Informal space science education thread

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Informal space science education thread

Post by des »

I thought I'd start a thread for the three of us, and anybody who might be interested in dropping in and adding their two cents.

I have been working at this camp/school for two years in the summer.
They have a range of classes from juggling, arts, whiz bang science, Harry Potter, etc etc. I have had a space exploration class for two summers that was an hour long, daily for three weeks. Then the thing repeats. I had two groups-- 1-3rd grade, and 4-6th grade.

With both groups I did things like Alka-Seltzer rockets, various other types of rockets, paper airplanes and whirly birds, the Toys in Space video (played with toys, predicted what they might do in space and then watched the video), space food, working in space (various races or timing with heavy gloves on), etc.

With younger kids I did "space naps" and more arts activities (a table top solar system), constellation pictures, and sunprints.

With older kids we did a neat comet demo involving Nerds and gelatin, distances in the solar system (done in a football field), etc.

I am planning a four hour a day camp for kids in 4-8th grade (I wanted it 5th-7th grade, oh well). Anyway, I am borrowing a space shuttle simulator something like this:
http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ ... 70318/1001
(There is also a mission control portion.)
I am also planning on a trip to Mars (ok it's really New Mexico-- looks like Mars) for soil and rock samples and then examine them. Building and launching Model rockets (Estes). Robotics. Living in space (space food, etc.).

I had tried to do a SCUBA thing with the kids. I got a local SCUBA club that would do two sessions with the kids and one would be putting something together underwater. The school says they can't insure this. I'm not sure if this will go over as the SCUBA center has told me the school doesn't HAVE to insure it. But I'm not sure how this will fly.

Anyway it would be fun to know what you all have done and are going to do and so forth, and any ideas out there. I am pretty revved up on this, of course I have the rest of Feb. and 3 more months to go.


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Post by Boomerang »

Well our museum does something similar with o0ur camps. Typicly we will have 2 space themed camps each having two sets of age groups. we will also have an avciation themed camp, a gadgets camp. a magic camp (started with harry potter theme and grew in the ;ast few years to be more generic), and one or 2 other camops with themes that change each year. Each is didvided into a groups of older and younger kids and each of those is ussually divided again trying to keep kids of the closest ages together.

Unfortunately despite requesting it many times to work the space ones i ussualy have ended up with something else. I know we have done estesmodel rockets in them, water rockets, movies etc. I know the little kids ussualy make astronaut back packs and helmets also. One of our instructors a retired nasa engineer also does a demo on what lifew inb space is like using a bel jar and other assorted items and we try to get NASA speakers to come in and talk as well. The kids also ussualy get a liquid nitrogen demo and an imax movie.
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Post by Sandrat »

It's safe to say there are more than three of you.

After Space Camp, I was the Deputy Director of a Challenger Learning Center, and I have since moved to the Executive Director of a Challenger Learning Center that just opened a year ago.

A lot of former Campers retain positions in informal space science education - some right there in the Huntsville area, and others across the country. Good idea starting the thread, after all informal space science education has been seen as so important that NASA created an office at their HQ devoted solely to it.
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Post by SpaceCanada »

The SCUBA company should have their own insurance to cover the lessons. Their insurance should cover any other group that comes through, so why the school is concerned is beyond me. (Maybe things are different in Canada)

Otherwise, we just take our kids to the local pool and do water activities in chest-deep water - building a tetrahedron, water survival, aerodynamics (rather, fluid dynamics, but they co-relate to each other.)

We also dip into hydroponics because we have access to a growth chamber at the science centre. Schools usually have equipment to make hydroponics sets, but assembling it all and maintaining balance can be tricky.

Include some sort of Working in Space activities, like donning a mock space suit and doing activities like tying knots, building puzzles, going through obstacle courses, etc. Do it several times and mark their times. Practice makes perfect, and that's why astronauts have to train so long.

We also watched a few IMAX films pertaining to our lessons.

Oh, and model rockets are a must for any space programme. They tie in so nicely to space history and flight dynamics.

I could go on for pages... more later.
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Post by des »

>The SCUBA company should have their own insurance to cover the lessons. Their insurance should cover any other group that comes through, so why the school is concerned is beyond me. (Maybe things are different in Canada)

Well they probably aren't as litignous. But still I think things are basically the same. I am going to push for it, but if not I'll try the pool stuff.

>Otherwise, we just take our kids to the local pool and do water activities in chest-deep water - building a tetrahedron, water survival, aerodynamics (rather, fluid dynamics, but they co-relate to each other.)

I'd be interested in what water survival stuff you do?

>We also dip into hydroponics because we have access to a growth chamber at the science centre. Schools usually have equipment to make hydroponics sets, but assembling it all and maintaining balance can be tricky.

