NASA Activities

The families of the astronauts who died in the Challenger disaster set up a memorial for their loved ones, they decided to create a center where teachers could come to learn about space exploration and the use of technology in education. The Astronauts Memorial Foundation built classrooms at the Kennedy Space Center and offered programs designed to improve science and technology education for teachers   As a part of the Instructional Technology Certificate program at Duquesne, Mrs. Ravenstahl and Mrs. Huth   attended classes at the Foundation this summer and designed projects for each grade level that would share information about space exploration and utilize a wide variety of technological techniques. The projects are based on Standard 4 of International Society for Technology Education - Students will  use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences.
Below is a list of the projects and media each grade level will be developing:

• Kindergarten - Look, Mom! I'm an Astronaut! : Students will study the solar system and will paste a digital picture of themselves into an astronaut suit template, and print and color their picture.
• Grade 1 - My Favorite Planet: Students will view the NASA video Solar System II, review  drawing techniques using Kid Pix software, and draw a picture of their favorite planet using Kid Pix.
• Grade 2 - Math Blast : After  a review of space, the students will be able to use the Kid Pix software application and the stamping tools to show  two sets of space objects equaling ten or less.
• Grade 3 - Earth Acrostics: Students will use Internet sites to find an image of the earth to copy and paste into a document and type an acrostic poem describing the earth.
• Grade 4 - How is the Space Shuttle Prepared for Flight? :  Students will discover how a Space Shuttle is prepared to fly its next mission by visiting the NASA web site and present this information in a slide show using digital pictures taken at NASA.
• Grade 5 - Race to the Moon Timeline: Students will learn the steps America took to land a man on the moon in 1969 by researching NASA printed materials and Web site and present that information in a timeline produced in MS Word.
• Grade 6 - Star Seekers: Students will identify the pioneers of flight  who are depicted in the mural Star Seekers by  visiting designated Web sites and sharing this information in a Power Point presentation.
• Grade 7 - Why Do Astronauts Wear Space Suits? : Students will discover why astronauts must wear space suits on their missions in space and present this information in an iMovie.
• Grade 8 - Tour the Kennedy Space Center: Students will discover the facilities that are available at the Kennedy Space Center and present this information by creating a virtual tour on a Web page.