The theme of this unit is the development of an imaginary mission to the asteroid Vesta. It also introduces teachers and students to the Vesta Mappers citizen scientist project, which is part of the CosmoQuest online community. The unit is designed... (View More) to be used in 50-minute periods over 13 days and lessons follow the 5E instructional model. Students will explore not only science content but science and engineering practices as well. An alignment is provided to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). (View Less)

Learners will brainstorm ideas to be developed into a team skit, work cooperatively to assign duties and write the skit, and collaborate with team members to complete the Mars Rover Manual. The lesson uses the 5E instructional model and includes:... (View More) TEKS Details (Texas Standards alignment), Essential Question, Science Notebook, Vocabulary Definitions for Students, Vocabulary Definitions for Teachers, three Vocabulary Cards, the Manual Template, and a presentation writing Mini-Lesson. This is lesson 14 of the Mars Rover Celebration Unit, a six week long curriculum. (View Less)

This is a lesson about light in the outer solar system. Learners will demonstrate the effect of the inverse square law of illumination with distance and connect this to the functioning of solar panels at Saturn. Requires a silicon solar cell... (View More) (available at an electronics parts store) and a multimeter. (View Less)

This is a activity about how reaction wheels affect spacecraft orientation (attitude). Learners will observe Newton's Third Law (action-reaction) in the changes caused by a reaction wheel acting upon a spacecraft suspended from a support wire and in... (View More) the ensuing interfering forces from the wire support. The experiment includes an option for demonstration and for learner investigation. Notes about gyroscopes are included. (View Less)