Curated OER
NASA Robots
Students explore the world of robotics. In this robotics lesson, students discover what a robot is and work with partners to find out how hard it is to accurately guide robots through simple tasks.
Curated OER
Solar Cycle
Students explore the solar cycle through a series of experiments. For this space science lesson, students construct and evaluate solar cycle graphs. They explain how this phenomenon affects the Earth.
Curated OER
Hello Sun, Goodnight Moon
Students become familiar with different times around the world through the reading of 9 O'clock Lullaby. In this Earth, sun, moon lesson, students recognize the movement of the Earth and the relationship to the sun and the...
Curated OER
Moon
Learners discover scientific facts about the Moon and how
some American Indian Tribes used the moon to measure time.
They accomplish this by listening to stories and poetry, writing
stories, communicating with an astronaut,...
Curated OER
Cooler in the Shadows
Students explore Earth science by creating a scale model in class. In this shadow lesson, students research the impact the sun has on Earth shadows and complete a space science worksheet. Students create models of the Sun and Earth and...
Curated OER
Space Weight, Gravity, and Distance
For this planets in space worksheet, high schoolers calculate their weight on the 9 planets plus calculate the distance of the planets from the sun in astronomical units. This worksheet has 6 fill in the blank and 3 short answer questions.
Curated OER
Succession in the Classroom
Students investigate their environment by growing plants in class. In this botany lesson, students discuss the lifespan of plants and animals and how they must be cared for continuously over time. Students grow a plant in...
Curated OER
Partnership in Science Education
Students compare two regions of the world, their own and one many miles away. They explore and compare these two places and prepare a report that gives a complete comparison and description of the two regions. They collaborate in...
Curated OER
Sun Activity
In this space science worksheet, students find the answers to the questions concerning the topic of the sun and they label the diagram for the sun.
Curated OER
How To Build a Planet From The Inside Out!
High schoolers read about the Spitzer Space Telescope and the technology used to learn about planet composition. They calculate the radius of a planet, the size of a planet, the average density of a planet and the likely core composition...
Journey Through the Universe
A Scale Model Solar System
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...
Space Awareness
How Light Pollution Affects the Stars: Magnitude Readers
Did you know light can decrease visibility? Light pollution absolutely makes it more difficult to see stars. Scholars build a simple magnitude reader to determine the magnitude of stars. They use these data to estimate the impact of...
Space Awareness
The Fibre Optic Cable Class
Many people know that fiber optics are used in delivering the Internet, but are surprised to learn they are also used in astronomy. Scholars explore light, reflection, and fiber optics through hands-on activities. They discuss...
Space Awareness
Make a Star Lantern
Go star-gazing with young learners! They study the history, origins, and patterns of constellations in an activity that explores the starry night sky.
Space Awareness
Coma Cluster of Galaxies
Scientists classify everything from the smallest cells to the largest galaxies, but how do they decide on a classification system? Scholars use 40 pictures of galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope to sort and try creating their...
Curated OER
Thirsty Rocks: Please "Porous" a Drink!
A simple activity goes a long way in demonstrating the property of porosity to your rock hounds. They will mass a specimen of dry sandstone and then soak it in a pre-measured amount of water. After seven minutes, they once again measure...
Curated OER
Gelatin Volcanoes
Students investigate magma flow using gelatin volcano models. For this earth science lesson, students sketch the magma bodies as observed from the top of their model. They explain why magma moves that way.
Science Matters
Slip Sliding Along
The San Andreas Fault is the largest earthquake-producing fault in California. In the seventh lesson plan in the 20 part series, pupils create maps of California, focusing on the San Andreas Fault system. The comparison of where...
US Environmental Protection Agency
Sea Level: On the Rise
With the global temperature on the rise, the effects of climate change are starting to be seen. However, many people have a difficult time conceptualizing the long-term effects, such as sea levels rising. Given an easy and effective...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Galileo: Revealing the Universe
To gain an understanding of the significance of Galileo Galilei's revolutionary ideas, class members watch the short video "Stargazing Before Galileo," and conduct a close reading of Galileo's Sidereal Messsenger. They then...
NASA
Dark Matter NASA Conference
Young scholars calculate the escape velocity of planets in our solar system and use that knowledge to calculate the escape velocity for NGC 2300 group. They then suggest reasons for the escape velocity to be higher than possible given...
NASA
Soda Straw Rockets
Three, two, one, blast off to a better understanding of force and motion with this exciting science lesson! Beginning with a discussion about rockets and gravity, young scientists go on to complete a series of worksheets about net...
Curated OER
The Coriolis Effect
Learners will determine the direction of Earth's rotation as viewed from the north and south if they were suspended out in space. They will model how the rotation of the Earth causes currents to be deflected in different directions for...
Curated OER
Satellite Drag and the Hubble Space Telescope
In this satellite drag and Hubble space telescope worksheet, students solve two problems using a graph showing the altitude of the satellite vs. the year with two lines showing two different types of re-boost and one...