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In this activity, students will learn how technology can help scientists solve a problem. One of the challenges scientists face with any spacecraft is attitude control. Students will be introduced to the problem of attitude control in space through... (View More) an experiment using angular momentum, and experience two different ways scientists address this problem. Students begin by discussing the technology(ies) that powers satellites and enable(s) them to move through space. Students then engage in an angular momentum experiment. Estimated cost of this activity does not include the cost of the bicycle wheel for the angular momentum experiment. This activity is one of several in the Swift: Eyes through Time collection available on the Teachers' Domain website. (View Less)
This is a lesson about detecting ice on the permanently shadowed craters of Mercury and the Moon. Learners will consider what might be in that ice and will examine why the polar regions of Earth, Mercury and the Moon are colder than elsewhere on the... (View More) planets. Activities include small group miming, speaking, drawing, and/or writing. This is the lesson 12 of 12 in the unit, Exploring Ice in the Solar System. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $5 - $10 per group of students
This is a lesson about the field of astrobiology, the study of life in the universe, and ice as a preservative for evidence of life. Learners will consider the relationship between ice and life as they investigate the conditions required for life to... (View More) exist and sustain itself. They will study the impact of freezing on microbes and life processes and will learn about extremophiles, organisms that live in extreme conditions. Activities include small group miming, speaking, drawing, and/or writing. This is lesson 8 of 12 in the unit, Exploring Ice in the Solar System. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $5 - $10 per group of students
This is a lesson about how magnetism causes solar flares. Learners will set up an electrical circuit with magnets to examine magnetic fields and their similarities to magnetic fields seen on the Sun. Learners should have a conceptual understanding... (View More) of magnetism prior to exploring this lesson. This activity requires special materials including a galvanometer, copper wire, and sandpaper. This is Activity 2 in the Exploring Magnetism in Solar Flares teachers guide. (View Less)
This is a lesson about infrared radiation. Learners will investigate invisible forms of light as they conduct William Herschel's experiment and subsequent discovery of infrared radiation. They will construct a device to measure the presence of... (View More) infrared radiation in sunlight, explain that visible light is only part of the electromagnetic spectrum of radiation emitted by the Sun, follow the path taken by Herschel through scientific discovery, explain why we would want to use infrared radiation to study Mercury and other planets, and explain how excess infrared radiation is a concern for the MESSENGER mission. This is activity 1 of 4 at the Grade 5-8 band of "Staying Cool." (View Less)