I have actually seen a kit that works similarly to the ones they use on the shuttle. I couldn't really tell from the catalog but I thought I'd order one. It seems like a plastic bag with some planting media and a valve dealy. Looks easy enough to make if I had one to go on.
Of course I could be far off.

>Include some sort of Working in Space activities, like donning a mock space suit and doing activities like tying knots, building puzzles, going through obstacle courses, etc. Do it several times and mark their times. Practice makes perfect, and that's why astronauts have to train so long.

That's what I did with the gloves. I thought of maybe using glove boxes.
Looks a little more grown up, particularly as it looks like mostly middle schoolers.

>We also watched a few IMAX films pertaining to our lessons.

Which did you particularly like? (Goes for anybody else btw). I have seen Hail Columbia, The Dream is Alive, and the one on the earth from space. There might be a new one.

>Oh, and model rockets are a must for any space programme. They tie in so nicely to space history and flight dynamics.

Oh yes, we will make and fly and also there is a device to figure out altitude which we will play with. I took a course from NASA and they divided us up into safety team, launch team, recovery team, science team. This would work well with 15 kids. Everyone has a job for each launch (although we did have some watchers). (Then we switched teams.) I think I'd use colored lanyards or something so everyone knows their job.)

>I could go on for pages... more later.

As I remember.

Hey it's great this thread has so much interest. I would guess some of us grown ups got into this area. Of course as I said I went as a grown up but still...

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Post by Boomerang »

Besides the 3 space films you have seen Hail Columbia, The Dream is Alive and Blue planet there have been several more made. Destiny in Space, Roving Mars, Magnificent Desolation, Mission to Mir and Space Station. All are excellant. Imax has really exploded in recent year going from a few mostly documentaries to big budget first run movies, as well as newer documentaries that blow the old stuff away. Not all are space in fact most are not. They also have 3D in many of the theaters now.
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Post by Boomerang »

To give you an idea of all the diffeent imax movies out there now here is what i have seen and i havent seen many of the ones out there,

Space movies (note i still havent seen roving mars but its another space film)

Hail Columbia
The Dream is Alive
Blue Planet
Mission to Mir
Destiny in Space
Magnificent Desolation
Space Station

Non Space Films i've seen

Beavers
Grand Canyon
Sharks
Titanica
fires of kuwait
NASCAR
Egypt
Ring of Fire
Speed
To Fly
Thrill Ride
Amazon
Africa Sarangetti
Alaska
Antarctica
Everest
Fighter Pilot

Big budget holywood films i've seen

Star Wars Episode 2 Attack of the Clones
Polar Express

If you want to see everyhting thats out in imax check out http://www.imax.com/ImaxWeb/films.do?fi ... yingSelect
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Post by des »

Thanks. But what I really want to know is which do you think is the best (or several of the best) and why?
An even better question is, which one(s) would tell kids the most about space exploration, esp the current program? (The kids are upper elementary and middle school age).

Just the space ones, as this is a space exploration camp.


BTW, I have the video "Seven Days in Space". The info is good but it is really old and has this wacky music that just drives you bonkers. :-)
I thought I'd replace one with a IMAX. If I were to replace it, which should I do?


--des

LB206 wrote:To give you an idea of all the diffeent imax movies out there now here is what i have seen and i havent seen many of the ones out there,

Space movies (note i still havent seen roving mars but its another space film)

Hail Columbia
The Dream is Alive
Blue Planet
Mission to Mir
Destiny in Space
Magnificent Desolation
Space Station
Last edited by des on Fri Feb 23, 2007 12:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by gt0163c »

I've never really liked Blue Planet. I find it slow and on the boring side.
Roving Mars is pretty good. Lots of stuff from the engineering side, the difficulties of making the craft work, etc. Mostly tells the good stuff and the successes, little about the setbacks.
My favorite is still The Dream is Alive. But I haven't some of the more recent ones.

I'm not an educator, but I do hang out with junior high and high school kids a lot (volunteer youth worker at church). And, most week days, I'm an aerospace engineer. So, keep that in mind with my comments.

The idea of doing activities in a glove box, or at least with gloves seems like a great way to show some of the difficulties of working in space. Ski gloves might be a bit more realistic though (although much harder and possibly more frustrating).

A space trivia game, like Spacebowl at camp, might be fun near the end of your camp. Give the kids a chance to show off what they've learned.

