: 1. Ask children to think about the colors, shapes, or pictures that might represent the

people in their colony.

2. Invite them to draw or sketch out that flag on paper. Remind them that they

should keep it small and simple to be able to recreate this flag with beads.

3. When they are finished, give each child a plastic tray and a peg board and

encourage them to start placing their beads.

4. Have a counselor or another adult lay some wax paper over the beads and iron

them until one side melts and fuses together (30 - 60 seconds on high heat).

5. After the designs are finished, invite the group to share their flags with each other

and talk about why they chose the colors or symbols they did.

6. Tips:

a. To avoid frustration, don’t ask children to carry their tray of beads as they

spill very easily. Let the adults in the room carry the plastic trays with the

peg boards on them.

b. The ironing can be quite time-consuming; the more irons you can have going

at once, the better.

c. Be careful not to melt the beads onto the peg boards or melt the peg boards

themselves.

ADAPTATIONS: For older groups, you may also discuss other aspects of their colony like laws, culture,

foods, holidays, or other ideas for their new society.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? Vexillology is the study of the history, symbolism, and usage of flags or, by extension,

any interest in flags in general. A person who studies flags is a vexillologist, one who

designs flags is a vexillographer, and the art of flag-designing is called vexillography. The

study of flags, or vexillology, was formalized by the U.S. scholar and student of flags

Whitney Smith in 1957.

Here is a link to a report with tips on the best practices in flag design:

https://nava.org/navanews/Commission-Report-Final-US.pdf.

Here is a link to a website with an almost comprehensive list of flag images:

https://www.crwflags.com/contents.html.


https://nava.org/navanews/Commission-Report-Final-US.pdf

https://www.crwflags.com/contents.html

Alaska

Phillies

Canada

Albania

Nepal

Barbados

Iceland

Ireland

Turkey

pirate


SHELTER ENGINEERS ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on activity

AUDIENCE: K - 6th grade TIME FRAME: 30 minutes

SUMMARY:

Children will learn about

some of the challenges of

living on the Moon, and

then design and build a

shelter that people could

live in.

MATERIALS: ● Book: If I Built a House by Chris Van Dusen

● Pencils and blank paper

● Design challenge materials, such as:

○ Corrugated cardboard

○ Recycled cereal, tissue, or other thin cardboard boxes

○ Fabric scraps (at least 12”-18” per scrap)

○ Wood or other large blocks

○ Aluminum foil

○ Chenille stems

○ Popsicle sticks

○ Newspaper

○ Card stock

○ Spools

○ Cotton balls

○ Plastic wrap

○ Beads

○ Tissue paper

○ Scissors

○ Tape


○ Glue

ENGAGE: Let’s think about what kinds of conditions exist on a place like the Moon and what kinds

of things people need to survive so we can build a model of a suitable shelter for a new

colony.

First, what is it like on the Moon? It’s not very hospitable, temperatures can fluctuate

between 250oF in the sunlight to -380oF in the dark. There is no atmosphere or oxygen

and the surface is regularly pelted with micro-meteorites, deadly solar radiation and

cosmic rays. There are only small amounts of water frozen in ice caps near the poles. It

was just recently discovered that their are underground lava tubes that might shield a

colony from some of these hazards.

What kinds of things would you need there to survive?

1. Protection from solar radiation and cosmic rays - without the atmosphere and

magnetic fields that protect the Earth from these, how could you block these from

hitting anyone’s bodies?

2. Materials - there are no trees, stones, or bricks to build with so you would have to

bring everything with you. What kinds of materials would be light and compact

enough to bring from Earth? Could you make materials out of something else?

3. Energy - where will you get a source of electricity? Solar, hydrothermal, batteries,

burning fuel?

4. Life support - how will you make and trap air to breathe? (Lunar soil does contain

42% oxygen) Where will you find water? How will you eat? Where will waste go?

PROCEDURE: 1. Read the book If I Built a House for inspiration.

● What are some of the features the boy decides to add to his house?

● What needs (or wants!) do they meet?

● Could they be added to a Moon habitat? Why or why not?

2. Divide the children into groups of 2 - 3.

3. Have them brainstorm some solutions and ideas for their shelter, show them the

materials that are available, and then invite them make a sketch with pencil and

paper.

