2020 was a challenging year to say the least! When it all seemed to get too overwhelming, I thought of my grandpa's advice. 'Look up! That light that you see traveled billions of light years to get to you.' It's a great reminder that there is something bigger out there that connects us all. International Space StationContrary to popular belief; agreement and collaboration for the greater good are possible. In fact, last year marked the 20th Anniversary of continuous human presence on the International Space Station. That is a huge feat considering it's an effort of 5 space agencies and 15 countries. Not to mention the fact that it has been constructed and repaired by astronauts who speak different languages all while orbiting the Earth at 17,500 mph. Google Arts and Culture put together an amazing collection of resources to explore. Launch America2020 also marked the beginning of the Commercial Crew Program. We successfully launched two crews on SpaceX Dragon capsules to the International Space Station in May and November. ArtemisNASA also announced the Artemis team. The Artemis mission to land the first woman on the moon in 2024! Learn more about the eighteen men and women who are part of this incredible group of astronauts. Our students are the Artemis generation! There are numerous ways to incorporate the Artemis missions in your classroom with posters, design challenges, and activities. GEt STudents InvolvedRegardless of your grade level, content area or mode of instruction, space exploration is a great fit. It promotes crucial 21st century skills and helps prepare students for a future in STEM! Plant the Moon Challenge Participate in "a global science experiment, learning activity and inspirational project-based learning challenge to see who can grow the best crops using lunar regolith simulant." Register by January 15th!! NASA Moon 2 Mars Tynker partnered with NASA to create space-themed coding adventures from beginner to advanced levels.
Mark Your Calendars27th Annual SEEC Conference February 4 - 6, 2021 It's difficult to believe that this amazing event is only a month away! This year is 100% virtual. So, you won't have to worry about writing sub plans, booking flights or finding a hotel. It is definitely not something you want to miss! Even if you can't attend the sessions live, registration cost covers access to all sessions and virtual tours for a year! Perseverance Landing on Mars February 18, 2021 @NASAPersevere #CountdowntoMars @NASAJPL Better Late Than NEverFull disclosure: I meant to send the following links about a month ago. I still think they're worth sharing despite the timing. Maybe you like to get a head start on next year's shopping, have money saved up or are on the hunt for something special for friends, family members or even yourself, you should check out these collections. Every year, Purdue University's INSPIRE Research Institute for Pre-College Engineering creates an Engineering Gift Guide. This goal of the guide to recommend items for ages 10 months - 18 years that promote engineering practices like coding, spatial reasoning, problem solving and critical thinking. The guide includes toys, games, puzzles and books and you can search by category or age. If you're wanting more space exploration specific items including clothes, books, games and activities, check out my Wakelet collection. Peace, love and space exploration,
- CAPCOM Conrad
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Regardless of your setting (virtual, hybrid or in person), your class size or the age of your students' , space exploration is a great fit! There are so many opportunities to bring it into your classroom. Contests and ChallengesNASA App Development Challenge
Celebrate World Space Week ~ October 4th - 10th - Hosted by the Space Foundation Discovery Center Check out the schedule of daily virtual events for all ages! NASA Commercial Crew 2021 Children's Artwork Calendar Contest
For previous calendars, additional contest rules, themes, calendar template and submission information, click on the link above. Prompt " imagine leading a one-week expedition at the Moon’s South Pole – with the whole world cheering you on. Tell us about the types of skills, attributes, and/or personality traits that you would want your Moon Pod crew to have and why. How many would be in your pod? And of course you’ll need high tech gear and gadgets! In your essay, also describe one machine, robot, or technology that you would leave on the lunar surface to help future astronauts explore the Moon."
11th Annual International Student Art Contest sponsored by the Space Foundation and Firefly Aerospace Upcoming EventsWillow the Water Bear written by: Houston Kidd, illustrated by: Eric Bates
Bob and Doug were part of the first launch of the Commercial Crew program in May when their historic Demo-2 mission headed to the International Space Station. It was celebrated as a return to American soil as the first manned spacecraft since the Space Shuttle to launch from 39A at Kennedy Space Center. It was also significant as the program is a collaboration and the spacecraft was from a commercial company. Crew - 1 is the next Commercial Crew launch. Four astronauts (Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins and Soichi Noguchi) will be traveling to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket. This event is currently scheduled for October 23, 2020. However, like the previous mission, this date is fluid and can change based on numerous things including weather. This year, we celebrate 20 years of continuous human presence on the International Space Station! The goal is to connect space station research to K - 12 classrooms. Each month has a theme and includes related multimedia, infographics, videos and activities.
