The year is 2032 and your class has successfully achieved a manned mission to Mars! After several explorations of the Red Planet, one question is still being debated: "Is there life on Mars?" The class is challenged with the task of establishing criteria to help look for signs of life. Student explorers conduct a scientific experiment in which they evaluate three "Martian" soil samples and determine if any contain life.

The classic snakes and ladders game is replaced by rockets and comets in this astronomy themed version. The game is challenging and interactive way to learn various astronomical topics while moving your way to the winning square as space travellers.

When we look at the night sky, we see stars and the nearby planets of our own solar system. Many of those stars are actually distant galaxies and glowing clouds of dust and gases called nebulae. The universe is an immense space with distances measured in light years. The more we learn about the universe beyond our solar system, the more we realize we do not know. Students are introduced to the basic known facts about the universe, and how engineers help us explore the many mysteries of space.

Students are introduced to our Sun as they explore its composition, what is happening inside it, its relationship to our planet (our energy source), and the ways engineers help us learn about it.

Using photographs and models, students are taken on a virtual journey to outer space. They can look back at the Earth as they travel further away and see it growing increasingly smaller, giving the experience that we live on a tiny planet that floats in a vast and empty space.

Students build their own satellite using household materials. Through the process, they learn about satellites and their functions.

It is very dangerous to look directly at the Sun, even briefly. In this craft activity, you will create a safe viewer so you can look at the Sun without damaging your eyes.

Students will observe the patterns of apparent motion of the sun using simple tools.

Using planetary maps, students will be able to read cartographic information and compare the environmental conditions of Io to those Earth. They will understand the conditions needed for life to exist, and be able to explain why it cannot exist on Io.

Using planetary maps, students will be able to read cartographic information and compare the environmental conditions of Mars to those Earth. They will understand the conditions needed for life to exist, and be able to explain why it cannot exist on Mars.

Using planetary maps, students will be able to read cartographic information and compare the environmental conditions of Pluto/Charon to those Earth. They will understand the conditions needed for life to exist, and be able to explain why it cannot exist on Pluto or Charon.

Using planetary maps, students will be able to read cartographic information and compare the environmental conditions of The Moon to those Earth. They will understand the conditions needed for life to exist, and be able to explain why it cannot exist on The Moon.

Using planetary maps, students will be able to read cartographic information and compare the environmental conditions of Titan to those Earth. They will understand the conditions needed for life to exist, and be able to explain why it cannot exist on Titan.

Using planetary maps, students will be able to read cartographic information and compare the environmental conditions of Venus to those Earth. They will understand the conditions needed for life to exist, and be able to explain why it cannot exist on Venus.

Students learn about local and planetary physical geography / geology, toponymy, planetary landing site selection and cartography. The students learn a complex process of landscape evaluation and city planning, based on the interpretation of photomaps or digital terrain models.

In this activity, students learn about astronomical phenomena we can see in the universe and create their own music inspired by astronomical images. By performing original musical improvisations, students enhance their knowledge of what astronomical phenomena are represented in images and experiment with creative ways of representing these using music. This activity engages students in first hand exploration of music and astronomy connections.

In this activity, students familiarise themselves with asteroids. They discuss and build their own model asteroids. They learn how asteroids are formed in the Solar System. At the end of the activity, each student has their own model asteroid made from clay.

From Earth’s moon to Europa, our solar system is filled with interesting set of natural satellites. Through art and science, children learn about moons of our solar system with the Deadly Moons activity.

Review the environmental factors that make the Earth habitable and compare them to other worlds within our Solar System. Use creative thinking to design an alien life form suited for specific environmental conditions on an extra-terrestrial world within our Solar System.

This is an activity on apparent sizes and apparent angles, related to understanding how distance affects what we observe in outer space (the sun, moon, stars, or planets).

Have you ever wondered where we are in our own galaxy, Milky Way? "Glitter Your Milky Way" let you get creative while learning the characteristics of the Milky Way and exploring the types of galaxies.