4. Next, invite them to use the available materials to build a model of their shelter.As

children work on their designs, encourage them to think and talk about the parts

of their shelter and how the materials they use represent them.


● What part of your shelter will that be? Why is that part important?

● What made you choose that material? Why do you think it is a good choice

for that part of your shelter?

5. Encourage groups to share their completed designs with the class and talk about

their design process-- what features and materials they chose, what problems they

encountered while building, etc.

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? No human has walked on the Moon since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.

NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program is working on everything that will

be needed to make the Moon a place where a crew of astronauts can live for months.

Explorers from Earth will have to build their own habitat. A habitat is a structure

designed for people to live in on another planet, such as the Moon or Mars. While

habitats include many of the same features as a house on Earth--places to sleep, eat,

bathe, and work--they also need many other features that no Earth house would ever

need!

● There is no air or water on the Moon, and the temperature ranges from hundreds

of degrees below zero at night to hundreds of degrees above zero during the day. A

Moon habitat needs to be airtight to keep the breathable air inside, have water

recycling systems to conserve water, and both heating and cooling systems to

keep it at a comfortable temperature.

● A Moon habitat needs its own power generator, places for food storage and

preparation, and an airlock--a separate room between the inner and outer doors

that allows the astronauts to come in and out without leaking the habitat’s air

outside.

● Although there is no wind or rain on the Moon, a Moon habitat must be sturdy to

protect against the sun’s damaging UV radiation and the micrometeoroids (tiny

space rocks) that strike the Moon’s surface.

● A Moon habitat must also be lightweight, since the materials must be boosted off

the Earth’s surface with rockets, and easy to put together, because astronauts

would have to assemble it while wearing spacesuits.

SOURCE: https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/moon-habitat/en/

FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://www.space.com/28355-living-on-other-planets.html


https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/moon-habitat/en/

https://www.space.com/28355-living-on-other-planets.html

IMAGINING LIFE ACTIVITY TYPE: Hands-on exploration

AUDIENCE: PreK - 8th grade TIME FRAME: 25 - 30 minutes

SUMMARY: Children will explore the following ideas:

● Life on Earth comes in an amazing variety of forms.

● If life exists elsewhere in the universe, it could look very different from life on Earth.

● Astrobiologists use our knowledge about life on Earth to make predictions about

what life might be like elsewhere in the universe.

MATERIALS: ● Copies of drawing sheet (ImaginingLife_drawingsheet.pdf, 1 per child )

● Copy of Extremophile cards (ImaginingLife_cards.pdf)

● Markers or crayons

● Book: Alien Worlds: Your Guide to Extraterrestrial Life by David A. Aguilar

PREPARE AHEAD:

● Print the extremophile cards and make copies of the drawing sheets.

● Look through the book and decide which planet(s) and creature(s) you will share

with the group.

ENGAGE: Invite children to look through and talk about the extremophile cards. They show

creatures that live on Earth, but thrive in extreme environments where we may not

expect to find life.

Ask them imagine a planet or moon with an environment too harsh for people. Is it too

hot? Too cold? Too acidic? What kinds of creatures might live there?

Look at one or more of the planets imagined in the book. What are conditions like there?

What does the creature have to help it survive in its environment?

PROCEDURE:


1. Hand out the drawing sheets and invite children to color in the landscape to make

it look like one of the extreme environments they imagined.

2. Now ask them to draw a life form that could survive in their imaginary

environment. It can be one they saw on the cards, in the book, or one they

invented!

3. Ask questions to help children reflect on their creations:

● How big is your creature?

● Where does it live?

● What does it eat?

● How does it sense its environment?

● What makes your creature so well adapted to its environment? If it’s dry,

how does the creature find water? If it’s cold, how does it keep from freezing?

4. (For older groups) Continue the discussion with questions like:

● How important is it to find life in the rest of the universe?

● What is our responsibility to alien environments and life forms?

● Could we contaminate other worlds with microbes from Earth? How could

we prevent that from happening?

● If we do find extraterrestrial life, should we bring it back to Earth? Could it

live here? Would you want it for a pet? What if it got out into the wild and

disrupted the ecosystem by destroying species native to Earth?