Opportunities for TeachersInternational STEAM Summit ~ October 12th - 23rd
Space Foundation Teacher Liaison Program
1) Community Outreach 2) Teacher Education 3) Space Foundation Connection 4) Student Engagement
AIAA Foundation Classroom Grant Program
Grants for Teachers This list has been curated by the Space Foundation and is updated on a quarterly basis. What to WatchWhether you're looking for comedy, drama, fiction or documentaries, there are several recently released or upcoming shows and movies available. Space Force - Netflix series Away - Netflix series Challenger: The Final Flight - Netflix documentary The Right Stuff - Disney + series available October 9th Read OnBooks below are listed in order of release date.
The other website tabs will also be updated with this information for future reference!
Peace, love and space exploration, CAPCOM Conrad I presented this activity at Space Exploration Educators Conference (SEEC) 2020. It simulates communication between Mission Control and astronauts. It is similar to Copy That CAPCOM, but involves more of a technology piece. The title and idea came from Apollo 13. Like all space exploration mission, this was definitely a collaborative effort. Huge shout out to my amazing friend and colleague, Jaime, who helped this idea become a reality!! Building BackgroundBefore diving into the activity, I had students sit in small groups. Each table was labeled with a NASA Mission Control Call Sign. This helped me keep track :) Individually or with their small group, students defined communication in their own words and thought about the different types of communication. As a class, we shared ideas from different groups. Set UP
Goal = Clear and Precise Communication
Challenges
Materials
- laptop or desktop - flipgrid.com
PRintable Lesson PlanClick the button below for FREE download of this activity! Tech Tool Spotlight: FlipgridAn awesome way to engage students by recording and sending video messages! If you have never used Flipgrid before, sign up with this link! Elearning StyleThis activity could be modified to become an eLearning task. Added Bonus - You don't have to worry about setting up your physical classroom or find spaces for students to spread out. If you don't want to do small groups, you could have a class competition. The teacher could be Mission Control and the students could all be astronauts. You could set up one grid and a topic for each class, if you have multiple. If one homeroom class, see which student astronaut correctly draws the icon first. If multiple classes, have a period competition to see which class correctly draws the icon first. Check out Square Peg in a Round Hole Activity Resources on Teachers Pay Teachers for specific lesson resources described above (logbook, Wakelet questions, space exploration icon cards, etc). Peace, love and space exploration,
- CAPCOM Conrad Welcome back! Whether your school year has started or you're still waiting for launch, there's always room for more space. The purpose of this post is to highlight ways to bring space into your classroom...whether that be books, resources or activities to try! ISS AboveIf you've never heard of this amazing little gadget or you're not quite sure what it does, get ready to be blown away. This Raspberry Pi (tiny computer) has the code to track the International Space Station. It allows you see live video feed of the Earth from space, get data on velocity, current location and find out when the ISS will be above you! If it's not quite in your budget, I would highly recommend writing a grant to get one of these awesome buddies in your classroom. Plug it in, hook it up to an ethernet cable and a monitor and now space is truly in your classroom. Students are fascinated to watch it and it definitely broadens their horizons. It's definitely a game changer! It lends itself to so many STEM connections, like the power of coding and even something as simple as making observations. Check out my previous blog post here and find out how you can get an ISS Above.
