Task Cards Space Easy

LIBRARY
Read a book from the Stars through the Gate library.
Report:  The book read and one new thing learned:


ASTRONOMY:  OUR PLACE IN SPACE
Go to the website for the American Museum of Natural History and follow their journey for “Astronomy:  Our Place in Space”
One new thing learned:

                                                                  
SPACE TRAVEL GUIDE
Write a science fiction story.  Instructions and materials are in the SpacePac.   
 

DESIGN AND BUILD YOUR OWN SPACECRAFT. 
Use found objects and materials to design and build a model spacecraft.  Explain what practical application all the parts of your spacecraft have.  Read the material found in the SpacePac.



Space Work:
With a partner, simulate how astronauts wearing cumbersome space suits manipulate objects in space so that you can understand the difficulties of working in space.  Find the instructions for this learning activity in the SpacePac.


Read Eyewitness: Astronomy to discover the mysteries of the world’s oldest science – from constellations to moon rocks.  Report your findings.  This book is in the Space Library.
 

StarChild Scavenger Hunt - Level 1
Get to know the StarChild Web site by finding the answers to the Scavenger Hunt questions there!
The Scavenger Hunt is in the SpacePac!


Solar System Search.  Level 1
Have someone help you with the Solar System Search and learn about our planets.  The worksheet and instructions are in the SpacePac.


The Life Cycle of Stars Level 1 & 2
Find this activity booklet in the SpacePac and show how much you have learned about the life cycle of stars!
 

STARCHILD! 
Here you will learn all about the stars.  You can click on the icon to have someone read to you what the pages say.  There is even a song about the Doppler Shift!  You can learn this song to help everyone understand the Doppler Shift.  If this site is too easy for you, move on to Level 2.  Answer as many questions as you can.  Keep track of how many you get right.  Share this with an adult.



INTERSTELLAR TRIP PLANNER
How long does it take to travel to the nearest planet?  The nearest star?  Find out!  Plan a trip for the class and share the itinerary with the class. 


 

NASA’S KID CLUB
Go to this site and discover NASA’s space exloration.  Share what you have learned and where you have gone!

 STORIES IN THE STARS
When the first stargazers looked up at the night sky, they tried to make sense of it by finding patterns in the stars.  Learn about these stories by reading pages 116 – 117 of Out-of-This-World Astronomy.  For your own story, borrow the class star projector.




GALACTIC ADDRESS
If you had a nice conversation with an alien from a planet near Vega and she decided to come visit you, could you tell her where you live?  To entertain guests from a galaxy far, far away (or even this one) you’ll need to know what your galactic address is.  Read Out-of-This-World Astronomy, pages 118 – 123 to find out how.  Share this address with your teacher, and explain how it works.



STAR CHILD:  THE SUN
Learn all about our sun.  Listen to the song, then anwer the question in your DailyLog and check to see if you are correct.  Go to Level 2 if you dare!  Can you answer this question in your DailyLog?  Show your answers and tell what you have learned from the sun. 

CAPTAIN FACT SPACE ADVENTURE
Saving the World One Fact at a Time!  Find this book in the Space Library.  Have fun reading it!  Keep track in your DailyLog of the facts that are new to you.  Share them with an adult.


THE BOOK OF STARS
Find this in the Space Library and have fun reading about the stars in the universe.  Each page increases in size and there is a pull-out page looking at the night sky and the life cycle of a star.  Share this book and all you have learned with an adult.


IF YOU DECIDE TO GO TO THE MOON
If this sounds fun to you, find this book in the Space Library.  Read it and report to an adult your travels.
 

Look out your bedroom window. What do you see? How would that same scene look from the window of a speeding car, or from an airplane window as you travel higher and higher into the sky? Would your view of the world be the same from each of the different windows?  Instructions and pictures are in the SpacePac.  Show your drawings and describe why you drew them that way.




We live in a world of three dimensions. We move through space: left or right, forward or backward, up or down. But our three-dimensional world is often represented in two dimensions (flat planes).  Create three-dimensional shapes.  Then draw these shapes to explore how three-dimensional shapes can be represented in two dimensions. Also draw your models from different perspectives — or "frames of reference" — to see that things look different depending on how you view them.  Instructions are in the SpacePac.  Show your drawings and explain the dimensions.