For aerodynamics, one of the most dramatic demonstrations of air pressure that always helps me explain about airplanes is the simple experiment of holding a strip of paper to your chin and blowing. Normal life says the paper will do nothing or maybe move down. Aerodynamics says the paper rises. Similiar, you can hold two strips of paper parallel to each other (perpendicular to the ground) and blow between them. Again, normal life says they should move apart. Aerodynamics says they should move together.
Also, teaching about pressure using lots of water experiments (raising a column of water using a glass, why doesn't the water come out of a straw when you've got your finger over the end?, etc) seems to be very effective (that's how I learned and how I've informally taught others.) McDonald's french fry boxes make great airfoil shapes.

The basics of rocketry and jet propulsion can be fun (just the fact that jet pro can be explained with the simple "suck, squeeze, bang and blow" is great of middle school students). Baking soda/alkaseltzer boats are great (and a little easier to see what's happening, although less dramatic than rockets...maybe a good way to start out).

Maybe you could demonstrate the importance of weight in space launches by taping pennies or washers to the top of alkaseltzer rockets. And don't forget to add that in real rockets, you also have to carry extra fuel to carry your extra fuel until it's burned. All weight is important (something we keep learning over and over again at work).
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Post by Boomerang »

Well i enjoyed all the space films that i have seen. My personal favorite was Magnificent Desolation the computer generate recreations of the apollo moon landings were incredible especially in 3d.

However if you're looking for the most up to date i'd say space station since thats NASA's current main focus. Mission to Mir also fits in with that one since the shuttle Mir program was the first part of the iss program. Both are good movies. Nagnificent Desolation could also fit into the current category in some ways as well since NASA's bext step is a return to the moon.
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Post by SpaceCanada »

For IMAX films, I'd go with Space Station and Hail Columbia since they give the basics of it all. Otherwise, check out the 'From the Earth to the Moon' videos for some interesting clips from the Apollo era.

For water survival... I regularly teach lifesaving classes at the pool, and we have access to military equipment like cheetos and such, so that helps.

Some things you can do without much equipment:

Teach the importance of heat loss - you lose more heat in the water than you do when you are dry. Throw the kids in PFDs (err... some people call them lifejackets even if they are not... but I digress...) In the water, get the kids (in PFDs) to tuck up into a ball and hold their knees in tight. Point their noses at the ceiling and try not to fall over. This is the best way to prevent heat loss when stranded by yourself in the water.

However, huddles of people are warmer than individuals floating on their own. While still wearing PFDs, and in the water, get the kids to huddle together, with the smallest kids in the middle. It's like a big group hug. Tuck your feet in and hold that for a minute or two. Explain how the little ones stay in the middle because they lose heat faster than bigger people. Discuss if there were several people you can take turns being in the middle to keep warm.

Other water survival skills... take a pait of pants, tie the ends of the legs into a double knot, and wet them. Jump in the water, blow air into the waist hole like a balloon, holding it closed between breaths. You can eventually fill up the pants with air and use them as a flotation device. You will have to blow more air into the pants on occasion.

Hmm... also, we did whistle signals. Every PFD should have a whistle attached (it's law up here in open waters but not at pools) Three hard whistles signals distress. Two whistles back means 'I hear you, I'm coming to rescue you'. One more whistle by the survivor acknowledges the rescuer.

What else was there for water survival... swimming with clothes if fun, and hard. It's good to demonstrate this and then show them that it is easier to swim in underwear (or swimsuits in this case) and use your clothes as foatation.

If you can get a military emergency raft, personal raft, or cheetos, those are the best for the water survival session. The military supply officers can give you instructions on how to use them.
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Post by des »

Last night I accomplished a lot. I designed the t-shirt, which is a take off on this patch:
http://www.spacetoys.com/products.php?cat=88&pg=2
(the first one on the page)
I had to get rid of the black and white to do two colors (plus the background blue); I pulled a couple stars off. Even NASA couldn't mind and nobody but the most dire hard spacenick would recognize it. So I'm pretty sure that the silk screeners will not. (The "boss" wants NASA shirts, but this would cut significantly into my science budget. $9 versus $12-15.) I also thought I will get caps and have moms sew a worm patch on them-- again something like $6 vs $12-16. I also thought I'd use colored lanyards for the teams (I'll have three teams of 5 which is the simulator's crew size). I got an idea from the educator's conference to do a badge with the crew member's name and picture and a little thing that you need to have your badge to enter and so on. Someone gave out these at the conference and they look official. (I could use caps as ID, it would be cheaper, and then get an elastic string type thing for the badges.)

I also found an old doorstop (computer), monitor, and serial (yep read that right) joystick to work on the Precision Assist software on my own. It's maybe a few dollars more than I could do if I scrounged around, however, time is money too. (She might throw in some old software so I could run old games. That would be fun.)
I did find a place that is dumping old computers, so. I might need these this summer.

I found several places to buy lanyards, caps, and so on, online.