Keep Calm and Read OnI have always loved reading. In fact, I'm super excited right now because our school just got a shipment of new books and I treated myself on Amazon. So my stack of to be read is growing, which is awesome. As the Innovation Specialist, I am in a unique position at my school. Innovation Specialist is what you may have thought of as a librarian or media specialist, but its more. Regardless of the title, I am in a large room surrounded by books and think that reading is a great place to start. If you've been following along since the beginning, you may remember that my journey of bringing space into my classroom began with a set of books. Not just any books, Hidden Figures Young Readers Edition by: Margot Lee Shetterley. I was able to see how excited kids get when they learn about space exploration, not to mention it was a blast to teach. I've since expanded my space book collection and want to share some new additions that may be a good fit for you. Autobiographies
Adventures
Picture Books
A little Bit Each Day
Communication is keyHere are a few great activities that promote team building, involve unplugged coding and precise communication. Not to mention they're fun and space-themed. - Copy That, CAPCOM - Mars Rovers Regardless of where or what you're teaching, there's always room for space! Peace, love and space exploration,
CAPCOM Conrad Space Center Houston's Space Exploration Educators Conference celebrated it's 25th Anniversary! What a blast it was!! I am now in my third year of being a SEEC Crew Member and promoting space exploration education. Like space exploration itself, my journey has come with challenges and a lot of learning and growth. One thing that remains is my belief in collaboration. My colleagues and fellow crew members have played a key role throughout this process and I am very grateful to them. Willingness to connect, try new things and branch out have not only impacted me and fellow educators, but also the students we work with. Every year I come to SEEC it is an amazing experience. Each year is unique and awesome in its own way. This year I was able to present on an Engineering Design Challenge based on the Voyager missions. It was nice to hear from session attendees that they wanted to use this in their classrooms when they returned home after the conference. After an awesome keynote from Alan Stern, chief of New Horizons, I’m brainstorming how I could turn this into an activity for the classroom. So, stay tuned. Since his presentation, we learned that the Ultima Thule, the celestial body that New Horizons was able to capture an image of is actually more of a 3D object than the flat "snowman" they initially thought it resembled. New Horizons SongBrian May, lead singer of Queen and astrophysicist created a song titled New Horizons to celebrate the mission. Students are always shocked when I tell them that our astronauts get to the ISS by taking a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Khazikastan desert. They sometimes wonder - and I’m sure they’re not alone in that thought - of when are we going to launch from the US. Like many things it’s a work in progress. The goal is to get to Mars in the 2030s, but before we send humans there, there are many steps to complete first. The same was true with the moon landing. Before humans could set foot on the moon, astronauts had to be able to orbit, EVA, rendezvous, docking and long duration spaceflight. The Commercial Crew program is an exciting project in the works . Due to the government shutdown earlier this year, curriculum development and “launch” has been delayed. However, by the fall, there are awesome resources headed your way. Lessons (K-4 and 5 - 12) a Commercial Crew App, Virtual Reality Field Trips and much more! In the meantime, the Peanuts characters are here to help. Charlie Brown and Snoopy first came on the scene 50 years ago as call signs during the Apollo 10 mission. Now they’re back to help teach kids about returning to the moon, the Orion capsule and heading to Mars. Under PressureA great Expert/ Educator session from my fellow Quest SEEC Crew members was Under Pressure. We learned from Paul Boehm - has worked with EVAs and is now involved with the Orion Project. I'm not even going to attempt his official job description. Using this information, Jessica & Katrina created stations to simulate what an EVA (Extravehicular Activity) would be like. I’ve done activities before, but these were a step above! They really thought of the small details and it made it very fun. All of the materials were things that could be easily found in a classroom or purchased inexpensively. Rock YardTours are definitely an awesome opportunity at SEEC. This year I was able to tour the Mars yard. It is similar to how it sounds. It’s a large area with fine gravel and large black lava rocks from Hawaii. Having a simulated Martian terrain allows NASA to test vehicles and spacesuits. The vehicle has six pairs of wheels and each pair can be lowered or raised depending on need. Besides the difference in appearance of the vehicle, it’s ability are also very different than vehicles you would see on the highway. It is able to drive sideways, which is definitely an asset on this terrain. Heading