Rare Earth
How special are the circumstances that have allowed complex life, like animals and plants, to develop on Earth? In this activity students systematically investigate the time frame for complex life to develop on Earth.
Searching for Protoplanetary Disks
Students will download NASA Hubble Space Telescope views of star-forming regions in nebulae and look for evidence of planetary systems forming beyond our own solar system.
Expanding Universe
This activity is designed to help students gain a deeper understanding of cosmology. Students develop authentic models and gather evidence supporting the Big Bang theory. This lesson uses observation, interactive media, and scientific models.
Life Cycle of Stars
Students in grades 9-12 analyze characteristics that indicate human life cycles, and then apply these observational principles to various NASA pictures of stars to synthesize patterns of stellar life cycles.
How Much do you Weigh on Distant Planets?
Students in the middle level solar system activity will study the effects of gravity on the planets of the Solar System. They will view movies from the lunar Apollo missions, calculate their own weight on other planets, and propose what they might weigh on newly discovered planets around other stars.
Drake Equation
Students estimate the number of civilizations in the galaxy by first estimating the number of craters on the Moon and then by performing estimates of multiple-variable systems culminating in the use of the Drake Equation. In this three-part activity, students use estimation techniques to describe complex situations.
RocketModeler
RocketModeler was developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center in an effort to foster hands-on, inquiry-based learning in science and math. RocketModeler is a simulator that models the design and flight of a model rocket. The program works in two modes: Design Mode or Flight Mode. In the Design Mode, you can change design variables including the size of the rocket body, the fins, and the nose cone. You can also select different materials for each component. You can select from a variety of standa
EngineSim and RangeGames Downloads
EngineSim was developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center in an effort to foster hands-on, inquiry-based learning in science and math. EngineSim is a simulator that models the design and testing of jet engines. The program works in two modes: Design Mode or Tunnel Test Mode. In the Design Mode, you can change design variables including the flight conditions, the engine size, the inlet performance, the turbo machinery compressor and turbine performance, the combustors or burner performance, or th
Who Can Live Here? Life in Extreme Environments
Astrobiology in the Classroom leads students in the exploration of the limits of life on Earth to extend their beliefs about life to include its possibility on other worlds. In this four-part activity, students first explore the environments of several mammals and birds to better understand how living things and their environments interact and depend on each other. In the second part, students match bacterial types with their more extreme environments. Students discover that an environment's tem
Trends of Snow Cover and Temperature in Alaska
The objective of this lesson is to compare NASA satellite data observations with student surface measurements of snow cover and temperature.
Aruba Cloud Cover Measured by Satellite
The purpose of this investigation is to have students analyze cloud cover and to compose written conclusions to a given related scenario.
Mission Biomes
The following two activities are designed for teachers to use in classrooms as supplementary, interdisciplinary units.
Mission: Biomes is especially appropriate for grades 3 through 8, and is designed to be interactive and self-correcting which will allow each student to work at his or her own pace.
Great Graph Match: Geo Grapher needs your help to match temperature and precipitation graphs for different locations to the biomes where they belong
To Plant or Not to Plant?: Travel with Bill Botan
Life on Earth...and Elsewhere?
This downloadable booklet contains five inquiry- and standards-based classroom activities for grades 5-8 and three math extensions spanning topics from Defining Life, to Determining the Chances of Extraterrestrial Life.
Time that Period!
This lesson examines the idea of periodic behavior and how it is determined from a set of data. The students will examine this concept through a hands-on lab that involves a simple, student-made pendulum which is followed up with critical thinking and performance assessment style questions. Students will also analyze data received from high-energy satellites of various binary star systems' orbital periods or stellar rotation periods.
Exploring the Moon
This is a teacher's guide for learning about lunar geology and regolith (loose material on the moon's surface), distance to the moon, Apollo landing sites, and life support systems. Lessons focus on calculating the distance between scale models of earth and the moon, designing a spacecraft for travel to and from the moon, the locations and geology of the six Apollo landing sites, and calculating the diameter of the moon using proportions.
FoilSim and CurveBall
FoilSim II computes the theoretical lift of a variety of airfoil shapes. The user can control the shape, size, and inclination of the airfoil and the atmospheric conditions in which the airfoil is flying. The program includes a stall model for the airfoil, a model of the Martian atmosphere, and the ability to specify a variety of fluids for lift comparisons. The program has graphical and numerical output, including an interactive probe which you can use to investigate the details of flow around
Middle School Portal: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2)
This is a collection of over 20 fun and challenging math activities created by Cynthia Lanius, the executive director of the Center for Excellence and Equity in Education at Rice University. The activities range in level from grade school to adult. Many of these lessons are designed to be used in the classroom or at home with a teacher or parent leading the way. However, students can perform these activities on their own as well. Graphing, calendar-related algebra, money making problems, and fra
Middle School Portal: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2)
Hosted by Access Excellence at the National Health Museum, the Backyard Birding -- Research Project was created by Monte Vista high school teacher Stan Hitomi. This hands-on project is targeted towards high school-aged life science and biology students and can be adapted to run from between two months to an entire year. The project emphasizes research, cooperative learning, and community outreach skills as students construct bird feeders, maintain a journal, design a research project, and commun
Middle School Portal: Math and Science Pathways (MSP2)
The British Broadcasting Corporation offers this great collection of fun, educational games that help children learn basic concepts of mathematics. Twelve interactive games are available in all, illustrating principles of data handling, numbers, algebra, and measurement. Children can practice interpreting Cartesian coordinates by guiding a space ship across a grid, or compete with an animated character in a test of fractions and percentages. In addition to the online games, several other activit
Office for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education
The Office for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has an impressive collection of Java lessons and curriculum resources for learning about these topics. The office was established to serve as a model-builder for innovative, standards-based, technology-intensive mathematics and science instruction at the K-16 levels. Most of the lessons focus on geometry, statistics, or algebra; but there are also some that cover science concepts. The
