This is an activity about light. Learners will make their own spectroscopes from easily obtainable materials and use prisms to observe different types of white light sources to see the colors that form the visible light spectrum. This is Activity 2 of the Sun As a Star afterschool curriculum.

This is an activity about what individuals already know about the Sun. Learners will brainstorm and share with the group their prior knowledge about the Sun. This is Activity 1 of the Sun As a Star afterschool curriculum.

This is an activity about modeling and the scientific process. Learners will discuss the models they created in the previous three activities as models of forces that shape the surface of planets, and talk about the similarities and differences between models and real events. Then they brainstorm a list of questions and suggest ways scientists might find answers. This is activity 7 of 9 in Mars and Earth: Science Learning Activities for After School.

In this introductory lesson, students will learn the basics of the aurora through small group discussions, reflection and reading. The lesson includes teacher notes and instructions, student workshops and an online, animated story, and related teacher resources on aurora. This is lesson one of a collection of five activities that can be used individually or as a sequence; concludes with a KWL (Know/Want-to-know/Learned) assessment activity.

The clock is ticking: A technology demonstration that could transform the way humans explore space is nearing its target launch date of June 24, 2019. Developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the Deep Space Atomic Clock is a serious upgrade to the satellite-based atomic clocks that, for example, enable the GPS on your phone.

Ultimately, this new technology could make spacecraft navigation to distant locations like Mars more autonomous. But what is an atomic clock? How are they used in space navigation, and what makes the Deep Space Atomic Clock different? Read on to get all the answers.

This is a lesson about characteristics necessary for life. Learners will identify the top candidates for life in the solar system by examining Habitability Cards, which discuss each planet and the six large moons in terms of water temperature, atmosphere, energy, and nutrients. A math extension is provided on the Inverse Square Law. Includes background reading for teachers, student activity guide, reflection questions, and blackline masters. This is activity 3 of 5 in the educators guide, Astrobiology in your Classroom: Life on Earth..and Elsewhere?

This demonstration will show how increased temperatures will hasten the melting of ice in the environment, contributing to a rise in sea level and subsequent flooding of coastal areas. Materials required include 2 aquariums, plastic wrap, a clamp light with a 60 watt bulb, modeling clay, ice, pebbles and rocks, and a ruler. Teacher background information, student worksheets and a scoring rubric are included. This is Activity 3 of the learning module, Too Many Blankets, part of the lesson series, The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change.

This is an activity about image analysis. Learners will create a map of the room and discuss the perspectives shown in their drawings and how this relates to satelite images. Participants brainstorm a list of features that might be recognizable in satellite photos, search the Earth Images for these features, and place the images in categories depicting these features. This is activity 2 of 9 in Mars and Earth: Science Learning Activities for After School.

Learners will compare satellite images of Mars and Earth to look for similar features. Then they brainstorm a list of forces or events that could have caused some of these features to form on Mars. This is activity 3 of 9 in Mars and Earth: Science Learning Activities for After School.

This resource introduces the concept of wind chill, the formula used to measure it and relates it to the causes of hypothermia. A simple experiment using a pie pan, sand, fan and a thermometer demonstrates this concept. The resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

A number guessing game with options to guess up to 10, 20, and 100.

In this demonstration, students experience the Doppler effect for sound. Students can compute the frequency change for motion along the line of sight (LOS) and determine the vector LOS component for motions not exactly on it. A buzzer, battery, bicycle wheel, string and a rubber ball and a timer are needed for the demonstration. The resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

This activity lets students measure distances in the classroom using parallax. The exercise can be done either at a high school level using trigonometric functions, or at a middle school level using simple arithmetic approximations to the trigonometric functions. A work sheet is provided for the middle-school-level activity.The resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

This activity includes twelve monthly star charts to identify the stars that are visible in the night sky and that are known to have planets around them. The star maps can be used to find constellations and identify stars with extrasolar planets. (Northern Hemisphere only, naked eye)

In this activity, students learn that the small droplet size of water the in the clouds and wind contribute to clouds remaining suspended in the sky. The demonstration requires a clear beaker, sand, and rocks. Several other activities are suggested. The resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

This activity, effective outdoors or indoors, demonstrates how insolation is affected by latitude by using a pair of thermometers, each taped to some cardboard, placed outside on a sunny day. A globe can also be used, outdoors or indoors. Students learn that seasonal variations in temperature are the result of the heating of the Sun as a function of its peak angle and length of the day. A template for a folded paper structure to explore the effects of the angle of illumination on heating is included. The resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

In this activity, students use mathematics to understand tides and gravitation and how gravity works across astronomical distances, using an apparatus made from a slinky, meter stick, and a hook. A description of the mathematical relationships seen in the demonstration is included. The resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.

In this problem-based learning (PBL) scenario, students prepare a presentation for investors showing how their fishing company has a significant advantage because it locates upwelling zones and fishing areas using TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) and other satellite data. Prior to launching the PBL, students learn about wind: the topics of air pressure, coriolis effect, upwelling and the role of differential heating on the atmosphere are explored in classroom demonstrations. Materials required include a beaker, coffee grounds, drinking straw, balloon, flashlight, and turntable. The resource includes teacher background information, glossary, assessment rubric, and an appendix introducing problem-based learning.

In this problem set, students learn about rainfall rates and how to convert them into the volume of water that falls.

This site features World Wind 1.3, a NASA Learning Technologies application that lets the user zoom from any satellite altitude into any place on Earth. It features 3D Engine, Blue Marble, Landsat 7, SRTM, Animated Earth, MODIS, GLOBE, Country & State Borders, Place Names, Visual Tools and Landmark Set. The user can download World Wind, reference an online manual, post to an online forum, view screen shot examples from various satellites, and read press coverage about World Wind.