to the HabAt the last minute, I was able to sign up for a HERA tour. HERA stands for Human Exploration Research Analog. Four person crews volunteer to be in the habitat for a forty-five day mission. Since there was not an active mission at the time of SEEC, we were able to see their Mission Control and go inside the hab. During this mission, they are unable to leave the habitat. Requirements of volunteers are age 30 -55, masters degree or equivalent military experience, in good health and able to be away from work and their families for about 60 days. One of the first tasks for the crew members is to work together to create a patch that represents the mission. So far there have been 17 HERA missions. While on a mission, crew members have a variety of tasks to complete all while being observed and monitored for scientific purposes. The purpose of each mission varies and the crew members are being observed to determine psychological and physiological effects of being in a confined space, away from home and family for an extended period of time. This is especially crucial in preparation for long duration spaceflight and sending humans to Mars. They are always looking for volunteers :) Go, Flight!A huge highlight for me as an Apollo enthusiast was hearing an amazing closing keynote from former Mission Control Flight Director, Gene Kranz. I wouldn't do him justice trying to describe it, so watch it yourself. Since returning from SEEC I have been able to hear Adam Steltzner, JPL Engineer, EDL for Curiosity and chief of Engineering for the Mars 2020 Rover speak. I also was able to return to my alma mater - dubbed the astronaut factory - to hear Scott Kelly speak as part of Purdue’s 150 Giant Leaps campaign. Really enjoyed the humor and knowledge of both guys So, the mission continues... Peace, love and space exploration,
CAPCOM Conrad Part 3 Tiny Pixel - Image Revealed from yesterday's post...the Mission Patch from The Martian! How Your Kiddos Can make a Hologram ViewerOverview
Materials
Directions
2. Place transparent material on top of template. Use sharpie and ruler to trace on transparent material. 3. Cut out trapezoid pieces using appropriate tool. 4. Affix trapezoid pieces together, so smaller sides are all at the top. 5. Place upside down on screen (so smaller square opening is down and larger square opening is up). 6. Use device to get hologram video. To view, look through the sides or trapezoid faces. The image on the screen should be visible inside your hologram! Here's an illustration for how to make the viewer. Peace, love and space exploration,
- CAMPCOM Conrad Whenever I hear the word satellite, I think of this song, Cecelia and the Satellite by: Andrew McMahon. Background Satellites are extremely useful tools that allow us to learn more about Earth- especially weather, precipitation, landforms - from a slightly different perspective. Satellites see things in pixels aka picture elements. 1 pixel = 1 square area on an image. Spacecraft use 8-bit data. This means that a computer can have 256 shades of gray...talk about being in a gray area! Binary code - series of 0s and 1s that tell a computer information - also comes into play. The binary numbers are used to determine the shade of grey represented. Later, a person interprets the shades of grey as colors and assigns colors to the images. These related Brainpop videos give more information about the topics and include activities, games, a quiz and a link to Newsela articles to read more! Comparing Pixel SizesAs the pixel size decreases, the resolution increases, making it easier to determine what the picture is. Part 1 (Larger Pixels) - Students put the colored paper in the grid square that has the corresponding number. Part 2 (Smaller Pixels) - Students sort the pre-filled in grid segments to make a large grid. Can you guess what it is? Part 3 will be revealed tomorrow! Binary COde GridingOverview
Code
Roles -> Switch after a grid is completed.
Materials
1. Satellite choses one laminated grid from envelope, keeping it concealed from group members. 2. Satellite describes grid in binary code ONLY. Satellite should NOT tell group what image he/she sees on the grid. 3. Satellite can decide to go pixel by pixel or focus only on the shaded squares. 4. Each Computer receives a blank grid and black crayon or colored pencil. The Computers color in the grid squares based on the Satellite's directions. After the Satellite's directions are complete, Computers can determine image. 5. If group has an Engineer, he/she will get a blank grid. Using the computer's image, he/she will assign colors to black squares and recreate the image in color. 6. Roles switch and above steps repeat. How can I adapt? - Change the pixel images to fit something you're studying in class! - Have students design pixel images. Laminate and use them for the activity instead of printed or copied ones. - Divide a large pixelated image into smaller grids. Give each group a grid. Have all groups combine grids to determine overall image. - Have students determine fractions, decimals, percentages and ratios of shaded and unshaded pixel grid squares. This simple, fun activity is a great way to integrate art, technology, math and space into your classroom!
