Activity topics covered include astronaut training, cardiovascular conditions, and hydroponics, in addition to microgravity, planetary geology, and visual perception. These free, printable activity modules are arranged by subject and grade level. Each lesson plan includes an overview of main ideas, key questions, and materials, as well as procedures, wrap up sessions, and suggestions for extensions. Each activity also provides teachers with additional background information. In a sample activity, designed for grades K to 4, students construct an antigravity platform by laying several round pencils side by side parallel to each other and then placing a book flat on top of the pencil rollers.
Students then use two spring scales to compare the mass of objects.
Through this activity, students learn that on the Space Shuttle in orbit, scientists can measure the mass of a floating object by giving it a push and analyzing the way it moves between two springs attached to it. By measuring the speed with which the object moves back and forth and the time it takes for the object to stop moving between the springs, scientists can determine the mass of the object being studied. In another activity, students investigate how human blood flow and blood pressure are affected in gravity and microgravity conditions, using a simple model of a rubber glove filled with sand as a model of blood distribution in the body. Students also explore what advantages giraffes have over humans in preventing fainting, and how NASA scientists use information about the giraffe's physiology to help prevent fainting in returning astronauts.