Posts Tagged ‘NASA’

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Help Discover a New Planet & More!

September 10th, 2012

Hi! It’s Tuesday, September 4, 2012 and time for Science at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website: Zooniverse

Age Range: 9 and up (approximately, with parental supervision)

A Maryland ClickScholar suggested this website that “is home to the internet’s largest, most popular and most successful citizen science projects” developed by the Citizen Science Alliance. The CSA works with scientists and researchers around the world on projects that use the efforts and ability of citizen volunteers. Parents and kids can have a great time together engaging in real science projects!

When you get to the site, you’ll see an image menu of the current projects and some retired ones. Click on any image and a new screen opens with a brief description. Click on “Take Part” to get a detailed explanation of the project and what volunteers do. Once you understand the scope of the project, you can sign up to participate (free). Some of the current projects include:

SPACE – View images of space from the Hubble Telescope, NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the STEREO spacecraft, the Kepler spacecraft, and the Spitzer Space Telescope to help researchers with these projects:

  • How Do Galaxies Form?
  • Explore the Surface of the Moon
  • Study Explosions on the Sun
  • Find Planets Around Stars
  • How Do Stars Form?

CLIMATE – Help scientists recover worldwide weather observations using Royal Navy ship logs.

HUMANITIES – Help scholars study the lives of ancient Greeks.

NATURE – Help marine researchers understand how whales communicate.

Some of the projects include “Resources for Teachers” with interactive lesson plans, teachers’ notes, presentations, events and exhibitions. They are designed for classroom students but can be tweaked for use at home.

You can also participate in “Experiments in Laboratory” that currently include: helping researchers review data about NASA Astronauts and Engineers living on an underwater base for 10 days; searching for life on another planet; and helping researchers describe music collections from various time periods.

Don’t miss the opportunity to explore the “Retired Projects” too!

This is a terrific way to engage the whole family in science explorations. Bookmark it to return often.

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How Much Is a Billion or a Trillion?

August 13th, 2012

Hi! It’s Monday, August 13, 2012 and time for Math at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

The MegaPenny Project

Age Range: 6 and up (with parental supervision)

We hear BIG numbers mentioned all of the time – government budgets require trillions of dollars, bailouts require billions of dollars, and NASA’s rover traveled millions of miles to Mars. Talking about these gigantic numbers is one thing – visualizing them can be very difficult. One financial commentator, K.C. Cole explained:

“We automatically ‘read’ a billion as about a third of a trillion. After all, it’s only three zeros off. But of course, a trillion is a thousand times a billion, and a thousand is a lot. Decrease your salary by a factor of a thousand, and it could go from 200,000 dollars to 200. Increase class size by the same amount, and your 15 students would turn into 15,000… Our brains haven’t evolved to directly deal with such staggering numbers, but we can use stories and metaphors to retrain ourselves.”

Enter The MegaPenny Project that takes one small U.S. penny and shows you what a billion (or a trillion or more) pennies would look like. You’ll even find out how many pennies it would take to fill the Empire State Building. Not only will you SEE what that many pennies looks like, you’ll discover things such as the value of the pennies, size of the pile, weight, and the area they would cover (if laid flat). Computer images make visualization of these gigantic numbers and facts a snap.

When you get to the site you will see a brief introduction and a menu. For the best effect, ignore the menu and follow the progressive “tour” from start to finish by clicking on the words “Enter The Mega Penny Project.” You and your kids will be amazed to discover what BIG numbers really look like. You will also find out some fascinating information along the way, such as the answer to this question:

Would you rather be paid one million dollars today – or – would you rather be paid one penny today (1¢), twice that tomorrow (2¢), twice that the next (4¢), etc. for 30 days?

Go to today’s site to find the answer. When you finish exploring the MegaPenny Project – don’t miss the MegaMoo project. (Same idea, only using Holstein cows!)

Bonus!  Reading Recommendation: To enhance learning about large numbers, your child may enjoy reading, One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale by Demi. You can get it at your local library for free, or purchase the book by clicking on my Amazon.com affiliate link.  :) 

 

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Explore the “Space Place” for Kids!

June 5th, 2012

Hi!  It’s Tuesday, June 5, 2012 and time for Science at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
NASA’s Space Place

Age Range: 6-12 (elementary grades)

NASA sponsors this non-commercial website to show kids that science, technology, and learning about space are fun and within their grasp. It offers free projects and activities that lead kids step-by-step through challenging subjects such as the electromagnetic spectrum, orbits, gravitational waves, tidal forces, binary and hexadecimal notation, and more. As the website explains, these topics are “treated simply and concisely, with everyday analogies and metaphors, concrete examples, and compelling illustrations.”
 
