Resources for Space Academy

(grades 7-9)

  1. Before Camp - Preparation for your Visit
  2. After Camp - Continuing the Learning Process
    1. “Jupiter Jockey: A ‘Pi in the Sky’ Math Challenge” - After a five year journey from Earth, the Juno spacecraft arrived at Jupiter on July 4, 2016. Its main goal is to help scientists understand the origin and evolution of the largest planet in our solar system. In this activity, students use the mathematical constant pi to find out how far the Juno spacecraft travels in its highly eccentric orbit about Jupiter. [PDF]

    2. “EarthKAM” - This exciting opportunity allows students to take pictures of Earth from the Sally Ride EarthKAM digital camera aboard the International Space Station. Participation is free.

    3. “Mars Thermos Engineering Design Challenge” - Student teams use the engineering design process to design an insulator that will keep a small amount of water from rapidly changing temperature. Students learn the application of heat transfer and basic thermodynamics, while practicing their data collection and analysis mathematics skills.

    4. “Planet Hunters Project” - Students become Citizen Scientists by analyzing data from the NASA’s Kepler spacecraft to help discover new exoplanets.

    5. “Observing with NASA” - Get amazing images of objects in space by controlling ground-based telescopes using the MicroObservatory Robotic Telescope Network.

    6. Observing with NASA - Tutorials on how to create the best results from MicroObservatory images>

    7. “Spot the Station” - Learn when the International Space Station will fly over your location.