HOW WE SEE THINGS
Learn how light travels by dragging different angled mirrors into the path of light.  Work through this activity, and then take the quiz.  Keep taking it until you get all the answers right!  How many times did you have to take it?  Share what you have learned about the travel of light. 


LIGHT AND SHADOW
Click and drag different objects into the path of light.  Which makes the best shadows?  Be sure to take the quiz when you are finished to show how much you know.  Take it again if you need to to show that you know everything.  Keep track of your scores in your DailyLog and share them, along with something new you have learned, with an adult.  Thought question:  What does this have to do with the phases of the moon?


HOW DO THINGS FLY?
This site offers clear but detailed information for every 'wonder' you might ever have had about flight.  After you have looked at all the types of flight, choose one to record in your DailyLog.  Draw a picture of it and tell in your own words how it flies.  Describe how it might feel to fly in one.  If you like, write an adventure of your own!  Share this with an adult.
Wonder of Flight
Cosmic Quest:  Discovering Astronomy Through Science and Culture?  Virtual museum
Whether we're building telescopes and studying galaxies, or telling stories about the stars and their place in our lives, we're trying to understand where we fit in the universe. This site explores the many ways that people look at the sky. Check out the latest scientific discoveries or experience artistic works inspired by the stars. See how the stars are important to indigenous peoples.  After you work through this site, prepare to report on something new you learned.
 
Cosmos4Kids
Learn about the cosmos through animations, drawings, photos, and hyperlinked text. Take a quiz when you think you know it all!  Share your results with an adult.  How much more is there to learn?

EARTH, SUN, AND MOON
Click on the Play button to see how the Earth and Moon move around the Sun.  Can you describe what happens?  When you have worked through these activities, then take the quiz.  What did you miss?  Figure out how to get the answer correct.  Share what you have learned with an adult.



AIRBOURNE EXPERIMENT
Be sure to wear your earphones as you take part in this learning activity.  It’s a fun way to learn aerodynamics.  Tell an adult what this crazy professor has taught you.  Could you answer his questions?  Can you describe Newton’s third law of motion?

 
EXPLORE MARS NOW
Using current and developing technology we can land a crew on Mars by the year 2015.  This is a reality.  How old will you be?  One this site explore an evolving design of a Mars habitat based on current concepts of engineers and designers.  As you walk through the simulation, discover the science, technology and hazards of a near future mission to the red planet.  Imagine yourself there and make a report of how you expect that experience to be.      




Lunar Phases Interactive 
Is the moon only visible at night? Why does it look like a crescent? Why does the first quarter appear after sunset but the last quarter before sunrise? You have seen different phases of the moon, but how well do you understand them? In this interactive you look at the moon from a usual place - on the ground in the northern hemisphere, looking south - and from an unusual place - in space, far above the North Pole of the Earth. Click on the tabs at the top of the interactive.  Answer the questions from the Exercises tab in your DailyLog.

MOON PHASES & CREE LEGEND
Join Tommy and Haley as they learn about Moon Phases.  Be sure to try setting up the planets so that the moon is showing her correct phases.  If you can do this, you will get to hear a Cree legend about Moon phases.  Explain the phases of the Moon to an adult.






 
MAKING TIME
Watch some great animations explaining the science of what our class has been studying about the use of the sun and moon to determine time periods.  After each animation there is a quiz.  Record the results of your quizzes in your DailyLog. 
Click on each of the tabs on the left:  “Shadows,” “Day and Night,” “Planets, Sun moon & Earth Orbits,” “Sunrise and Sunset,” and “Phases of the Moon.”  Share your results with an adult.






THE EARTH AND BEYOND
Scientists at the University of Manchester are looking for SETI.  What is that?  Click on these links on this page:  “SETI,” “Find the Matching Pairs,”  “Jodrell Bank Webcam,” “The Jodcast.”  What did the message say?  What did you learn?  Write your own message that you think should be sent out in your DailyLog, and share this with an adult.