● Who should get to decide about issues like these?

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE? Life on Earth comes in an amazing variety of forms. Some living

organisms, called extremophiles, thrive in environments far too

harsh for humans. Some extremophiles are relatively familiar

animals and plants that are well suited to their extreme

environments. Others are as strange as bacteria that thrive inside

rocks, or microbes that can withstand tremendous heat, cold, and

radiation.

All living things on Earth reached their present form through

evolution, the process by which organisms develop from earlier

forms. Every once in a while, a random genetic variation makes

an organism better adapted to its environment. Through natural selection, favorable

variations are passed down to the next generations. For example, penguins have adapted

to live in extremely cold temperatures, and Pompeii worms live in extremely hot

deep-sea vents.


Astrobiologists use what we know about life on Earth to

make predictions about what life might be like elsewhere

in the universe. Some NASA scientists study extremophiles

to better understand the environmental conditions that

sustain life and to predict what kind of life they might find

on different planets. Astrobiologists expect that alien life

forms—if they’re out there—will be specially adapted to

their environment. Most of the alien worlds we’ve

investigated so far are very different from Earth, so any living things we

find beyond Earth will probably be very different, too.

When you imagine life on another planet, you’re doing a little bit of astrobiology! Scientific breakthroughs involve creativity as well as data collection and

experimentation. When we use our imaginations, it helps us understand what a

habitable extraterrestrial planet might be like, and what kind of life might survive there.

SOURCE: http://www.nisenet.org/catalog/exploring-universe-imagining-life


http://www.nisenet.org/catalog/exploring-universe-imagining-life

Does life exist beyond Earth?Imagine an alien life form that lives on a far-off world. Where does your alien live? Is it hot or cold, dry or wet? How is your creature especially well suited to its environment?

Does life exist beyond Earth?Imagine an alien life form that lives on a far-off world. Where does your alien live? Is it hot or cold, dry or wet? How is your creature especially well suited to its environment?

Learn more about the search for life beyond Earth: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/Learn more about the search for life beyond Earth: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/

When you imagine life on another planet, you’re doing a little bit of science! Researchers use our knowledge about life on Earth to make predictions about what a habitable extraterrestrial planet might be like, and what kind of life could survive there.

When you imagine life on another planet, you’re doing a little bit of science! Researchers use our knowledge about life on Earth to make predictions about what a habitable extraterrestrial planet might be like, and what kind of life could survive there.

THE AMAZING

CHECK IT OUT!

These birds have adapted to survive in bitter cold.

Many penguins live in the Antarctic, where temperatures are well below freezing. They often live in large groups, huddling together to keep warm. To get around in their chilly world, penguins swim, surf the waves, and use their bellies like sleds.

Penguins are an example of a complex life form adapted to an extreme environment. Beyond Earth, scientists think we’re more likely to find microscopic organisms.

EMPEROR PENGUINTHE AMAZING

CHECK IT OUT!

These worms thrive deep in the ocean on volcanic sea vents.

Pompeii worms attach themselves to “black smokers,” or geothermal heat vents, at the bottom of the ocean. They look hairy, but their bristles are actually colonies of bacteria that insulate the worm from extremely hot temperatures! They can grow to be about 13 centimeters (5 inches) long.

Scientists want to learn more about how organisms can survive in extreme heat. Some potentially habitable planets in other solar systems might be hotter than Earth.

POMPEII WORM

Pompeii worms live on very hot deep-sea vents.

POMPEII WORMTHE AMAZING

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Emperor penguins live in the cold, icy Antarctic.

THE AMAZING

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THE AMAZING

CHECK IT OUT!

Lichens can survive almost anywhere.

Lichens can live for hundreds of years in a wide range of environments, from arctic tundra to hot deserts to rocky coasts. They can grow on trees, rocks, walls, and even toxic slag heaps. Because lichens are so tough and versatile, they are found blanketing around 6% of Earth’s land surface!

Lichens are a combination of more than one kind of life—usually a fungus with algae, bacteria, or both. Some scientists think that evidence for composite organisms could be discovered on Mars.

LICHENTHE AMAZING

CHECK IT OUT!

RUSHING FIREBERRY

This microbe is found in scorching hot marine volcanic sediments.

