Elementary school is a critical time for students to form opinions about science. The language and content of educational software for older students are often inappropriate or unappealing to younger students. We hope to use multimedia to accomplish captivating a student s attention while applying the science to real-world applications. Combined with multimedia, science taught using images of the earth and planets attained by remote sensing can grasp the attention of elementary school students. Geography and earth science lessons can be powerfully reinforced through satellite images.
Students can view damage from floods, volcanic eruptions, and droughts.
Muddy drainage into lakes, resulting from poor agricultural practices, and deforestation are all discernible from space. An effective multimedia package can complement the science curriculum by providing a context to real-world applications. One of NASA s stated goals is to support general education by distributing information obtained from its scientific missions both to schools and to the general public. Dramatic images, graphics and video from NASA can play a powerful role in introducing young students to real-world applications of science. Our interactive multimedia package for elementary education in earth and space remote sensing will contribute to these goals.