In this kinesthetic activity, the concept of energy budget is strengthened as students conduct three simulations using play money as units of energy, and students serve as parts of a planetary radiation balance model. Students will determine the energy budget of a planet by manipulating gas concentrations, energy inputs and outputs in the system in this lesson that supports the study of climate on Mars, Mercury, Venus and Earth. The lesson supports understanding of the real-world problem of contemporary climate change. The resource includes a teacher's guide and several student worksheets. This is the second of four activities in the lesson, How do Atmospheres affect planetary temperatures?, within Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planet's Climate? The resource aims to help students to develop an understanding of our environment as a system of human and natural processes that result in changes that occur over various space and time scales.

In this activity, students simulate the interaction of variables, including carbon dioxide, in a radiation balance exercise using a spreadsheet-based radiation balance model. Through a series of experiments, students attempt to mimic the surface temperatures of Earth, Mercury, Venus and Mars, and account for the influence of greenhouse gases in atmospheric temperatures. The activity supports inquiry into the real-world problem of contemporary climate change. Student-collected data is needed from activity A in the same module, "How do atmospheres interact with solar energy?" to complete this activity. Included in the resource are several student data sheets and a teacher's guide. This activity is part of module 4, "How do Atmospheres Affect Planetary Temperatures?" in Earth Climate Course: What Determines a Planet's Climate? The course aims to help students to develop an understanding of our environment as a system of human and natural processes that result in changes that occur over various space and time scales.

In this demonstration, students explore the concept of greenhouse warming. They determine whether an increase in the amount of heat-trappping gases in the atmosphere can cause the temperature on Earth to rise. Students compare the relative heat retention in two experimental systems that are identical except for one being covered with plastic wrap. Materials required include two small aquarium tanks, plastic wrap, two clamp lamps with 60 watt bulbs, modeling clay, rocks and pebbles, and two thermometers. Teacher background information, student worksheets and a scoring rubric are included. This is Activity 1 of the module Too Many Blankets, part of the lesson series, The Potential Consequences of Climate Variability and Change.

In this lesson on cosmic rays, students will explain two examples of a cosmic ray detector. Includes information about student preconceptions and a demonstration that requires a geiger counter and optional access to a small radioactive source that emits energetic helium nuclei (alpha particles), e.g., the mineral the mineral autunite, which contains uranium. This is activity two of four from The Cosmic Ray Telescope for the Effects of Radiation (CRaTER).

Would you like to learn how to make your own Demo-2 to launch in your home? Watch this tutorial to learn how.

All you will need is paper, markers, scissors, tape, yarn or ribbon (optional) and a straw.

How are you preparing to #LaunchAmerica? From building your own rocket to binge-watching launch videos, share a video, a photo or simply your thoughts using #LaunchAmerica for a chance to be featured on our social media platforms.

This video is available for download from NASA's Image and Video Library

A 5 page activity booklet consisting of coloring pages, connect the dots, word find, word jumble and word decoder.

This image-rich National Aeronautics and Space Administration Earth Observatory article discusses how Ken Carder and his research team are using remote sensing data and offshore monitoring to find and track harmful algal blooms as they form and spread. Methods of correlating satellite data with field data and modeling are allowing scientists to determine the causes and precursors of harmful algal blooms. With that knowledge comes the possibility of detecting the start of a bloom, alerting coastal communities earlier, and mitigating some of the red tide's toxic effects, such as fish kills and shellfish poisoning. The article contains a glossary, that may be clicked on and off, and links to related websites.

In this activity, learners will use a hurricane tracking map, satellite images and weather maps to track a hurricane and predict its path. They will consider the meaning and appropriate use of a hurricane watch and a hurricane warning and how these impact public action. They will discuss the hurricane's path and their predictions in a simulated debriefing session and television appearance. Links to maps, data and images are provided. This activity is part of the Event-Based Science (EBS): Remote Sensing Activities.

This resource is a 4 x 6" lenticular card on NASA's HS3 (Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel) aircraft mission, which will overfly tropical storms and hurricanes using NASA's Global Hawk Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the Northern Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico. These flights will improve our understanding of the processes that lead to the development of intense hurricanes. The mission will take place for one-month periods during the 2012, 2013, and 2014 Atlantic Basin hurricane seasons.

This website, provided by NASA's Earth Observatory, describes the science behind hurricanes. Sections include hurricane formation and decay, hurricane anatomy, information regarding storm surges, hurricane climatology, a description of the Saffir-Simpson scale and NASA study missions. Users will also find a list of references regarding hurricanes and hurricane science.

