Messenger Education
Can You Hear Me Now?—Communicating with Spacecraft
Radio signals transmitted to Pluto take five hours to reach their destination! In these two activities, young scientists explore data communication in space. In activity one, pupils learn how data is gathered and sent back to Earth....
Curated OER
Is There Ice on Mercury?
For this ice on Mercury worksheet, students read about the data collected from the NASA Messenger and the Arecibo Radio Telescope indicating the possibility of ice on Mercury. Students solve 6 problems including finding the scale of the...
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...
Messenger Education
Dangers of Radiation Exposure
Gamma radiation, which is harmful, is useful in treating cancers. In the second lesson in a series of four, young scientists take surveys and calculate their yearly exposure to ionizing radiation. Then they read about how harmful their...
Messenger Education
Star Power! Discovering the Power of Sunlight
It takes less than 10 minutes for energy from the sun to travel 90 million miles to Earth! In the first installment in a series of four, groups measure the amount of solar radiation that reaches Earth. They then discuss how this is...
Messenger Education
Mission: Possible—How Can We Plan an Exploration of Another World?
An astronaut's spacesuit weighs 280 pounds and takes 45 minutes to put on — that's a serious suit! The second activity of a three-part series allows pupils to see all that goes into space exploration. Through simulations, groups analyze...
Messenger Education
Exploring Exploring
The reason people first began trading was because of their desires for objects other societies possessed. In the activity, classes discuss why exploration has been a common thread in all societies and where these desires have taken...
Curated OER
Sensing Energy: Designing to Stay Cool
Students examine the energy the sun produces on a daily basis. In groups, they discover the properties of visible and invisible light. They also adjust the exposure time to change the properties of various objects. To end the lesson,...
Curated OER
Light Travel Times
In this travel time of light worksheet, learners read about the NASA satellites and space probes that transmit radio signals at the speed of light across huge distances. Students solve 3 problems about data transmission from space to...
Curated OER
Cooler in the Shadows
Young scholars 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. Young scholars create models of the Sun and...
Curated OER
Working with Rates
In this working with rates worksheet, students solve 9 problems where they find the rates, they solve 5 problems where they find the rates for compound units and they solve 5 problems where they find the rates using scientific notation.
American Museum of Natural History
Planetary Mysteries
Get to know our little part of the vast universe. Learners read about the common and not-so-common facts about each of the planets in the solar system. The interactive lesson includes a large amount of information as well as a quiz to...
Curated OER
Can You Hear My Now?: Getting the Message Across
In this power transmittance worksheet, students read about sources that transmit power and are given a chart with the distance and the power transmitted by each device. Students determine the intensity in watts of the power for each...
Curated OER
Snow Goggles
Students assemble snow goggle models and discuss how snow goggles change the amount of light shining in their eyes.
Curated OER
Dangers of Radiation Exposure
Students calculate their yearly exposure rate to harmful high-energy radiation and cumulative effects over time. They use the information to evaluate the various sources of radiation that are of greatest concern for them.
Curated OER
My Angle on Cooling: Effects of Distance and Inclination
Learners discuss what heat is and how it travels. They discover that one way to cool an object in the presence of a heat source is to increase the distance from it or change the angle at which it is faced.
Curated OER
Look at those Leaves!
Students observe leaves for patterns and similarities. In this science lesson plan, students sort through a pile of leaves to find patterns and take measurements. Students make leaf rubbings to view the details of the leaves.
Curated OER
Cooler in the Shadows
Students explore how the amount of sunlight and heat change in areas that are shaded.
Curated OER
Dangers of Radiation Exposure
High schoolers explore sources of high-energy radiation and calculate student exposure to ionizing radiation over the past year.
Curated OER
Cooler in the Shadows
Students explore how the amount of sunlight and heat change in areas that are shaded.
Curated OER
Look At Those Leaves!
Students observe, measure and sort leaves. In this leaf lesson students divide into groups and observe the different kinds of leaves.