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By NASA
9 min read
Launch Your Creativity with These Space Crafts!
In honor of the completion of our Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope’s spacecraft — the vehicle that will maneuver the observatory to its place in space and enable it to function once there — we’re bringing you some space crafts you can complete at home!
Join us for a journey across the cosmos, starting right in your own pantry.
Stardust Slime
Did you know that most of your household ingredients are made of stardust? And so are you! Nearly every naturally occurring element was forged by living or dying stars.
Take the baking soda in this slime recipe, for example. It’s made up of sodium, hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen. The hydrogen was made during the big bang, right at the start of the universe. But the other three elements were created by dying stars. So when you show your friends your space-y slime, you can tell them it’s literally made of stardust!
Instructions:
1 5 oz. bottle clear glue ½ tablespoon baking soda food coloring 1 tablespoon contact lens solution 1 tablespoon glitter Directions:
Pour the glue into a bowl
Mix in the baking soda
Add food coloring (we recommend blue, purple, black, or a combination).
Add contact lens solution and use your hands to work it through the slime. It will initially be very sticky! You can add a little extra contact lens solution to make it firmer and less goopy.
Add glitter a teaspoon at a time, using as much or as little as you like!
Space Suckers
Now let’s travel a little farther, past Earth’s atmosphere and into the realm of space. That’s where Roman is headed once the whole observatory is complete and passes all of its testing!
Roman will scan the skies from space to make it extra sensitive to faint infrared light. It’s harder to see from the ground because our atmosphere scatters and absorbs infrared radiation, which obscures observations.
Some astronauts have reported that space smells metallic or like gunpowder, but don’t worry — you can choose a more pleasant flavor for your space suckers!
Ingredients
2 cups sugar 2/3 cup light corn syrup 2/3 cup water gel food coloring flavor oil edible glitter dust sucker sticks sucker mold Directions
Prep the molds by adding sucker sticks.
Mix sugar, light corn syrup, and water together in a pot on the stove over medium heat.
Turn it up to medium-high heat and let it boil without stirring for about 6 minutes.
Quickly stir in the flavor oil of your choice, gel food coloring, plus as much edible glitter as you like (reserve some for dusting).
Carefully but quickly spoon the mixture into the molds. Spin the sticks so they’re evenly coated. Add a sprinkle of reserved edible glitter and allow to harden.” An image on the left side of the card shows the result: a deep purple sucker with silver glitter embedded.
Fizzy Planets
As we move toward our outer solar system, we’ll pass the orbits of the gas giant planets Jupiter and Saturn. While they don’t actually fizz like the mini planets you can make at home, they do have some pretty exotic chemistry that stems from their extreme pressures, temperatures, and compositions. For example, the hydrogen in their cores behaves like liquid metal instead of a gas. It even conducts electricity!
Roman will use multiple planet-spotting techniques –– microlensing, transits, and direct imaging –– to help us study a variety of worlds, including both gas giants and rocky worlds similar to our own.
Ingredients
3 cups baking soda ¾ cup water food coloring ¼ cup vinegar Directions
Mix a few drops of food coloring into ¼ cup of water and pour into a bowl with 1 cup of baking soda.
Repeat step one two more times using different colors.
Scoop together bits from each mixture to form small balls. Add an extra splash of water to any mixture that’s too crumbly.
Douse the balls with vinegar using an eye dropper or teaspoon and watch them fizz!
Marshmallow Constellations
As we venture farther out into space, we’ll reach some familiar stars! Constellations are groups of stars that appear close together in the sky as seen from Earth. But if you actually journeyed out to them, you might be surprised to discover that they’re often super far apart from each other!
Though constellations aren’t made of stars that are actually bound together in any way, they can still be useful for referencing a cosmic object’s location in the sky. For example, you can use a pair of binoculars or a telescope to take a look at the nebula found beneath Orion’s Belt, marked by the glitter patch in the recipe card above! You can find the constellation printables here.
Supplies
toothpicks or mini pretzel sticks mini marshmallows constellation printables scissors Directions
Attach marshmallows to toothpicks or pretzel sticks using the constellation cards as a guide. Carefully trim toothpicks or pretzel sticks as needed using scissors.
Black Hole Bath Bombs
Black holes –– objects with such strong gravity that not even light can escape their clutches –– lurk unseen throughout our galaxy. Stray too close to one and you’re in for a wild ride! But they aren’t cosmic vacuum cleaners, despite what you may have grown to believe. Just keep your distance and they’ll affect you the same way as any other object of the same mass.
