Month: April 2014

NES Video Chat for Students — Astronaut Stephanie Wilson: Living and Working in Space

Astronaut Stephanie Wilson
Astronaut Stephanie Wilson

NASA Explorer Schools is hosting a 45-minute live video chat for students in grades 4-12 on May 2, 2014, at 3 p.m. EDT. During the video chat, astronaut Stephanie Wilson will answer students’ questions about living and working in space. She was selected to become an astronaut in April 1996 and flew as a mission specialist astronaut on three shuttle missions. She has logged 42 days in space.

For more information and to participate in the video chat, visit https://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/programs/national/nes2/home/steph-wilson-chat.html.

NES Professional Development Web Seminar on May 1

Engineering Design: Forces and Motion — The Great Boomerang Challenge
Audience: 6-8 and Informal Educators
Event Date: May 1, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT

Learn about the Boomerang Design Challenge and two extensions featuring free computer simulations that teach students about airflow around airfoils. The activity provides opportunities for incorporating national science, technology and mathematics standards into the curricula and addresses middle school Next Generation Science Standards.

For more information and to register online, visit http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NES4/webseminar17.aspx.

Veggie Arrives on the International Space Station

On April 18th, SpaceX-3 blasted off from Cape Canaveral with a plant growth chamber called Veggie, designed to make gardens thrive in weightlessness. The first crop will be a variety of lettuce called ‘Outredgeous.’ The first crop of Outredgeous should be ready for harvesting in late May, but astronauts won’t be allowed to taste-test.

First, the lettuce has to come back to Earth for analysis, to determine if it is safe to eat.  Scientists will look for any bacteria growing on the leaves If everything checks out, future crops may be eaten.

This latest development in plants in space is a great extension to the NES lesson, Engineering Design Challenge: Lunar Plant Growth Chamber.

For more information about Veggie, visit Science @ NASA or watch the video.

NES Professional Development Web Seminar This Week

Pythagorean Theorem: Exploring Space Through Math — Lunar Rover
Audience: Grades 8-12 Educators
Event Date: April 23, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT

Learn to use the distance formula and the Pythagorean theorem to determine the minimal path and minimal time for a lunar rover to perform tasks on the surface of the moon. Participants need a basic knowledge of scale factor and application of the Pythagorean theorem. Having access to a calculator is helpful but not necessary for the session. The activity provides many opportunities for incorporating national mathematics learning standards into the curriculum as well as addressing Common Core State Standards, Mathematics.

For more information and to register online, visit the NSTA Learning Center.

NES Professional Development Web Seminars This Week

Human Body: Space Adaptations
Audience: 4-8 and Informal Educators
Event Date: April 15, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT

Engineering Design Challenge: Thermal Protection System
Audience: 6-8 and Informal Educators
Event Date: April 17, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT

For more information and to register online visit the NSTA Learning Center.

Make a #GlobalSelfie with NASA on Earth Day

NASA invites you — and everyone else on the planet — to take part in a worldwide celebration of Earth Day this year with the agency’s #GlobalSelfie event.

While NASA satellites constantly look at Earth from space, on Earth Day we’re asking you to step outside on Earth Day (April 22) and take a picture of yourself wherever you are on Earth. Then post it to social media using the hashtag #GlobalSelfie.  The individual pictures tagged #GlobalSelfie will be used to create a mosaic image of Earth — a new “Blue Marble” built bit by bit with your photos.

For more information on how to participate, go to  http://1.usa.gov/PfjXln

NASA Now: Designing a New Martian Rover

In this NASA Now classroom video, introduced by NES educator, Ken Schopf at Laurel School in Ohio, aerospace engineer Jennifer Keyes shows how NASA engineers developed “TumbleCup,” a concept rover capable of traveling large distances on Mars.
This classroom video is available on the NASA Explorer Schools Virtual Campus beginning April 9, 2014.
Check-out a preview of the video below.
NASA Now Minute

NES Professional Development Web Seminars: April 9 and 10

Heat, Temperature and Energy: MESSENGER — Cooling with Sunshades
Audience: 6-8 and Informal Educators
Event Date: April 9, 2014, at 6:30 p.m. EDT

Weather and Climate: Satellite Meteorology
Audience: 6-8 and Informal Educators
Event Date: April 10, 2014, at 7:30 p.m. EDT

For more information and to register online visit the NSTA Learning Center.