I also have a plan of dividing up kids-- do like 4th-5th graders; 5th-6th graders; 7th-8th graders (that might not perfectly, but it's a start). so I can control the level of complexity in the science. The shuttle software also can be made easier or harder. For instance you can do a basically unassisted landing that wouldn't be appropriate for younger kids. Up to something where you only can control the nose to fully automatic. The guy who makes the simulator says that he just takes the kids asks how old they are and then places the oldest kid as Commander, etc. Tells them if they want to try other positions to come again next year. I'm not sure that's best but when I went to Space Academy they decided positions on the basis of a multiple choice test. On that basis I got Commander easily, otoh, I was probably not the best one they could have chosen. I will have some computers so everyone can play with landing, etc.

Anyway, I feel very accomplished.
I might put the t-shirt design online.

Oh yes, I am deciding between Space Explorers and Space Adventures. Any preference?

Also I was thinking of patch design as an activity the first day. Any ideas on this one?


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Post by SpaceCanada »

If you already have a patch designed for the programme, having them all design another one may be a bit redundant.

Maybe if each team got together and did team patches, it might be a good icebreaker activity.
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Post by des »

It's a team patch. Rather it's actually going to be a team sticker, I think. They get a 3 ring binder with space stuff, scripts, etc. and there is nothign on the back. I thought a team sticker would be great and a good first day, team building activity.

I don't really have a patch but the t-shirts I designed have what might look like a patch.

--des
SpaceCanada wrote:If you already have a patch designed for the programme, having them all design another one may be a bit redundant.

Maybe if each team got together and did team patches, it might be a good icebreaker activity.
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Post by Benji »

I always like giving the waste management lecture and hydrogel demo. It's funny, interesting, gross, and kids love it. I've given it to a range of ages from 5th graders to college students and it's been a big hit every time.
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Post by SpaceCanada »

Wow, Benji is back! Long time no see! Welcome back!

What is the hydrogel demo?
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Post by Boomerang »

we recently had sign ups to work the camps at our museum this summer. Looks like i'll be working 2 space themed camps. one called Missi0on control which is only a 2 day camp because its the week of the 4th of July and Rocket Kids which is a week long camp. We will get to use our new shuttle simulator as part of it as well cant wait to see it hasnt been installed yet but should be next month. Also working a camp called I want my mummy an egypt themed 2 day camp to go along with the new mummies imax film and a magic themed week long camp to go along with the new Harry Potter and a science of magic exhibit we'll have over the summer. Looks like it should be a fun summer. And we get to go out to NASAn Langley for the rocket kids camp i'll make sure to get some pictures out there for you guys to see. There is one other space themed camp but i would miss the last 2 days of it for my trip to huntsville so wont be working it.
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Post by Benji »

SpaceCanada wrote:What is the hydrogel demo?
Now that I think about it, I can't remember ever seeing it done, but I think there was a Station experiment that was similar. Anyways, I take all of the crystals from a diaper, put them into a jar, and add water. It gels up real nice to demonstrate the absorbent qualities of diapers and shows what hydrogel is. Goes good with the story of Alan Shepard.
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Post by Boomerang »

the scientific name for that is Sodium polyacrelate if i recall correctly. Did a demo with it a couple summers ago. For ours i had 3 cups one always had some of the powder in there before the show started. Poured waer into the cup with the powder had some one come up i'd mix up the cups have them guess which one the water was in then hold up each cup upside down over the persons head then explain what happeed. Scared a few people but was a fun demo.
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Post by des »

Actually I had already thought of doign this. This general area is called "material science" and NASA does a LOT of work, specifically with polymers. Astronanuts also wear diapers, I hadn't thought of this as an angle. I bet I'd have their interest. :-)

There's also various goos and gels that are polymers that are popular camp activities from "chemistry" class to magic and Harry Potter class. A couple years ago I did this stuff with water and corn starch. You add the right amount of water and the stuff acts like quick sand. If you put a plastic toy in and try to pull it out quickly, will resist. But pull it out very slowly and it comes out easily. Very cool and interesting. Some kids would not touch it though. This isn't a polymer I think. It is called a non-colloidal solid and has properties of neither being entirely liquid or entirely solid. I didn't get into the science. I had the little kids (K-3) experimenting with different things and told them astronauts do experiments basically.


--des
LB206 wrote:the scientific name for that is Sodium polyacrelate if i recall correctly. Did a demo with it a couple summers ago. For ours i had 3 cups one always had some of the powder in there before the show started. Poured waer into the cup with the powder had some one come up i'd mix up the cups have them guess which one the water was in then hold up each cup upside down over the persons head then explain what happeed. Scared a few people but was a fun demo.
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