Students participate in a global campaign to observe and record the faintest visible stars as a means of measuring light pollution in a given location. By locating and observing the constellation Orion in the night sky and comparing it to stellar charts, students from around the world will learn how the artificial lighting in their community contribute to light pollution. Student contributions to the online database will document the visible night time sky.

This activity is an investigation of the Earths Moon phases and its position in the sky.

This activity aims to teach students about the different layers of the atmosphere. It also aims to teach them which part of our atmosphere is considered outer space and what phenomena occur in each layer.

Light pollution affects the visibility of stars. Building a simple Magnitude Reader, students determine the magnitude of stars and learn about limiting magnitude.

The students will learn about recent meteor strikes and the effects they can have. They will then examine their significance in the history of the planet, and what they do to the surface of a planet when forming a crater. The students will then experimentally determine how the size and impact velocity of a meteorite determine the size of the crater.

In this activity students use a simple model of the moon to do an experiment to see how impact craters are formed. The lesson worksheets are differentiated and students are put into pre-determined teams by ability to conduct the experiment.

This activity is a lab investigation where students design their own lunar phases model using household materials.

This activity is a reinforcement activity where students will make a flipbook of the lunar phases.

This set of activities is designed to help students develop an understanding of scale/distance and ordering the planets from the sun, understanding Earth's position in the solar system, and developing new ways of determining "order."

This is a classroom activity in which students will observe, question, and investigate the relationship between the sun and the earth and how that relationship causes day and night.

This is a hands-on activity to learn that energy can be transformed into various forms. Potential energy is converted into kinetic energy. Moreover, this kinetic energy can be used (if more than the relative binding energy) to break atoms, particles and molecules to see “inside” and to study their constituents.

The Levitating Astronaut activity uses the amazing power of magnets to help children learn about magnetism and gravity.

Students are introduced to the International Space Station (ISS) with information about its structure, operation and key experiments. The ISS itself is an experiment in international cooperation to explore the potential for humans to live in space. The space station features state-of-the-art science and engineering laboratories to conduct research in medicine, materials and fundamental science to benefit people on Earth as well as people who will live in space in the future.

Two children act as the Moon and the Earth. By holding hands and spinning around they mimic the tidal locking of the Moon. They note that the Moon always keeps the same face towards Earth.

In this 30 to 45 minute activity, children (in teams of 4-5) experiment to create craters and learn about the landscape of the moon. The children make observations on how the size and mass, direction, and velocity of the projectile impacts the size and shape of the crater.

Why does the Moon not always look the same to us? Sometimes it is a big, bright, circle, but, other times, it is only a tiny sliver, if we can see it at all. The different shapes and sizes of the slivers of the Moon are referred to as its phases, and they change periodically over the course of a lunar month, which is twenty-eight days long. The phases are caused by the relative positions of the Earth, Sun, and Moon at different times during the month.

Students work in teams of two to discover the relative positions of the Earth, Sun and Moon that produce the different phases of the Moon. Groups are each given a Styrofoam ball that they attach to a pencil so that it looks like a lollipop. In this acting-out model exercise, this ball on a stick represents the Moon, the students represent the Earth and a hanging lightbulb serves as the Sun. Students move the "Moon" around them to discover the different phases. They fill in the position of the Moon and its corresponding phase in a worksheet.

Students learn about the unique challenges astronauts face while eating in outer space. They explore different food choices and food packaging. Students learn about the engineering design process, and then, as NASA engineering teams, they design and build original model devices to help astronauts eat in a microgravity environment --- their own creative devices for food storage and meal preparation.

Students explore Mars and Jupiter, the fourth and fifth planets from the Sun. They learn some of the unique characteristics of these planets. They also learn how engineers help us learn about these planets with the design and development of telescopes, deep space antennas, spacecraft and planetary rovers.