Astronomers have found dozens of black holes in our galaxy by seeing how their gravity affects nearby objects. But there may be 100 million more that lack a visible companion to signal their presence. Roman will find some of these solitary black holes by seeing how their gravity focuses the light from farther stars.
Ingredients
1 cup baking soda ½ cup citric acid ½ cup cornstarch 2 tablespoons coconut oil black food coloring optional: 2 teaspoons essential oil for scent optional: ½ cup Epsom salt Directions
Mix the baking soda, citric acid, cornstarch, and Epsom salt (optional) together in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix the coconut oil, food coloring, and essential oil (optional).
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture slowly while whisking it all together. Add a couple tiny splashes of water and whisk it in quickly.
Tightly press the mixture into round molds. Leave them for a few hours and then they’ll be ready to use!
Galaxy in a Jar
Now let’s go so far we can see our Milky Way galaxy from the outside — something many astronomers probably wish they could do at times!
Sort of like how Earth’s atmosphere can affect our view of space, dust in our galaxy can get in the way, too. That makes it easier to study other galaxies than our own in some ways! Roman’s combination of a large field of view, crisp resolution, and the ability to peer through dust make it the ideal instrument to study the Milky Way. The mission will build on previous observations to generate the most detailed map of our galaxy to date.
Ingredients
hot water glitter glue glitter super glue (optional) Directions
Mostly fill a 16 oz. glass jar with very hot water, leaving a couple inches of space at the top.
Add at least ¼ cup of glitter glue in colors of your choosing.
Add loose glitter a couple of teaspoons at a time, using as much or as little as you like! You can use a combination of fine and chunky glitter for an extended swirling effect.
Optional: Super glue the lid to the jar.
Once the water has sufficiently cooled, give the jar a gentle shake to see your galaxy swirl!
NOTE: Closely monitor children to ensure the jar doesn’t break.
Pinwheel Galaxy Pinwheels
As we continue our cosmic excursion, you’ll see other galaxies sprinkled throughout space. Many are spiral galaxies, like our Milky Way and the Pinwheel Galaxy from the craft described above. (You can find more detailed instructions and the printout you’ll need here.)
But galaxies come in other varieties, too. Through Roman’s wide, deep surveys, astronomers are sure to see every type. Scientists will study the shapes and distances of billions of galaxies to help us understand dark energy — a mysterious pressure that’s speeding up the universe’s expansion.
Supplies
Pinwheel Galaxy printout pipe cleaner or chopsticks scissors popsicle stick single hole puncher Directions
Cut out the hexagonal shape for your galaxy pinwheel.
Make cuts down the white lines.
Punch holes in the white dots: six around the edges and one in the center.
Turn the paper so it’s face-down.
Thread a pipe cleaner through the center hole.
Going around the circle, fold each flap so the pipe cleaner goes through the hole.
Tie a knot in the pipe cleaner to secure the front of the pinwheel. Wrap the other side of the pipe cleaner around a popsicle stick.
Universe Dough
We’re nearing the end of our voyage, having traveled so far through space and time that we can take in the whole universe! We’ve learned a lot about it, but there are still plenty of open questions. Some of its biggest components, dark energy and dark matter (invisible matter seen only via its gravitational influence), are huge mysteries Roman will explore. And since the observatory will reveal such large, deep swaths of space, who knows what new puzzles we’ll soon uncover!
Ingredients 1 cup flour ½ cup salt 1 tablespoon vegetable oil ½ cup hot water food coloring glitter Directions
Mix flour and salt in a bowl.
Add several drops of food coloring to hot water, and stir into dry mixture along with the oil.
Add as much glitter as you like and knead it into the dough for several minutes.
Add water or flour as needed to adjust the consistency.
Still feeling crafty? Try your hand at these 3D and paper spacecraft models. If you’re eager for a more advanced space craft, check out these embroidery creations for inspiration! Or if you’re ready for a break, take a virtual tour of an interactive version of the Roman Space Telescope here.
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Last Updated Sep 27, 2024 Related Terms
For Kids and Students Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope NASA STEM Projects View the full article
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By Space Force
U.S. Space Force senior leaders discussed the Personnel Management Act during a panel at the Air and Space Force’s Air, Space and Cyber Conference at National Harbor, Maryland, Sept. 18.