This NASA site hosts a composite image of the southern lights Aurora over the South Pole. A link enables visitors to view a video of this aurora. The image of the Aurora is overlaid on a NASA ‰ÛÏBlue Marble‰Û� image also captured by satellite. Text describes the distortion of Earth‰Ûªs magnetic field by the stream of protons and electrons from the sun.

In this activity, learners draw conclusions about where on a planetary body scientists might look for ice and why. They use a clay ball, ice cubes, and a heat lamp to model the permanently-shadowed polar regions of planets and moons that may harbor ice. They learn that our Moon, and even Mercury, may have areas with ice. This activity is part of Explore! To the Moon and Beyond! - a resource developed specifically for use in libraries.

This is a set of two improv-style activites that encourage participants to participate in learning about living and nonliving things. Learners will get to know each other through an icebreaker activity and state their ideas and previous experience with living versus nonliving things. This will help prepare them to explore how scientists define and look for life in worlds beyond our own. It also includes specific tips for effectively engaging girls in STEM. This is the icebreaker activity in Explore: Life on Mars? that was developed specifically for use in libraries.

Create your own impact craters! When astronauts visit the Moon for the Artemis III missions, they will be able to study the craters that may contain water and ice. Testing and studying these craters may help NASA identify areas on the Moon that are rich in water and other resources to determine how to best use those materials while on the lunar surface.

This 24 minute planetarium show teaches about meteors, meteorites, asteroids, and comets. The show was created for fulldome theaters, but is also available on DVD to be shown in flat version for TVs and computer monitors, and can be freely viewed online. It shows the effects of the Chixulub and Tungusta events, plus the Pallasite impact that resulted in the Brenham meteorite fall, and describes ways that asteroid hunters seek new objects in the solar system, and how ground penetrating radar is used to find meteorites that have survived to the Earth's surface. Narrated by astronaut Tom Jones, it also discusses ways that humans might try to deflect an asteroid or comet that is on a collision course with Earth. The show was created for informal science venues (digital planetariums); it is also useful as supplemental material for middle school science. Impact Earth is available for free if presented directly from the Space Update site (widescreen or fisheye views linked from YouTube). Otherwise, a DVD of the show can be purchased for $10.

As NASA's Earth Observatory Web site describes: "Each year, the North Atlantic Ocean announces springtime by producing 'blooms' large enough to be seen from space." While scientists have had satellite images of these phytoplankton blooms for years, researchers can now detect biofluorescence from these microscopic organisms, with important implications for monitoring the environment. The Web site presents some of these incredible images, along with an interesting essay on the topic (which includes a handy hypertext glossary).

In this activity, learners explore the size and scale of the universe by shrinking cosmic scale in 4 steps, zooming out from the realm of the Earth and Moon to the realm of the galaxies. This informational brochure was designed as a follow-up take-home activity for teen and adult audiences. It can follow informal education activities where participants have experienced related space science programming. This activity allows participants to explore ideas of size and scale in the universe at their own pace.

This activity demonstrates Lenz's Law, which states that an induced electromotive force generates a current that induces a counter magnetic field that opposes the magnetic field generating the current. In the demonstration, an empty aluminum can floats on water in a tray, such as a Petri dish. Students spin a magnet just inside the can without touching the can. The can begins to spin. Understanding what happens can be explained in steps: first, the twirling magnet creates an alternating magnetic field. Students can use a nearby compass to observe that the magnetic field is really changing. Second, the changing magnetic field permeates most things around it, including the aluminum can itself. A changing magnetic field will cause an electric current to flow when there is a closed loop of an electrically conducting material. Even though the aluminum can is not magnetic, it is metal and will conduct electricity. So the twirling magnet causes an electrical current to flow in the aluminum can. This is called an "induced current." Third, all electric currents create magnetic fields. So, in essence, the induced electrical current running through the can creates its very own magnetic field, making the aluminum can magnetic. This is activity four of "Exploring Magnetism." The guide includes science background information, student worksheets, glossary and related resources.

This is a set of three, one-page problems about the size and area of solar panels used to generate power. Learners will will use integer arithmetic to tally the number of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon atoms in a molecule and determine the number of methane atoms that can result. Options are presented so that students may learn about how NASA is using signs of methane gas to search for life on other planets, such as Mars, through a NASA press release or about how astrobiologists who are looking for life beyond Earth are using spectroscopy to identify methane plumes on Mars by viewing a NASA eClips video [7 min.]. This activity is part of the Space Math multi-media modules that integrate NASA press releases, NASA archival video, and mathematics problems targeted at specific math standards commonly encountered in middle school.