Peace, love and space exploration -CAPCOM Conrad I was extremely fortunate to be one of nine educators from around the country to receive a scholarship to attend an awesome three day workshop at the Space Foundation in Colorado Springs. It was my first time visiting and it did not disappoint! - If you live in Colorado, I would highly recommend bringing your kiddos on a field trip to the Discovery Center. - If you don’t live in Colorado, I would recommend becoming a Teacher Liaison. There are fore core areas of focus for teacher liaisons; Community Outreach, Teacher Education, Space Foundation Connection and Student Engagement. Applications for the next flight class are due November 23rd. The best part of the workshop, besides meeting rockstar TLs was how applicable all of the activities were to all of us. The TLs all came from different states, different school types, different grade levels and content areas; united by a passion for space education. The activities were exciting, hands-on and so much fun! My brain was constantly thinking about how I could bring this back to my school and share it with my readers. It was a jam-packed workshop, so I will be posting in parts. Each day for the next week, I will be posting an activity or group of activities that we did. I firmly believe that regardless of your excuse (grade level, content area, time, standards I need to cover, etc), you can incorporate space into your curriculum. My hope is that you'll be able to bring new ideas to your classroom and colleagues this upcoming school year! Copy THat, CapcomI’ve done a similar activity in my classroom, but this version was easier to implement with fewer materials needed. I was immediately intrigued by the title and thrilled when it began with the Apollo 13 C02 filter scene (see below). This is a great clip to spark students' interest and give them context for the activity and importance of a variety of skills including problem solving. Overview
* Students are assigned a role for each scenario, but they rotate among the roles throughout the activity. Roles
- unable to communicate directly with astronauts
- Cannot view main build or workstation build
- cannot view main build *If group is 4 members, there are 2 astronauts. One astronauts uses ONLY their right hand and the other astronaut uses ONLY their left hand. Room Set-up Example Procedure 1.Flight Director builds something from materials available, behind their screen. *It's best to start out simple and gradually make the builds more complex. 2. Engineer observes build (once complete), heads back to spot and describes build to CAPCOM. 6. When team is confident in their build, Flight Director checks build and says yes or no* to indicate if build is correct. If build is not correct, team can repeat process above to fix. * Depending on groups, could say: Affirmative or negative GO or NO GO Check communication lines 7. When majority of groups are complete or after a specified time limit, student roles are reset. Flight Director creates new build and process repeats. Materials We used the following:
How can I adapt materials for my classroom? The materials can vary depending on your age group and what you have available. Each workstation should be on a table or desk. The key is to provide each workstation with some type of shield. The shield should be large enough so that hand gestures cannot be used to assist with build. Tri-fold or bi-fold boards work great for this, but you could also use a cardboard box. Each workstation also needs to have the same items used for construction. Do I need to use items that are similar to each other? The reasoning behind using 2 items that are similar is that it forces students to notice and describe what they see to their group members. If a student just said, use the cup, their group members wouldn’t know which cup. I hope this is awesome activity is one that you can see easily implementing in your classroom and sharing with others! All photo credits go to my fellow TL Denise!
Be sure to virtually visit tomorrow for Day 2 of the Space Across the Curriculum Series :) Peace, love and space exploration, - CAPCOM Conrad Did you know that NASA has centers and visitor centers around the country? NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is the Midwest NASA Center and the closest one to me. Although I wasn't able to visit GRC on such short notice, I did find out about future opportunities to do so. I also really enjoyed exploring the Visitor Center. Click below to see which one is closest to you! Did you know that each NASA Center has a specific focus and it's not all about space? Don't let the name - National Aeronautics and Space Administration - fool you! NASA does a lot to research and improve life on Earth! GoddardGoddard Space Flight Center was established in 1959. The center was named after Dr. Robert H. Goddard, a physicist whose area of expertise was rocket propulsion. Instruments build at Goddard are not only used to study the Sun, our solar system and universe, but also Earth. Check out all of the education resources related to the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) missions - water cycle, weather & climate, technology and societal applications. A Clean Room - Notice the structures on top, they make sure that dust and other debris is pushed out of the room. You don't want something traveling to space and interfering with data collection. Before entering a clean room, individuals have to wear what is known as a bunny suit to prevent human contamination (hair, germs, cells, etc). This giant piece of equipment -takes up an entire room- that I refer to as the centrifuge, was