The hotter the better for this organism! The rushing fireberry can survive the burning temperatures of deep-sea volcanoes. It grows best at 100 degrees Celsius, and when conditions are good, it quickly reproduces and increases its population.

Some potentially habitable planets in other solar systems (exoplanets) might be closer to their sun than Earth is to ours, so scientists want to learn more about how organisms can survive in extremely hot places.

THE AMAZING

The rushing fireberry lives in the boiling vents of deep-sea volcanoes.

RUSHING FIREBERRY

Wikipedia / Fulvio314

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Lichens come in a variety of shapes and colors.

LICHEN

CIN

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flickr / Jason Hollinger

THE AMAZING

These microbe colonies flourish in very acidic environments.

Snottites are single-celled bacteria that live in colonies in dark, wet caves. “Snotties” look like small stalactites but have the consistency of mucus. They get their energy through chemosynthesis of volcanic sulfur, and their waste is highly acidic.

Some planets, such as Venus, have toxic clouds and atmospheres. They may be the perfect place to look for life forms that love acidic environments!

SNOTTITES

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This eight-legged micro-animal is one of the most durable life forms on Earth.

Tardigrades (also called water bears or moss piglets) can live in a variety of extreme environments, including high mountains, rainforests, and deep seas. They can endure freezing temperatures, high pressure, and very dry air, sometimes by entering a state of suspended animation. As a research experiment, tardigrades were exposed to the radiation and vacuum of space for ten days—and they survived!

NASA researchers are studying tardigrades to understand what alien forms of life might be like.

TARDIGRADE

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Tardigrades can survive a range of extreme environments.

TARDIGRADE

ESA / Dr. Ralph O

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PS / Diane N

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THE AMAZING

Snottite colonies live in dark, wet, acidic caves.

SNOTTITES

caveslime.org / Kenneth Ingham

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Snow algae survive on mountaintop snow and ice.

For many years people thought the reddish color on high alpine snowfields was caused by a mineral, but researchers have discovered that it’s actually huge colonies of algae. Snow algae grow in the freezing water created by melting snow. The algae look and even smell a little like watermelon!

Scientists are trying to determine if Jupiter’s icy moon Europa might have the right mix of conditions to harbor forms of life that tolerate cold.

SNOW ALGAETHE AMAZING

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This crab thrives on the deep, dark ocean floor.

Sightless, hairy yeti crabs live near hydrothermal vents deep in the ocean.Bacteria coating their hairs eat toxic minerals emitted from the vents. The crabs may eat the bacteria, or they may scavenge on dead things falling from above.

Scientists think life in other parts of the universe won’t look very much like life here on Earth. But we haven’t found any scientific evidence of extraterrestrial life yet!

YETI CRAB

THE AMAZING

The yeti crab lives deep in the ocean, away from sunlight.

YETI CRAB

University of H

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acPherson

THE AMAZING

Snow algae live in the freezing water created by snowmelt.

SNOW ALGAE

naturetime.w

ordpress.com / Richard and Pam

Winegar

THE AMAZING

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WOOD FROG

These frogs survive frigid temperatures by hibernating.

During the winter, wood frogs burrow into the ground. Their breathing and heartbeat stop, and up to two-thirds of their body may freeze. When it gets warmer, they thaw out, wake up, and hop away!

Scientists don’t think we’ll find complex life forms like frogs on other planets or moons in our solar system. We’re more likely to find microscopic life forms.

THE AMAZING

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These special plants are well suited to the high, dry desert.

Many different kinds of barrel cactus grow in the Sonoran Desert of Baja, California. Each one is specially adapted to its own micro-environment. They can withstand huge changes in temperature—hot during the day and very cold at night—and they need very little water. The barrel cactus is protected by sharp spines.

Scientists are learning more about how some living things can survive the extreme environments found on other planets and moons. But we haven’t yet found signs of life anywhere other than Earth!

BARREL CACTUS

THE AMAZING

The barrel cactus lives in dry desert environments.

BARREL CACTUS

flowerspictures.org

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The wood frog can survive freezing temperatures in the winter.

WOOD FROG

flickr / Brian Gratw

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Space Explorers - The Franklin Institute

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