The reason people first began trading was because of their desires for objects other societies possessed. In the activity, classes discuss why exploration has been a common thread in all societies and where these desires have taken...

Here is a case study for high school or college-level learners about space exploration equipment that has failed. The class reads about the Mars Climate Orbiter that was destroyed in 1999 and discusses the costs and benefits of space...

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...

Learners explore the three-phase strategy used by NASA for scientific exploration. In this space science lesson, students research past missions to Mars. They share their discoveries and create a timeline as a class.

Students explore the characteristics of stars. In this space science activity, students use the Microsoft WorldWide Telescope program to identify the properties of stars and identify the stars in the galaxy.

Students explore a web-based illustrated text and interactive graphics to determine the relationship between the operation of telescopes and light. optics. They work in small groups to become an expert on one of the ten eras of telescope...

Students explore paper rockets, learn about the Apollo Program and Apollo spin-offs, and use simple office supplies to design and create a new useful product. This amazing plan is incredibly well written and leads students through a...

The video clip that comprises the warm up is not available, but the related article from The New York Times and the movie trailer for Aliens of the Deep are, leaving enough material to make this a fascinating lesson on deep-sea...

Students discover how distance can change how our view of an object. Students build a representative model of where their home is located from different distances. They create three drawn models of their home from various elevations as...

Students explore the meaning of personal space. For this social skills lesson, students are taught to respect others personal space by discovering their own personal space, and reading a story to identify when that personal space was...

Learners investigate the history of robotics in space exploration. They design and create a robot using various online resources, develop a list of questions about robots in space, and participate in a video conference with the Johnson...

Help your class understand the importance of exploration using robots. with a resource that provides a short history of robotics as a lead into looking at Martian robotic exploration missions. The activity specifically looks at the...

Learners build a scaled model of the solar system. In this space science instructional activity, students arrange them according to their distances from the sun. They analyze each planet's unique features such as density and relative...

Students research about different human space explorations conducted by NASA. In this physical science lesson, students discuss why space exploration is important. They write a paper about their thoughts on continuing NASA's space...

Learners learn along with Ms. Frizzle's class. In this Magic School Bus lesson plan, students explore outer space as they visit the Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars in order to learn about our solar system.

How can we identify shapes in the Universe? High schoolers will compare and contrast elliptic and hyperbolic geometry. They will also explore one possible way to measure the curvature of the Universe, namely, by measuring the sum of the...

Students investigate finding a solution to growing plants in space. They define key vocabulary terms, conduct an experiment growing plants, explore various websites, and participate in a live video conference with NASA regarding the...

New Horizons set forth on a mission to Pluto in 2006. Ten years later, the spacecraft is still on its way. Here, enthusiastic scholars predict what they will be like—likes, dislikes, hobbies, etc.—when New Horizons arrives at its...

Students role-play the jobs of space shuttle astronauts, conduct experiments, and research space using the Internet and offline experiments. Student-astronauts hold a "press conference" to share their information with others in a...

Students research space flight exploration and technology. In small groups, they research a significant event from early time until the start of the space age. A class time line is created from the research groups.

Students use the Internet to find events in space history to include in a timeline. They recognize the cause and effect relationships between events that happened in the exploration of space. They see how to use the TimeLiner software.

Fifth graders discover what it would be like to live in space. In this technological advancements instructional activity, 5th graders discuss how space life would be different from Earth life. Students also identify how technology has...

High schoolers investigate the historical events that have surrounded The Space Race. They conduct research using a variety of resources and focus upon the progress between Russia and The United States. Students describe the events that...

To go or to not to go — the question for a mission to Mars. This resource provides details for a possible manned mission to Mars. Details include a launch schedule, what life would be like on the surface, and how the astronauts would...