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By NASA
4 min read
NASA Science for Your Classroom: Opportunities for Educators
The summer season for educators can be a time of rest and rejuvenation, but it can also offer opportunities for professional learning with new colleagues beyond your own school. The following programs from NASA’s Science Activation Program offer end-of-summer/early-fall curricular resources and connections with other educators that can help you bring new science ideas and activities into your instructional practice.
Celebrating the Moon & Moon Rocks with NASA – A Webinar for Educators
Join us, as the world awaits this year’s International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN on September 14, 2024), for this free NASA Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) interactive webinar focusing on the Moon, Moon rocks, Apollo and future Artemis Missions! This session will be geared towards educators and their students (targeting grades 5-9 but other grade levels, college students, and individual educators are welcome to participate). Participants will interact with Dr. Juliane Gross, Artemis Curation Lead at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. The presentation will last approximately 45 minutes followed by an optional 15-30 minutes of Q&A. If you can’t participate live, feel free to register to receive an archived recording of the presentation.
When: September 11 at 1:00 – 2:15 p.m. EDT Learn more and register Infusing Space Rock Content and More into Learning Environments
Join NASA Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science for an interactive webinar focusing on hands-on and digital Earth and Space Science resources appropriate for both formal and informal learning settings. This session, geared towards educators who work with grades 3 through HS or general audiences at public events, will prepare you to engage learners with content associated with Moon rocks, meteorites, samples from asteroids and more! Presentation will last approximately 50 minutes followed by an optional 10+ minutes of Q&A. Those who register below will receive an archived recording of the presentation.
When: September 17 at 8 p.m. EDT Register now Spark Curiosity with Infiniscope’s Free Resources!
Infiniscope is a NASA-funded project focused on sparking curiosity, fostering exploration, and delivering digital content and tools that transform the learning experience. NGSS-Designed digital learning experiences are just the beginning. Whether you want classroom-ready content or the tools and support to build your own, we’ve got you covered.
If you’re a middle school or highschool educator, join the webinars below and discover the incredible FREE resources waiting for you at Infiniscope.org. In this guided tour, you’ll learn how to: search for classroom-ready content on the website, find educator resources and detailed lesson information, enroll students in lessons and collections, sign up for future training events, access the virtual field trip creator, and get more information on our adaptive lesson builder. Learn more about Infiniscope.
Intro to Infiniscope Registration – September 17 at 4 p.m. EDT Intro to Infiniscope Registration – October 22 at 6 p.m. EDT Take Your Learners Anywhere with Tour It!
With Tour It, Infiniscope’s free virtual field trip creator, you can make place-based learning accessible to all your learners, boosting engagement and learning outcomes while enabling them to build personal connections. Tour It is your gateway to creating captivating virtual field trips! As a member of the Infiniscope teaching network, you’ll have exclusive access to this amazing tool that brings immersive learning experiences to life. Whether you’re a seasoned educator or just starting your journey, Tour It empowers you to craft engaging and interactive virtual tours that inspire learners and enable them to build personal connections to a place. Learn more about Tour it.
Exploring Place-Based Learning Registration – September 17 at 4 p.m. EDT Planning Your Virtual Field Trip Registration – October 22 at 6 p.m. EDT Heliophysics Webinars for Educators: Physics in an Astronomy Context
NASA’s Heliophysics Education Activation Team (HEAT) and the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) have put together a free, monthly, virtual workshop series for teachers of astrophysics taught in the context of introductory and upper division physics and astronomy courses. While these workshops are intended for secondary- and tertiary-level teachers who teach in formal classroom contexts, other educators are also welcome if the content covered is appropriate to your teaching context.
These virtual gatherings of 25-50 teachers occur one Saturday per month and provide an astrophysics mini-lecture, a small group engagement with the core activity, and discussion time to connect with like-minded educators.
Dates and Topics:
September, 21, 2024 – Coronal Mass Ejection Science October 12, 2024 – Planetary Magnetism Science November 9, 2024 – Auroral Currents December 7, 2024 – Star Spectra Science Time: 1 – 2:30 p.m. EDT
Register here
We hope these resources will help prepare you for a wonderful year of amazing science learning… and beyond!
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Last Updated Sep 09, 2024 Related Terms
Learning Resources Science Activation Explore More
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Texas High School Aerospace Scholars get a virtual view of an extravehicular activity (EVA) suit in testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Photo credit: NASA/Helen Arase Vargas Explore the universe this fall without leaving your classroom through live virtual engagements with NASA space and aviation experts. NASA is offering a new lineup of stellar virtual experiences to spark STEM excitement and connect students with the agency’s missions, science, careers, and more.