When you get to the site you’ll see the Space Place logo and below it a menu of activities that includes:

*Explore – Learn about planets, lasers, weather satellites, orbits, gravity, and more through interactive animations, demonstrations, and videos.

*Do – Build a bubble-powered rocket, make moon cookies, make a relief map, build a physics machine, and whip up some El Nino pudding! You’ll find instructions and illustrations for these hands-on projects.

*Play – Play interactive games that teach as they entertain. Go on a virtual mission to Jupiter, explore the solar system, compare the sizes of planets, do space-themed crossword puzzles, word searches, and more.

This is a terrific way to engage kids in learning about science through technology. 

 

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Free Virtual Homeschool Science Class & More!

April 17th, 2012

Hi!  It’s Tuesday, April 17, 2012 and time for Science at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
SuperchargedScience.com

Age Range: 8-14 (approximately, with parental supervision)

ClickScholar Katrina Cannon suggested this website that offers a FREE, live Science Tele-Class on April 24th in which you and your kids can learn about energy and motion by building roller coasters and catapults! 

The step-by-step class is taught by former NASA rocket scientist, Aurora Lipper.

When you get to the site you must enter your email address to register for the class.

A new screen opens that explains that in addition to the Science Tele-Class, you can get a free copy of Aurora’s Science Activity Video Series and Workbook (valued at $30) if you invite 3 friends to join the free teleclasss. This is optional and you can participate or simply click on “Skip this…” at the bottom of the page.

If you skip that option, a new page opens where you’ll find details on the day and time of the call and an explanation of how the Teleclass works along with a list of materials you’ll need for the class.

This free class is designed to be a sample of the full “Supercharged Science” series that you can purchase at the website.  But you don’t have to purchase a thing to enjoy the Science Teleclass on April 24th.

Bonus:  If you go the home page you can learn how to get a free Homeschool Science Guide with over 30 experiments plus a subscription to The Science Newsletter, and access to Science Fair project resources.

 

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Why Pluto Isn’t A Planet & Much More!

January 12th, 2012

Hi!  It’s Thursday, January 12, 2012 and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
Spitzer/Caltech

Age Range: 9 and up (approximately, with parental supervision)
 
My son recently posted a video on his Facebook page explaining why Pluto isn’t a planet anymore. (Once a homeschooler, always a homeschooler.) It was on YouTube, but the source was The Spitzer Science Center (sponsored by NASA and CalTech). 
 
They have a series of free multi-media videos called “Ask An Astronomer” that include brief explanations to complicated stuff by scientists. The videos use animations to illustrate the explanations. Other titles inc lude:

  • Where is the center of the universe?
  • Why is the sky blue?
  • Why aren’t there any green stars?
  • Infrared: More than your eyes can see!
  • What happens when galaxies collide?
  • What’s between the stars?
  • What will happen to Earth when the Sun dies?
  • How do you discover an asteroid?
  • How can we see a black hole?
  • What is a Brown Dwarf?

And many more! 
 
If you poke around the rest of the site you’ll find other cool videos and podcasts as well.

You may wonder why I decided to feature this science resource on “Social Sciences” day at ClickSchooling. It’s because the downsizing of Pluto was historical, and I like to encourage cross-curricular connections. Sometimes students will resist a subject like science, for example, but be fascinated by an important event in history that gently leads them to an enjoyable exploration of science. The content of this website has that potential.

And while you’re exploring, you’ll be covering a variety of “subjects” including language arts, math, science, history, social studies and more. It’s all connected!  :)

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Winter Solstice Science

December 20th, 2011

Hi!  It’s Tuesday, December 20, 2012 and time for Science at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:
SciJinks: What’s a Solstice

Age Range: 8-13 (about grades 3-8, with parental supervision)

The Winter Solstice will soon be here (for those in the Northern Hemisphere of planet Earth). It marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year.  The winter solstice is celebrated by various cultures and religions worldwide.  But what exactly is a solstice?

At this NASA-sponsored website, scientists provide an easy-to-understand explanation of the solstice complete with illustrations and photographs.  This presentation includes information about:

  • The Equator
  • Earth’s Axis of Rotation
  • Arctic Circle
  • Tropic of Cancer
  • Tropic of Capricorn
  • Antarctic Circle
  • Spring and Autumnal Equinox

When you’re through exploring the solstice page, use the menu to access mini-lessons and games that teach about:

  • Weather
  • Hurricanes
  • Clouds, Water, and Ice
  • Tides and Oceans
  • Atmosphere
  • Satellites and Technology
  • And More!

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