New Education Materials Available at NASA.gov

The Educational Materials section of NASA's Web site offers classroom activities, educator guides, posters and other types of resources that are available for use in the classroom. Materials are listed by type, grade level and subject. The following items are now available for downloading.

Engineering Design Challenges: Thermal Protection Systems Educator Guide -- Grades 6-9

In this challenge, students learn how NASA engineers design lightweight but effective, reusable thermal protection systems. Students work in teams to design, build and test a thermal protection system of their own. Simple materials such as wooden dowels, hot-melt glue, aluminum foil and copper screening are used to build a simulated spacecraft and a thermal protection system that can withstand the heat of a propane torch. The TPS is tested under a stringent protocol to maintain classroom safety.

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/EDC_TPS.html

Engineering Design Challenges: Spacecraft Structures Educator Guide -- Grades 6-9

In this challenge, students will undertake the problem of designing a strong but lightweight thrust structure that can withstand the launch of a bottle rocket by means of a wooden lever. By using simple materials such as craft sticks, cardboard and hot-melt glue, students strive to make their structure lighter while maintaining its strength. The goal is to construct a launcher that can withstand the force of repeatedly launching a one-kilogram bottle of water one meter into the air. The scientific focus is on understanding forces, structures and energy transfer.

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/EDC_Spacecraft_Structures.html

What Is A Planet? Lesson Plan -- Grades 9-12

During the annual meeting of the International Astronomical Union in the summer of 2006, members in attendance approved a newer definition for "planet" and other bodies. In this lesson, students learn about the characteristics of planets, comets, asteroids and trans-Neptunian objects through a classification activity. The students can then apply what they have learned by participating in a formal debate about a solar system object discovered by the New Horizons spacecraft and by defining the term "planet."

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/What_Is_a_Planet.html

NASA Education Communication Strategy Brochure

In 2008 and beyond, NASA will continue to pursue three major education goals:

--Strengthening NASA and the nation's future workforce.
--Attracting and retaining students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, disciplines.
--Engaging Americans in NASA's mission.

The Education Communication Strategy explains how NASA will achieve these goals in formal and informal education venues and from elementary education to higher education.

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/NASA_Education_Communication_Strategy.html

Additional Video Learning Clips Added

The educational video clips listed below have been added to the Videos section of the NASA Educational Materials site. Click on the link below each list of video clips to access the videos online.

Designed for students in grades K-8, these video clips from the "Liftoff to Learning: Geography From Space DVD" take the viewer on a tour of Earth's surface as seen from space. After explaining how the altitude of the viewer affects the amount of Earth's surface seen at one time, the video moves into a travelogue about some of the interesting features of Earth's continents as seen from space.

Titles in this series:

-- Africa: A Geographer's View From Space
-- Europe: A Geographer's View From Space
-- Asia: A Geographer's View From Space
-- Australia: A Geographer's View From Space
-- North America: A Geographer's View From Space
-- South America: A Geographer's View From Space

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/South_America_A_Geographers_View_From_Space.html

Targeting students in grades 9-12, these video clips from the "Sea Winds: Catch the Wind -- The QuikSCAT Story DVD" tell the story of the QuikSCAT mission that was launched in June 1999. The video clips discuss the mission's study of tropospheric dynamics, upper-ocean circulation and air-sea interactions.

Titles in this series:

-- The Role of Engineering at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
-- NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT)
-- QuikSCAT: A New Mission Is Born
-- QuikSCAT Weather Data Arrives To Scientists

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Catch_the_Wind.html

The video clips from the "Liftoff to Learning: Go for EVA DVD" are designed for educators and students in grades 5-8. These clips feature astronauts aboard the space shuttle Atlantis during mission STS-37. They discuss the reasons for wearing spacesuits during spacewalking missions, how spacesuits work, and what kinds of jobs astronauts perform while spacewalking.

Titles in this series:

-- ExtraVehicular Activity (EVA): Astronauts Walk in Space
-- Environment, Temperature and Space Debris Pose Challenges for Space Walkers
-- Earth's Atmosphere: How Does It Differ From the Atmosphere in Space?
-- A Look at the Development of the Spacesuit, From Past to Present
-- Weightless Environment Training Facility: Simulating Space Conditions Underwater
-- A View of Astronauts Walking In Space

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Extravehicular_Activity.html

Designed for students in grades 9-12, these video clips from the "Our Home: Earth From Space DVD" engage the audience with satellite imagery, computer graphics and historical footage to make the point that Earth is an interconnected system of air, land, water and life.

Titles in this series:

-- The Right Tools: Sensing Earth From Space
-- Global Effect of El Niño
-- The Influence of Global Warming on Earth's Systems
-- Doing Our Part to Prevent Global Warming
-- The Environmental, Economic and Social Impact of Drought
-- Lifecycle of a Hurricane
-- Linking Earth System Events

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/The_Right_Tools.html

Targeting students in grades 5-8, video clips from the "NASA CONNECT™: Data Analysis and Measurement: Having a Solar Blast! DVD" show how NASA engineers and researchers use data analysis and measurement to predict solar storms, anticipate how they will affect Earth, and improve human understanding of the Sun-Earth system.

Titles in this series:

-- The Scientific Importance of Studying Solar Flares
-- Hands-on Solar Flare Activity
-- The Composition of the Sun
-- Understanding Sunspots and Flares

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/The_Scientific_Importance.html

The "Liftoff to Learning: Tethered Satellite: A Videotape for Physics and Physical Science DVD" video clips target educators and students in grades 9-12. They describe the tethered satellite concept and show how the satellite is deployed and extended in space. The mathematics describing the forces acting on the tethered satellite/space shuttle orbiter system is also presented. The clips also demonstrate how the tethered satellite and the space shuttle orbiter interact with Earth's magnetic field to produce an electric current. The segments describe future applications of the tethered satellite/space shuttle orbiter system as a motor.

Titles in this series:

-- Gravity and the Tethered Satellite
-- Angular Momentum, Inertia and the Tethered Satellite
-- Explaining the Coriolis Effect on the Tethered Satellite
-- How Tethered Technology Is Used in Scientific Research
-- The Center of Mass of an Object: On Land and in Space

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Extravehicular_Activity.html

Designed for students in grades 5-8, video clips from the "NASA CONNECT™: The Festival of Flight: Opening Space for Next Generation of Explorers DVD" show students performing a hands-on activity to find the optimum ratio of baking soda to a controlled amount of vinegar to power a baking soda and vinegar rocket. The series also explores the concept of gravity and how Newton's three laws help rockets overcome the force of gravity.

Titles in this series:

-- Hands-on Activity in Rocket Building
-- Using Math and Science to Plan for the Next Generation of Spacecraft

http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Hands_On_Activity_in_Rocket_Building.html