MOON MYSTERIES
Earth's moon has many cousins. Most planets in our solar system have at least one moon. One of those moons looks like a giant pizza. Another looks like a huge dirty sponge. Let's check out these weird and wonderful worlds!  Play this game and keep track of your scores in your DailyLog.  What did you learn?  Report to an adult.


 
CHANGING SKY
What we can see is that the sky is constantly changing.  Find out why by reading pages 6 and 7 in Usborne Discovery:  Astronomy.  Then go to this link to learn more:
Explain to an adult why the sky changes.  Do you need to use visual aids?



CRAZY CONSTELLATIONS
Back before people had televisions and electricity to light their homes at night, they spent a lot more time looking at the stars. People all over the world used their imaginations to draw pictures in the sky, as if it were a giant connect-the-dot game.  The patterns they imagined are called constellations.  Learn about them at this site and prepare to show some of them to an adult:




LOOPS AND FLARES
The sun is a huge ball of burning gas.  Without it, there would be no life on Earth.  Read pages 14 and 15 in Usborne Discovery:  Astronomy.  Then go to the site.
Be sure to look at all the animations!  How old will you be when you return from your visit to the sun?  Share your report with an adult.
 
SECOND BRIGHTEST
The moon is the second brightest object in the sky.  Read pages 16 through 19 of Usborne Discovery:  Astronomy.  Then click the play button to see how the Earth and Moon move around the Sun.  Can you describe what happens?  Be sure to take the quiz and keep your score in your DailyLog. Report to an adult.
 
Also, think about what it’s like to walk on the moon.  Join the Apollo astronauts on the surface in these movies shot by the astronauts themselves. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tothemoon/explore.html






ALL STAR LINE-UP
Stars start their lives in swirling clouds of gas and dust.  They can live for billions of years and change their size, brightness and shade until they die.  Learn about the lifespan of stars by reading pages 20 and 21 of Usborne Discovery:  Astronomy.  Then go to this site to look more carefully at stars.  Click on their picture to learn more about them.  Share your favorite with an adult.



GALAXY TOUR:  A star-studded turn around the Milky Way and beyond.  Are you ready for the ultimate field trip?  We’ll start in our own cosmic neighborhood then zoom out to other galaxies.  You will discover that one size fits all definitely doesn’t apply to these huge collections of stars, gas, and dust. Read pages 22 and 23 from Usborne Discovery:  Astronomy.  Then take the tour
What did you learn?  Share your report with an adult.
 

THINK BIG!
Imagine you could hope aboard a spaceship that traveled the speed of light.  All aboard for the Seeker 2000, bound for the outer edges of the universe.  You can help by figuring out how far you’ll go.  Like all astronomers, you’ll need sharp math skills to determine distances in space, so grab a calculator and let’s go! 


COLOR AND LEARN:  SPACE SHUTTLE
Color these pictures and learn about the space shuttle.  Find the book in the SpacePac.  Think of something else you would like to learn about the space shuttle and tell an adult about it.

SPACE PLACE TRIVIA
Try these trivia questions.  Try 3 or more tests.  What was your average score?  What more would you like to learn? 
 
STAR PATTERNS
For thousands of years people have seen patterns in the stars.  They are made up of the brightest stars in the sky and the area of sky around them.  First, read pages 24 – 33 in Usborne Discovery:  Astronomy.  After you have mastered the material, play the Space Hopper game to show it!  Try even the harder levels, and share with an adult how well you did. 



PLANET WATCHING
Learn all about the planets in our Solar System.  Have fun reading pages 34 – 41 in Usborne Discovery:  Astronomy.  Then take a tour of our night sky.  Start with a movie:  “Tonight’s Sky”
Then go to the Cassini site and learn about observing Saturn:
Then go to http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/kids/activities-nightsky.cfm
to see how tonight’s sky will look here in Cody.  Click on the map! 
Lastly, go to this site and make your plans for looking for as many planets as possible.  Share this plan written in your DailyLog with an adult.


SKY SIGHTS
Shooting stars, comets, light shows, space explosions, nebulae – learn all about them!  Read pages 42 – 45 in Usborne Discovery:  Astronomy.  Then watch a simulation of meteors and comets at:  Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click on the topics under "Other Celestial Bodies".