BioEd Online
Muscles and Bones in Space
Being an astronaut takes not only high mental acuity, but also a high level of physical fitness, especially for those who spend a long amount of time away from Earth, such as the astronauts serving on the International Space Station....
Curated OER
Suited for Space
A fantastic lesson on survival in outer space should excite your learners! Pupils explore the challenges that living, working, and surviving in space elicit. They focus on the spacesuit itself; how it protects astronauts, and enables...
PHET
Radiation Hazards in Space
Young scientists race from Earth to Mars and back, trying to complete mission objectives while avoiding radiation in this game for 2-4 players. To identify the winner, players must graph their mission points and radiation points at the...
Scholastic
Lesson Three: The Earth, Movement in Space
If you feel like you're standing still, you're wrong! The Earth is constantly rotating and orbiting under our feet. Demonstrate the Earth's movement within the solar system with a collaborative activity. With a candle or lamp in the...
California Academy of Science
Kinesthetic Astronomy: Earth's Rotation
After completing the activity, "Kinesthetic Astronomy: The Meaning of a Year," zoom in on Earth's rotation using the same simulation setup and this outline. Each class member dons a map of the Western Hemisphere and plays the part of...
Space Awareness
Sun, Earth and Moon Model
The moon orbits Earth while the Earth is rotating, and the Earth revolves around the sun. This can be a tricky concept for young astronomers. Implement an activity that helps distinguish between the movements of Earth's systems around...
Space Awareness
Fizzy Balloons - C02 in School
Carbon dioxide is a very important gas; it is present in the air, used in cooking, and supports plant and animal life. Scholars investigate the properties of carbon dioxide with three different activities. They experience a color change,...
Curated OER
Fermi Observatory Measures the Lumps in Space
In this gamma-ray worksheet, students read about the Fermi Gamma-ray Observatory and how it measures the invisible lumps in space. Students solve 3 problems using an equation to determine the time that gamma-rays travel in space and the...
NASA
Earth, Earth’s Moon, Mars Balloons
Very specific diameters are given for blowing up three different balloons to represent, in scale, the moon, Earth, and Mars. In groups of three, amateur astronomers explore scale measurements and distance in space.
NASA
Einstein's Gravity
Assist your high school class with researching and applying the principles of gravity so they may further understand why Einstein is so widely recognized, even today. Individuals compare and contrast two different models that demonstrate...
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...
Messenger Education
Give Me a Boost—How Gravity Assists Aid Space Exploration
The propellant needed for space explorations runs in the thousands, while paying to get the craft into orbit costs millions! In the second installment of three, two activities explore laws of conservation of energy and momentum. Using...
Curated OER
Earth: Our Big Blue Marble
Students investigate Earth and its resources. In this Earth, space, and nature lesson plan, students collaborate to design presentations on the Earth, its cycles, and how humans have impacted the planet. Images, diagrams, and background...
Space Awareness
The Climate in Numbers and Graphs
Weather versus climate: weather relates to short time periods while climate averages the weather of a period of many years. Scholars learn about average temperature and precipitation in various climate zones and then apply statistics...
NASA
Earth's Global Energy Budget
Introduce your earth science enthusiasts to the earth's energy budget. Teach them using an informative set of slides that include illuminating lecturer's notes, relevant vocabulary, embedded animations, colorful satellite maps, and a...
Curated OER
Reading and Writing about the Solar System
A superb interdisciplinary approach highlights this instructional activity which incorporates space science knowledge and narrative skills. After reading The Magic School Bus, two excellent poems, and watching a video, all about our...
Scholastic
Lesson One: The Earth, Background and Glossary
How much do you really know about our planet? Middle schoolers build up their prior knowledge about Earth, its placement in the solar system, its composition, and important geological vocabulary with an introductory earth science lesson.
NASA
Christa's Lost Lesson: Effervescence
How are chemical reactions affected by gravity? Learners explore the phenomenon of effervescence as part of the Christa's Lost Lessons series. They compare findings in an experiment on effervescence to a video of a similar experiment in...
Curated OER
From the Mouths of Space Scientists: An Introduction to Space and Weather
After researching the Greenland Space Science Symposium, curious thinkers create a PowerPoint or video presentation. They use the information they gathered to construct their presentation.
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Space Travel Guide
Looking to take a trip? Why not go to space? Here, scholars take on the role as travel agent to create a guide to their favorite planet including travel tips and sightseeing recommendations.
University of Colorado
Space Travel Guide
Neptune takes 164.8 Earth years to travel around the sun. In the fifth of 22 lessons, young scientists create a travel guide to a planet in our solar system. They provide tips for others on what to bring, what they see, and their...
Space Awareness
Day and Night in the World
How do different parts of the world experience day and night? Introduce scholars to the concept of global citizenship while teaching about animal behavior with discussion of nocturnal and diurnal animals. Then, learners complete...
Space Awareness
Let's Map the Earth
Before maps went mobile, people actually had to learn how to read maps. Pupils look at map elements in order to understand how to read them and locate specific locations. Finally, young cartographers discover how to make aerial maps.
University of Colorado
Distance = Rate x Time
Every year, the moon moves 3.8 cm farther from Earth. In the 11th part of 22, classes use the distance formula. They determine the distance to the moon based upon given data and then graph Galileo spacecraft data to determine its movement.