Curated OER
Interplanetary Distance and Travel Time
Students are introduced to the challenges involved in understanding the space travel distances and the time involved to do so through the use of an interactive fable. The modeling and comparisons deal with specific distances at different...
101 Questions
Stopping Distances
In 2016, one in every four fatal car crashes listed speeding as a contributing factor. Pupils view videos of a car trying to come to a quick stop from four different rates of speed. They use context clues to measure and determine the...
Space Awareness
Living in the Milky Way
Get to know our galaxy with an astronomy-themed, hands-on activity. Scholars watch an informative video, answer questions, and construct a model of the Milky Way in order to examine its contents and the distance inside it.
PHET
Learning about Space Weather
Is the sun the only celestial body with magnetic fields? A guided discussion on the weather in space is designed with a mix of questions, discussions, explanations, and applications. Additionally, the resouce includes an article for...
Curated OER
Solar System Hall Model
Not novel, but fun, this lesson gets your space science learners to model the size of the planets and the solar system along your school's hallway. Scaled measurements as well as actual distances are provided for both planet diameters...
Curated OER
Calculating Distances in Two and Three Dimensions
Students use the Pythagorean Theorem to solve problems. In this geometry lesson, students solve for the distances by calculating the different parts of the shape of a two and three dimensional shape. They reason by analogy.
Curated OER
Astronomical Distances and Space Travel
Students estimate the size of the solar system and the distance to the nearest star. For this space lesson students complete calculations and use Sattgast Hall as a scale model.
Teach Engineering
An Inflated Impression of Mars
Help your class understand the magnitude of the distance between Earth and Mars with an activity that asks small groups to use balloons to create scale models of the Earth, Moon, and Mars. Class members figure out the distances between...
NASA
Collecting Light: Inverse Square Law Demo
Light, distance, and mathematics come together to help scientists plan for space missions. Groups examine the relationship between distance from the sun and light availability in a hands-on exploration activity. They model the inverse...
Science Geek
Electrons in Atoms
Electrons could never be Bohring! The presentation covers where you find electrons in an atom. It begins with the Bohr Model, then moves on to the Heisenberg Principle and orbital shapes. It concludes with the concept of electron spin...
Curated OER
Space Science: Phases of the Moon
Looking for a terrific lesson on the phases of the moon that has lots of good worksheets? With two excellent websites are embedded in the plan, the activity is sure to spark some interest in your astronomy unit. Some common...
Curated OER
Special Edition: World Space Congress 2002: The New Face of Space
Students experience and study how space offers expanding resources for commerce, science, technology and education. They view how advances in space can and do improve life on Earth. Each student views a geological exploration within this...
Curated OER
Space: Our Star, the Sun, and Its Friends, the Planets
Students examine the solar system. In this space lesson, students identify the order of the planets and their relative size to the sun. Students create a scale model of our solar system using a variety of household objects.
Center for Math and Science Education
Pocket Solar System
How in the world can something as big as the solar system possibly fit in your pocket? Complete this simple modeling activity and find out, as young scientists gain an appreciation for the incredible scale of outer space.
Curated OER
Hello, Is Anybody Out There? (cont.)
In this space science worksheet, students read an informative passage about radio waves and the possibility of sending messages in space. The passage describes a "Sounds of Earth" record on the Voyager satellite which contains messages...
Odyssey of the Mind
Odyssey of the Mind Curriculum Activity: From a Distance
Challenge your class with an amazing set of ideas that really put the project back into project-based learning. It all starts with a whole class research task. Each learner will look up and take notes on multiple facets of things that...
New York City Department of Education
Grade 2 Literacy in Social Studies: Where Is Home?
What makes a community? How communities differ? Young scholars research different types of communities, small rural towns, and large crowded cities. They respond to writing prompts, and write essays in groups to understand the wide...
New York City Department of Education
Grade 4 Literacy in English Language Arts: A Call to Action
You have the power! Scholars learn that they have power of the pen in their writing. After reading and viewing various sources about standardized testing, they express their own opinions about the testing by writing letters to the...
Astronomical Society of the Pacific
Toilet Paper Solar System
Can we model how large the solar system really is? Attempt an astronomical feat with a hands-on-activity that uses a roll of toilet paper. Young scientists measure the distances of the planets from the sun to create a scale model of the...
Curated OER
Sending Messages to Space
Students 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 organizing...
Curated OER
A View Of Home From The Front Door and From Space
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...
Curated OER
Where in Our Solar System Are We?
Second graders research distance between planets and the sun using encyclopedias. They use toilet paper sheets as a unit of measurement (50 million km.) students stand at planet locations using toilet paper to measure distance between.
Curated OER
Seeing Solar Storms in STEREO-II
In this solar storms learning exercise, students use a diagram given the location of two STEREO spacecraft satellites, a coronal mass ejection, the sun and the Earth to solve 2 problems about the coronal mass ejection. Students use...
NASA
Resolving 3-Plane Traffic Conflicts by Changing Route—Problem Set C
Keep the planes from crashing. Pupils work with three airplanes and change their flight paths to keep them at a safe distance from each other. Individuals work through three problems in the third interactive in a set of six with...