Spark!Lab History Month Themes:
S!L Theme: Building Space Exploration Bridges
Bulletin Boards 1: NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
Bulletin Board 2: Astronaut Spotlight: Teacher in Space Barbara Morgan
Spark!Lab Hands on Learning Activities
Location/Times: Spark!Lab (Each event is in Spark!Lab. Spark!Lab hours of operation 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.)
[Daily] Smithsonian Build a Bridge: Using simple materials build, test, and discover how much weight a bridge can support.
[Mondays] Botley on Mars: The Mars Curiosity rover is currently exploring the lower slopes of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater. Now, it's your turn to explore! Using the remote programmer, code your Botley robot to navigate the terrain and collect as many simulated Mars rocks as possible.
[Fridays] Wind Tunnel Challenge: Explore aerodynamic forces by testing different objects and materials inside a wind tunnel.
Special Activities
August 19 - National Potato Day: From the dirt to the stars! Did you know the potato was the first vegetable ever grown in space? Join us to discover the exciting history of this beloved veggie. Together, we'll learn about space agriculture and participate in a fun, hands-on potato activity!
August 30 [Launch date subject to change]: Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launch celebration! Celebrating NASA’s newest space telescope! Build your own telescope and discover what NASA’s newest observatory will discover on its mission.
STEAM Literature Series (Every Thursday at 10:00 a.m. inside Spark!Lab)
Theme for the Month: The Night Sky
Books: “Always Looking Up: Nancy Grace Roman,” Astronomer by Laura Gehl, “The James Webb Telescope: A Picture Book for Kids” by Keith Riegert
August 13: Constellations - Learn about the stars and which ones create pictures in the night sky.
Books: “Usha and the Big Digger” by Amitha Jagannath Knight, “Animals in the Sky” by Sara Gillingham
August 20: The Sun & Moon - Both the Moon and the Sun light up our sky, but what makes them different?
Books: “The Sun and the Moon” by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano, “Moon! Earth's Best Friend” by Stacy McAnulty
August 27: Planets - Learn about the planets that make up our solar system.
Books: “Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years” by Stacy McAnulty, “Pluto Gets the Call” by Adam Rex