Curated OER
NASA Robots
Students explore the world of robotics. For this robotics lesson, students discover what a robot is and work with partners to find out how hard it is to accurately guide robots through simple tasks.
Teach Engineering
Red Rover Robotics
Help your class understand the importance of exploration using robots. with a resource that provides a short history of robotics as a lead into looking at Martian robotic exploration missions. The activity specifically looks at the...
Teach Engineering
Strong-Arm Tactics
Experience collecting rock samples using a robotic arm with an activity that has pairs work together to operate a robotic arm. One pupil serves as the eyes and the other operates the controller. The objective is to be the fastest pair to...
Curated OER
NASA Robots
Students discuss the needs for robots in space discovery, and take turns simulating a robot and controller to demonstrate the difficulties of programming a robot to successfully complete simple tasks.
Curated OER
Space Science: Adventure is Waiting
These full-color handouts feature two activities. The first is a reading on comets, meteors, and meteoroids. Your space science learners will examine ten phrases and determine which of the three each characterizes. The second activity...
Curated OER
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
Students contemplate the questions raised by the book/movie I, Robot. In this theoretical physics lesson, students consider the pros and cons as well as the possibility of robots that can think.
Curated OER
NASA Robots
Students investigate how robots are used in space. In this space science lesson, students participate in an experiment using a blindfold and complete assigned tasks. The students demonstrate how robots are "thinking" machines.
Curated OER
Robots
Students play the parts of robots and their controllers. In this robot lesson plan, students learn about robots, and use verbal commands to simulate how a robot would command to it's controller.
NASA
Let's Investigate Mars
Take your science class on a hypothetical field trip to Mars with an engaging astronomy instructional activity. After first learning about NASA's Mars rover missions, young scientists plan their own scientific investigations of Earth's...
NASA
Rover Races
Operating a vehicle remotely can be difficult, especially when the vehicle is on another planet. Young engineers get a feel for some of the real-world challenges as they work to program their rovers (blindfolded group members) through an...
Curated OER
Program Your Partner
Students explore the world of robotics. In this robotics lesson, students study the history of robots and work with partners to find out how hard it is to accurately guide robots through simple tasks.
PBS
Robo Arm
Future engineers create robotic arms like those on rovers built by NASA in the second lesson of the series. They test their devices by attempting to pick up and move cups to a specified location.
NASA
Beginning Engineering, Science, and Technology
Space, the Final Frontier. The nine NASA-created challenges in this unit are designed to teach class members the engineering design process. Each challenge comes with teacher and student pages that can be used individually or as a...
Curated OER
Robots from Junk
Students create balloon and rubber band models of robotic rovers to investigate the concepts of mass, torque, and friction. Through research and planning, students construct a rover test-bed that simulates the Martian environment.
Curated OER
Exploring the Planets
Students study robotic spacecrafts that have provided detailed information about the inner and outer planets. In this exploring the planets lesson plan, students use posters and diagrams to study the various robotic spacecraft sent to...
Curated OER
NASA Search
In this space worksheet, students identify and locate vocabulary terms related to NASA and space. There are 31 words located in the puzzle.
Curated OER
Mission Impossible! Are We Alone in the Universe, or Are We Just One of Its Citizens?
High schoolers examine NASA strategy for scientifically studying any celestial body. They brainstorm about all previous space explorations and missions they can recall, and propose an expedition plan to become space explorers of the...
American Museum of Natural History
Beyond Planet Earth
Scholars take a journey through space with 16 eye-catching images. Along the way, learners read captions starting with the moon, then move onto asteroids, Mars, and Jupiter.
Curated OER
Rover Races
Students simulate driving a rover on the surface of Mars. For this space science lesson, students identify the challenges experienced by astronauts in operating a vehicle. They recommend some changes to make their 'rover' better.
Curated OER
How Do We Explore Strange Environments?
Young scholars identify and label the different parts of a robot, rover, or a spacecraft. They discuss and record all of the features their robot will need to accomplish its mission and be able to explain why they chose these features...
Curated OER
Lakes of Methane on Titan
In this methane lakes worksheet, students read about the false-color synthetic radar map taken by the Cassini spacecraft indicating methane lakes on Titan. Students solve 4 problems about the surface area of the lakes from the image, and...
International Technology Education Association
Dampen That Drift!
The spacecraft is drifting too far off course! Two games help explain how a spacecraft can use its thrusters to maintain its position. The games have pupils be the components of vectors in order to create and counteract the disturbances.
Curated OER
Good Vibrations Remote Sensing data Collection: Thermal Emission Spectrometer
The Mars Global Surveyor spent two years creating a mineral map of the planet Mars using thermal emission spectrometry. To help young astronomers understand this remote sensing instrument, have them simulate how data is collected and...
Curated OER
Rover Races
Students identify the challenges encountered by astronauts in operating a planetary rover. In this space science lesson plan, students create a rover using their team members. They follow a command sequence from the driver and navigate...