built in the 1960s and is still operational. Spacecraft at this time were smaller and the entire thing could fit to be tested. Now, it just tests parts of the spacecraft. To use it, it requires a lot of power and a call to the utility company! GlennI would really encourage you to check out the Great Lakes Science Center. It is the home of NASA Glenn Visitor Center and has so many awesome, hands-on activities related to spaceflight! It is a great museum for all ages and interest levels on the water, right next to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's not all about space, but that's what we explored. They do a great job of promoting science and their motto is stay curious! We loved the interactive nature of everything and the connection that was made between the activities and why it was important for space exploration. Some of our fun is pictured below, but there was a lot more for you to experience in person; a shuttle landing simulation, rocket launch by building up air pressure, determining which ISS systems could be powered when the solar panels weren't in sunlight, aerodynamic experiment with shapes. My husband, a middle social studies teacher, excitedly tried all of the activities! Check out this FREE upcoming educator workshop at NASA GRC Middle and High School Teachers Monday August 13th 9am-4:30pm > If you aren't able to make it, sign up for their mailing list to keep updated on future opportunities. > In the meantime, check out their awesome Engineering Design Challenges for your classroom! Goals
As you prepare for a new school year- whether it's updating or bigger changes; a new grade level, new school or new school district - think about your space goals! If you or a colleague are looking for resources, have questions about something I've done in my classroom, have an idea for a lesson or unit an unsure the best way to implement it, please reach out! I love collaborating!! Tomorrow I'm headed to Colorado Springs for the Space Foundation's Space Across the Curriculum Workshop!! After all, the ISS is a 20 year collaboration of 15 countries and 5 space agencies. Together is better! It all started with a movie trailer. It was about high schoolers entering an underwater robotics competition. A few weeks later I couldn't remember the title, but I knew that I wanted to watch it. Luckily, my husband did. So, I went to the library and rented the movie Spare Parts. It was a great movie, released in 2015 and one worth sharing with your students to get them excited and inspired. Check out the trailer below. Maybe it's just me, but I love reading the words inspired by a true story. When those words come across the screen, I immediately want to find and read the book! However, this story actually started with an article in Wired magazine in 2005. 11 years later, Joshua Davis - the writer of the WIRED article - also wrote the book, titled Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot and the Battle for the American Dream. I read the book in a couple days and really enjoyed it. I enjoyed learning more details about the lives of the kids portrayed in the film. I think it would be a great book for middle school or high schoolers. It could be part of a book study, whole group, read aloud or after school. While it's not an astronaut story, I would definitely share it with my former students who, when reading Hidden Figures, were curious about what it was like for them. My Hispanic students were interested in the story and in learning about segregation, but they couldn't fully relate to the African American characters. .As I've been diving into the story, I actually discovered that before it became Spare Parts, it was a documentary called Underwater Dreams. This award winner was named as one of Best Family Movies of 2014 by Common Sense Media! Maybe the coolest part is that 50% of proceeds go to Carl Hayden Robotics team and TheDream.US . You may be asking yourself, I thought this was a blog about space exploration, so what does an underwater robotics competition have to do with that? Well, NASA is one of sponsors for the MATE (Marine Advanced Technology Education) competition. The competition is also all about ROVs (remotely operated vehicles). Think Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity, and I'm just talking about the characteristics, I'm talking about Mars. Robotics also involves STEAM principles and definitely is a hands-on application of science process standards and mathematics practices. It also requires teamwork and problem solving skills. In the 1950's it seemed impossible that a man could land on the moon. Likewise, In 2004, it seemed impossible that four kids who lived in the desert would excel in a national underwater robotics competition. What's awesome about MATE is every year's competition involves a back story. So, the competition is tied to a story, talk about an awesome language arts connection. Writing and reading become a lot easier when it's about something that you're interested in! I wanted to share this awesome story to hopefully inspire some of you to check it out and share it with your students. If your school already has a robotics team, here's a real-world connection. If not, maybe it's something worth looking into and learning more about.
Be on the lookout for more book suggestions and resources as that is what I plan to focus on in the blog this summer. Peace, Love and Space Exploration, - CAPCOM Conrad |
AuthorApollo 13 fan. Educator. Lifelong Learner. Third generation Boilermaker. Space Exploration Enthusiast. Collaborator. Click Subscribe to stay updated!Archives
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