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Women in Space
Pupils read biographies of women who have made contributions to field of aerospace and aeronautics, choose one woman to research, and present their findings to classmates in form of essay, play, poster, or presentation.
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Planetary Trading Cards
Students research facts about each of the nine planets and record them on Planetary Trading Cards. Students use these cards to later construct a poster that is part of their mission day. Students use a variety of resources to research...
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Angle Measurement of Aircraft Wings and Tails
Students measure the angles of wings and tails of various aircraft using a protractor. They estimate and check their measurements. They investigate aircraft being developed and tested at NASA Dryden.
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Space: The Final Frontier
Sixth graders construct a graph to demonstration information that they've learned about the solary system. They also write or illustrate a sonar or lunar eclipse.
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Get the Picture!
Astronomers practice downloading data from a high-energy satellite and translate the data into colored or shaded pixels. As a hands-on activity, they use pennies to simulate high-energy satellite data and they convert their penny...
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NIGHT AND DAY: DAILY CYCLES IN SOLAR RADIATION
Students examine how Earth's rotation causes daily cycles in solar energy using a microset of satellite data to investigate the Earth's daily radiation budget and locating map locations using latitude and longitude coordinates.
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Just Me and My Shadow
Middle schoolers take measurements throughout the day using a simple sundial called a gnomon. They record the results on a Data Log and convert from English units to metric (S.I.) units. Data points are plotted on the same graph and...
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Amelia the Pigeon: As a Pigeon Flies
Students follow Amelia's adventure on a satellite image. They use measuring and math skills to determine the distance she traveled.
NASA
Revising an Investigation
Write, edit, and then revise! The fourth lesson in a five-part series asks peers to provide feedback on research. Individuals then use the research to edit and revise conclusions and develop their presentations.
NASA
Foam Rocket
When going for distance, does it make a difference at what angle you launch the rocket? Teams of three launch foam rockets, varying the launch angle and determining how far they flew. After conducting the series of flights three times,...
NASA
Launch Altitude Tracker
Using PVC pipe and aquarium tubing, build an altitude tracker. Pupils then use the altitude tracker, along with a tangent table, to calculate the altitude of a launched rocket using the included data collection sheet.
NASA
Developing an Investigation
Watch as your class makes the transition from pupils to researchers! A well-designed lesson has scholars pick a solar wind characteristic to research. They then collect and analyze official data from the LANL website. This is the third...
NASA
Exploring Data
Bring the sun to your class! Young scholars analyze actual solar wind data in the second lesson of a five-part series. Their analysis includes speed, temperature, and density data.
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Proportionality: Modeling the Future
Students explore and examine how patterns, measurement, ratios and proportions are utilized in the research development and production of airplanes. They meet a pilot from the Federal Aviation Association who describes the growth of air...
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Lotto or Life: What Are the Chances?
Though the website does not seem to have the mentioned video, a reding and lottery style games simulate the chances of finding intelligent life somewhere other than Earth. Without the video, this instructional activity is short, but it...
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Detective Digis and the Computer Caper
Mathematicians participate in an hands-on activity to investigate the binary number system and write messages in binary code and have classmates decipher the messages. A said video on the topic does not seem to be available, but the...
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Sequencing From Close To Far
Students explore how objects stay the same size and only "look" like they change when closer are farther from the object. They sequence aerial photos and satellite images from closest to farthest.
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Vectors
High schoolers listen to a lecture and complete a number of problems as they go. There are a variety of examples given and they are guided through the problem solving steps for each of the real-world scenarios regarding the purpose of...
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Ellipses and Kepler's First Law
The class examines graphs in the form r = F(¿¿) in polar coordinates (r, ¿¿), in particular with the circle, ellipse and other conic sections. They determine the nature of an ellipse by studying the role of the semimajor axis and...
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Altitude Tracking
Students estimate the altitude of a rocket during several flights. They create their own altitude tracking devise. They examine and discuss their results at the end of the activity.
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Algebra: Mirror, Mirror on the Universe
Learners assess how algebra, telescopes, space exploration and optics are so important in astronomy. They encounter studies on the Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Deep Field and how algebra helps to determine the effects of contamination...
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Can an Astronaut on Mars Distinguish Earth from its Moon?
Young scholars explore the possibility of being on Mars and being able to identify the Earth. In this space lesson students complete a set of calculations to see if this is possible.
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When a Ruler is Too Short
Students measure distances using parallax. In this math lesson, students explain how this method helped astronomers with their studies of the solar system. They determine the length of their arm using parallax and compare it with other...
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Determining Center of Gravity
Students complete calculations involving the structure and properties of matter. They engage in a variety of problem solving activities to help them determine the center of gravity.