Middle schoolers take a mission to Mars. For this space science lesson, students listen a lecture about space travel to Mars and the planet itself. Middle schoolers then create timelines of exploration and write poetry about...

Students study the science of the moon. In this moon observations lesson, students study vocabulary associated with the moon, study a lunar calendar, and a phases of the moon's orbit around the Earth.

Young scholars design and construct a paper rocket that can be launched with a drinking straw. They participate in a lecture and read an article about rocketry and how Newton's Third Law applies to rocket launches. Each student...

For this astronomy worksheet, students complete a five question multiple choice on-line interactive quiz about astronomy. Prior knowledge is assumed.

Students read information about Jupiter and the planet's weather. In this Jupiter weather lesson, students read information about Jupiter's weather. Students study a chart about the weather on Earth and Jupiter. Students read a weather...

Young scholars work on a project in which they must design a space settlement. Once the teams have begun their research, have the project manager report to the instructor each day on progress or any difficulties encountered.

Students design and construct an experiment that will be launched into space aboard a NASA research shuttle. How better to gain and appreciation for (and, hopefully, a love of) scientific investigation than to do real science and be...

Students compare and contrast the size, characteristics, composition, and orbits of the planets in our Solar System. They view a PowerPoint presentation, and in small groups conduct Internet research on a selected planet. Each group...

Students build their knowledge and understanding of vocabulary related to space.  In this space lesson, students discuss four categories of words and phrases related to space. 

Fifteen detailed pictures and informative captions delve deep into the exploration of stars—their life cycle and importance in the universe. 

Students study the orbital space plane, NASA's proposed spacecraft of the future. They work in groups to plan missions to take place twenty years from now and design orbital space planes in which to carry out the missions.

In this solar eclipse worksheet, young scholars solve seven problems about solar eclipses after making a model following five steps. They determine the different orbits for satellites, they determine the lengths of Earth's...

Students describe in words and graphic displays the elevation or depression profile of sections of Mars' Olympus Mons and/or Valles Marineris. They explain how orbiting spacecraft build up global maps one data slice at a time.

In this galaxies, clusters and planets learning exercise, students solve 5 problems including determining sunspot groups on the sun in a particular day, finding the number of individual galaxies present, determining the number of stars...

Students write electron configuration of elements using atomic numbers and they identify valence electrons. For this electrons lesson plan, students observe a demonstration showing the space-filling property of an electron. They also...

In this Hubble telescope worksheet, students solve 4 problems about the image of the distant planet the Hubble telescope discovered. Students determine the distance the planet was from its star in 2006, they determine the planet's...

In this solar system worksheet, students complete a database comparing the 9 different planets' mass, surface temperature, rotation period, orbital period, moons, and distinguishing features. This worksheet is a graphic organizer.

Learners explore geography by completing a navigation activity in class. In this satellite positioning lesson, students define terms such as orbit, satellite, GPS and triangulation. Learners view diagrams of the Earth's orbit and...

In this gravity worksheet, students read about the solar system and the effects of the gravity of the sun, the planets and the moon on the orbits of the planets. They answer three critical thinking questions about gravity.

Students investigate the effects of radiation exposure and how it can effect objects on earth and space. They conduct research using a variety of resources and use the information to create a project that is reflective of good research...

In this unit conversion worksheet, learners are given 3 stories about situations where errors in the conversion of units caused dramatic problems in science. For each situation, students practice converting units to solve the errors.

Students study the seasons of the Earth. In this seasons instructional activity, students study the science of the seasons on Earth by studying the tilt and axis of the Earth's orbit. Students read background information and four...

In this space science worksheet, students read facts about the solar system. Students look at the diagram showing the position of the planets. Pluto is included as a planet here.

In this moon activity, students determine the angular size of the moon and draw a scaled model of the Earth, moon, and sun and given distances and positions. This activity has 4 problems to solve.