Teams continue with the Asteroid Impact challenge and determine possible locations to construct their underground shelters. Participants cut scale area models of their shelters from paper and place them on the map to find locations...

Teams must determine the size of cavern needed to house the citizens of Alabraska to protect them from the asteroid impact. Using scaling properties, teams first determining the number of people that could sleep in a classroom and then...

Math and science come together in this cross-curricular astronomy lesson plan on planetary motion. Starting off with a hands-on activity that engages the class in exploring the geometry of circles and ellipses, this lesson...

How in the world can something as big as the solar system possibly fit in your pocket? Complete this simple modeling activity and find out, as young scientists gain an appreciation for the incredible scale of outer space.

Trying to understand the vastness of outer space can be quite a challenge for young scientists. Help put things in perspective with this cross-curricular activity as students work in pairs creating scaled models of...

Here is a fantastic, educational handout packed with information and facts not only about the planets in our solar system, but also regarding major moons and their surface features, dwarf planets, comets, and asteroids. 

Travel through space as you learn about the galaxy, solar system, planets, and much more. An extensive resource for studying astronomy in upper-elementary and middle school classrooms.

Space scientists use water displacement to determine the mass of a cubic centimeter mini meteorite, and then use it as a small-scale representative of an asteroid. They figure out the orbital velocity of an asteroid. Then they use a...

For this asteroid and comet worksheet, students read about the formula used to determine the brightness of asteroid. They apply this formula to solve 2 problems about asteroids and their brightness.

In this solar system worksheet, learners use an on line source to find the names of the people who discovered the planets, comets, asteroids, black holes and the idea of the big bang theory.

In this solar system worksheet, students read about the planets, asteroids, meteoroids, comets, and the moon. Then students complete 25 multiple choice, 4 true or false, and 3 short answer questions.

Students role-play and communicate that objects in space have describable properties, locations, and movements. Students identify and communicate effectively that Earth is the third planet from the Sun in the solar system, eight other...

Students discover soil characteristics and how it is formed on Earth and the Moon by examining local samples to a lunar simulant. They replicate the effects of wind erosion by scraping dry bread with sandpaper. Students use rocks and...

Students create maps with cutout pieces of paper that represent caverns. They develop a scale for their map and decide where the best location is to live. They discover the importance of map reading skills.

Students practice determining map distances using the map scales. They discover how much an area represents on the map in relation to the actual area. They decide on the best place to build their cavern.

Explains the differences between asteroids and comets. Presents a chart showing a size comparison between some known asteroids and comets.

Asteroids can be single large rocks, or they can be collections of rocks loosely bound by their mutual gravity "rubble piles." The difference is important to understand, so we know how to deal with these if they head towards Earth. A...