Learners will construct a mock-up of planetary surface rover. They begin by exploring the importance of engineering in our society and work as a team to build a prototype of the team’s rover using student science notebooks and team sketches as a... (View More) guide. The lesson uses the 5E instructional model and includes: TEKS Details (Texas Standards alignment), Essential Question, Science Notebook, Vocabulary Definitions for Students, Vocabulary Definitions for Teachers, three Vocabulary Cards, and a Mini-Lesson. This is lesson 13 of the Mars Rover Celebration Unit, a six week long curriculum. (View Less)

This is a lesson about the size and scale of planets in the solar system. Learners will kinesthetically model the order of the planets outward from the sun. Then they will use a string and beads to create a model to represent the relative distances... (View More) between the planets. Finally they will explore another model (using a beach ball for the sun) to discuss relative size of the planets to the sun. The lesson uses the 5E instructional model and includes teacher training, pacing guides, essential questions, a black-line master science notebook, a student presentation booklet, supplemental materials, and vocabulary for both students and teachers. This is lesson 1 of the Mars Rover Celebration Unit, a six week long curriculum. (View Less)

This is a kick-off activity about the solar system and Jupiter. Learners will discuss what they know, work in teams to read about the Sun, eight planets, asteroid belt, and the dwarf planet, Pluto. They use their knowledge to create a poster about... (View More) each object, which can be displayed in the library and used in later activities. This activity is part of Explore! Jupiter's Family Secrets, a series designed to engage children in space and planetary science in libraries and informal learning environments. (View Less)

Learners will build edible models of Jupiter and Earth to compare their sizes and illustrate their internal layers. They discuss how the Juno mission will infer details about Jupiter's interior by measuring its gravity field and magnetic field. This... (View More) activity is part of Explore! Jupiter's Family Secrets, a series designed to engage children in space and planetary science in libraries and informal learning environments. (View Less)

This is an activity about the interiors of planets. Leaners will investigate the composition of unseen materials using a variety of tools - a process that mimics how scientists discover clues about the interiors of planets with cameras and other... (View More) instruments onboard spacecraft. This activity is part of Explore! Jupiter's Family Secrets, a series designed to engage children in space and planetary science in libraries and informal learning environments. (View Less)

Learners will weigh themselves on scales modified to represent their weights on other worlds to explore the concept of gravity and its relationship to weight. They consider how their weights would be the highest of all the planets while standing on... (View More) Jupiter, but their mass remains the same no matter where in the solar system they are. They compare the features of different planets to determine which characteristics cause a planet to have more or less gravity. This activity is part of Explore! Jupiter's Family Secrets, a series designed to engage children in space and planetary science in libraries and informal learning environments. (View Less)

This is a demonstration about the density of the planets. Learners will compare the relative sizes and masses of scale models of the planets as represented by fruits and other foods. They will then dunk the "planets" in water to highlight the fact... (View More) that even a large, massive planet - such as Saturn - can have low density. They discuss how a planet's density is related to whether it is mainly made up of rock or gas. This activity is part of Explore! Jupiter's Family Secrets, a series designed to engage children in space and planetary science in libraries and informal learning environments. (View Less)

Learners will shrink the scale of the solar system to the size of their neighborhood and compare the relative sizes of scale models of the planets, two dwarf planets, and a comet as represented by fruits and other foods. This activity requires... (View More) access to a large indoor or outdoor space (measuring at least 190 feet wide) where the children can model the orbit of Mercury around the Sun. It is part of Explore! Jupiter's Family Secrets, a series designed to engage children in space and planetary science in libraries and informal learning environments. (View Less)