Posts Tagged ‘Mars’

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Journey to the Stars and Back

June 30th, 2017

 

It’s Friday, June 30, 2017, and time for a Virtual Field Trip at ClickSchooling!

 

Recommended Website:

Lockheed Martin – Generation Beyond

(www.generationbeyondinschool.com/virtualfieldtrip)

Age Range: 11-18 (Grades 6-12, with parental supervision)

 

Watch this video virtual field trip presentation about the Lockheed Martin Space Operations Simulation Center in Littleton, Colorado and what it takes to make it into space.

When arriving at today’s link teachers will want to download the companion guide for an overview of the virtual field trip and additional activity ideas. Visitors can watch the virtual presentation in its entirety or select to watch the different segments: 

  • Chapter 1: VFT Introduction, 3D Printing and Virtual Reality in Space
  • Chapter 2: Testing & Prep for Space Missions to Mars, Jupiter, and Asteroid Bennu
  • Chapter 3: Orion Test Lab and Mars Habitat Module
  • Chapter 4: Managing Space Missions in Flight and VFT Conclusion

Visitors will tour: 

  • 3D Printing lab
  • Virtual Reality Lab Chill
  • Space Operations Simulation Center
  • Orion Test Lab
  • Mars Habitat Module
  • Mission Support Area

This virtual field trip is a great resource not only to see some interesting space technology, but also discover the many important career paths available in the space field.

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How Much Is a Billion or a Trillion?

June 8th, 2015

 

It’s Monday, June 8, 2015, and time for Math at ClickSchooling!

 

Recommended Website:

 

The MegaPenny Project

 

Age Range: 6 and up (Grades 1 through adult; children with adult 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 may be able to get it at your local library for free.

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Explore Mars Now

May 30th, 2014

 

It’s Friday, May 30, 2014, and time for a Virtual Field Trip at ClickSchooling!

 

Recommended Website:

 

Explore Mars Now

 

Age Range: 8-18 (Grades 3-12, with parental supervision)

 

Let your imagination soar as you explore this virtual tour of a simulated future Mars Mission Base Station. Using the currently available knowledge from experts around the world, this website seeks to “inspire learning about space sciences & technology through this web-based Mars Simulator”.

Choose from the following locations of the base camp to interactively explore:

  • Mars Base Layout
  • Base Exterior
  • Enter Base
  • Exit Base
  • Stair to Upper Level
  • Laboratory
  • EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity) Preparation
  • Airlock
  • Medical
  • Bunks
  • Galley
  • Wardroom
  • Personal Hygiene
  • Sample Port
  • Greenhouse
  • Pressurized Rover
  • Robot Rover
When arriving at the location, explanatory text is on the right side of the image. Examine the image using your mouse. When hovering over specific locations in the image, more information is revealed. Using the navigational commands at the bottom of the image, explore the location in different directions.

Before leaving the website, read the “Mission Overview” for a textural outline of the simulated Mars Mission on the website. Check out the “Mars Facts” for more information about Mars and select the “Links” option in the upper navigation bar for more information about Mars on other websites.

While manned exploration to Mars may be years in the future, this website will inspire students to take a look at the possibilities that lie in space travel and exploration.

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Math Engineering Lessons & Activities for K-12

June 3rd, 2013

Hi!  It’s Monday, June 3, 2013 and time for Math at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website:

Teach Engineering

Age Range: 5-18 (Designed for grades K-12; the majority of the material is for grades 3 and up.)

Get free, open-ended, hands-on lessons and activities to stimulate your students’ interest in math and science through engineering.

As explained at the website, “engineers have a hand in designing, creating or modifying nearly everything we touch, wear, eat, see and hear” in the real world. The free K-12 engineering curricula at this website integrates math, science, and technology through exploration of the “built world” around us so that it’s relevant to the lives of young people.

The idea here is to encourage students to pose questions about “why things work” and then gain skills and use their imaginations to create innovations that improve the world for everyone.

When you get to the website click on “Browse” on the menu to find curricula sorted by:

*Subject Areas – Each with numerous units in Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, Number and Operations, Problem Solving, Reasoning and Proof and lots of science content as well.

*Curricular Units – These theme-based learning experiences are composed of multiple lessons designed to take place over several weeks in a classroom environment. There are units on asteroid impact, bridges, cells, energy, floaters and sinkers, marine mapping, natural disasters, rockets, simple machines, weather and more.

*Lessons – Find hundreds of lessons that meet content standards on topics that include Air Pressure, Ampere’s Law, Art in Engineering, Animals in Engineering, Friction, Magnetics, Mars, Rivers, Rocks, Paper Airplanes, Water, and much more.  

*Activities – In my opinion, this is the place to start because the stand-alone, hands-on, fun experiments are sure to engage your kids’ interest and may springboard you to further learning through the lessons and units mentioned above. Activities (that include a materials list and instructions) cover a range of possibilities such as the exploration of acids and bases, designing a bicycle helmet, learning about kidney filtering, investigating Ohm’s Law, playing “Rock Jeopardy,” making Yogurt Cup Speakers and more. 

All of the lessons and activities include the estimated time it takes and the approximate cost for the materials.

 

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Free Video Interviews with History Makers!

October 18th, 2012

Hi! It’s Thursday, October 18, 2008 and time for Social Sciences at ClickSchooling!

Recommended Website: Conversations with History

Age Range: 11 and up (about 6th grade and up with parental supervision)

This website offers 500 unedited video interviews with history makers such as diplomats, statesmen, soldiers, economists, political analysts, historians, writers, foreign correspondents, activists and artists all over the globe. Through an archive that includes YouTube videos and podcasts, you can select, watch, and listen to discussions about political, economic, military, legal, cultural, and social issues shaping our world.

When you get to the website you’ll see some currently featured interviews. Use the horizontal menu at the top of the page that includes:

*Podcasts – Listen to free podcasts on topics such as:

  • Decreasing Oil Dependency
  • Music and Education
  • Roving Mars
  • Religion and Politics
  • Behavior Economics

*UC-TV – Watch University of California at Berkeley television broadcasts of interviews with distinguished men and women from all over the globe that include discussion of political, economic, military, legal, cultural, and social issues shaping our world.

*Past Interviews – Peruse the extensive archive of interviews by guest name and/or by topics that include:

  • Africa
  • China
  • Diplomacy
  • Environment
  • Foreign Policy
  • Globalization
  • Human Rights
  • Movies and the Imagination
  • Nobel Laureates
  • Science
  • Women Role Models for the New Millennium

And many more! These thought-provoking interviews are sure to spark discussion, and provide a terrific way to enhance any study of topics that have historical importance.

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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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