Thoroughly written, this plan walks you through every detail of having your high school astronomers design scale models of the solar system. Complete instructions on building to scale, lesson procedures, and associated worksheets are all...

Young scholars discuss the benefits of the International Space Station. They evaluate the challenges the designers faced when trying to design the space station. Students discuss the use of scale models when designing large structures...

Students explore the challenges that are faced when transporting materials into space. They review the various forms of energy, including solar arrays, that are used on the International Space Station and how generating this energy calls...

Students explore the Solar System and examine the characteristics of al the planets. Through research and discussion, they create catalogs of the Solar System's components. Next, students use their findings to create Powerpoint...

Students build the Voyage scale model of the Solar System on a playground and "travel" to each planet. They recognize that the Sun and planets are tiny worlds in a vast space, giving them a new perspective on the Solar System, and...

A dozen years after a great plague wipes out the majority of Earth's civilization, a group of scientists joins together to fight infectious diseases. Scholars join the training mission and learn about viruses, bacteria, pathogens and...

Math and science come together in this cross-curricular astronomy lesson plan on planetary motion. Starting off with a hands-on activity that engages the class in exploring the geometry of circles and ellipses, this lesson...

Between the time scientists discovered Pluto and reclassified it as a dwarf planet, it did not even make one full revolution around the sun. In two activities, scholars investigate scale models and their properties. Pupils find that it...

Take your class on a journey through our solar system. Learners explore each planet, from Mercury to Pluto, and discuss various features that differentiate one from another. They complete activities related to the topics and discuss the...

Students investigate the concept of the solar system in our universe by constructing a model that is made to a measurable scale. Once the model is constructed it should be placed in a wide open space for observation and demonstration...

Students experience and participate in a journey through a "Voyage" exhibition of the Solar System and the frontier it covers. They build a dynamic model of the Earth and Sun. Descriptions are given on the relative sizes of the Sun and...

Did you know that Pluto is smaller than the United States of America? It is difficult to conceptualize the size of planets and the distance between them, and the lesson addresses those exact issues. After a discussion, pupils create...

High schoolers interpret a message sent to space using a radio telescope and draw inferences from the interpreted message. Working with a partner, they interpret data that scientists believe is a message from aliens. They work on...

Students investigate different types of building structures and how they are able to stand up to earthquakes. Through comparison they determine which buildings are better able to handle earthquakes than others. They create a building,...

Students explore how building a model can help them better understand the natural world. They identify common cycles or patterns in nature as well as examples of models in the classroom. After discussion, they choose a pattern or cycle...

Learners investigate the concept of a model and how it is used to represent something that is real. They recognize how the model can be applied to other types of concepts like the solar system. Students create a scale drawing of a house...

Learners discover how distance can change how our view of an object. Students build a representative model of where their home is located from different distances. They create three drawn models of their home from various elevations as...

Learners investigate the age of the earth by using accepted scientific methods. They conduct research about the use of radioactive dating and there is a simulation activity of the process. Finally, students measure the radioactive decay...

Learners examine the relationship between water retention and plant growth by conducting two experiments. They first compare the water retention qualities of clay, sand and loam soil types. Then they use the data from the first...

Young scholars use NASA photographs and hands-on activities to compare the amounts of land and water on our planet. They discover that the world has five oceans and that they cover seventy percent of Earth's surface. Students learn how...

Students analyze monthly sea surface temperature data from the Pacific Ocean to determine if the period is an El Nino or a normal year. They recognize signs to see if there are any patterns that signal either occurrence. Satellite images...

High schoolers study water resources that are important to the people of North American and Africa. They use satellite images and data to explore how human actions can degrade, improve, or maintain water resources. They analyze and...

Students develop a sense of the scale of our solar system by creating a one to ten billion scale model. They calculate the relative sizes and distances for the planets and asteroid belt using a guiding worksheet. To create the model they...

Students are introduced to the causes of plate movements and the hazards they present. They plot the location of 50 earthquakes and 50 volcanic eruptions on a map and explore the relationships between plate tectonics, earthquakes, and...