The virtual engagements, managed by NASA’s Next Gen STEM project, are free to join and open to both formal and informal education groups. These options are sure to launch your students’ love of STEM:
NASA Back-to-School Career Day (Grades K-12)
On Sept. 26, NASA is hosting a Back-to-School Career Day showcasing a variety of NASA careers with virtual tours of agency facilities, live Q&A with experts, and more.
Open to K-12 formal and informal education organizations, the registration deadline is Thursday, Sept. 5. In addition to the live event, the interactive platform will be available from Monday, Sept. 23, through Friday, Sept. 27.
Europa Clipper Launch Virtual Watch Party (All Grade Levels)
NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft is scheduled to launch no earlier than Oct. 10 on a mission to investigate whether Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa, could contain the building blocks needed to support life. The launch window opens on Oct. 10 during the school day at 12:32 p.m. EDT, and your classroom can be part of this pioneering mission. Sign up to watch the launch online, visit Europa Clipper’s Participation Hub for more opportunities, and find additional resources on Europa Clipper’s Kids Resources Hub.
NQuest Virtual Workshops (Grades 6-8)
NQuest offers 45-minute virtual workshops every Monday and Thursday. Available on a first-come, first-served basis, these free workshops include a live presentation, captivating NASA videos, and a hands-on activity to bring STEM concepts to life. All you need is a laptop, projector, and basic classroom supplies. Workshops can be scheduled to fit your school’s bell schedule between 11:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. EDT. Register your class by Oct. 11.
“Astro-Not-Yets” Virtual Classroom Connections (Grades K-4)
Introduce your students to the Astro-Not-Yets, a series of short stories that teach students about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. In each of these monthly virtual events, a NASA expert whose job relates to the story will read the book to students, then answer their questions.
Wednesday, Oct. 23: The Astro-Not-Yets! Explore Sound. Students will learn how sound travels and experiment with transmitting sound through a string-cup phone. Registration deadline: Wednesday, Oct. 9. Wednesday, Nov. 20: Astro-Not-Yets! Explore Energy. Students will learn how spacecraft safely bring astronauts home from space, then design and test their own system to safely land an egg on the ground. Registration deadline: Wednesday, Nov. 6. Wednesday, Dec. 11: Astro-Not-Yets! Explore Microgravity. Students will learn all about gravity, microgravity, and the International Space Station. Registration deadline: Wednesday, Nov. 27. “First Women” Virtual Classroom Connections (Grades 5-12)
This series introduces some of the women at NASA who have made significant achievements in STEM. Students get to hear their stories first-hand and ask them questions in a live Q&A.
Wednesday, Oct. 16: Meet NASA’s first female launch director, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson. She led the launch team during the uncrewed Artemis I mission around the Moon in 2022. Now, she and her team are preparing for the first crewed Artemis mission, Artemis II. Registration deadline: Monday, Sept. 30. Wednesday, Nov. 6: Meet Laurie A. Grindle and learn about NASA’s first X-43A Guinness world record. Today, Grindle is deputy center director at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, but in 2004, the X-43A aircraft she and her team developed set the Guinness World Record for “the fastest air-breathing aircraft” twice in one year. Registration deadline: Monday, Oct. 21. Wednesday, Dec. 4: Meet Dr. Ruth Jones, NASA’s 2024 Wings of Excellence Awardee. Jones will share her experience as a woman in STEM and tell students what it was like to become the first woman to earn a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Registration deadline: Monday, Nov. 18. Surprisingly STEM Career Explorations Virtual Events (Grades 5-12)
The Surprisingly STEM video series highlights some of NASA’s many unexpected careers. In these events, experts from the videos discuss their unusual and exciting jobs and share their journeys that led them to NASA.
Thursday, Oct. 24: Soft robotics engineer Jim Neilan explains the importance of soft robotics in human spaceflight and some of the role’s critical skills. Registration deadline: Friday, Oct. 18. Thursday, Nov. 14: Exploration geologist Angela Garcia takes students behind the scenes of her job training NASA astronauts to explore for the “crater” good of humanity. Registration deadline: Thursday, Nov. 7. Thursday, Dec. 12: Memory metal engineer Othmane Benafan explains how he “trains” metal to bend, stretch, and twist when prompted, and how this technology benefits NASA missions. Registration deadline: Thursday, Dec. 5. Bring NASA Experts Into the Classroom (All Grades)
NASA recently launched NASA Engages, a new, database-driven platform designed to connect a wide range of audiences with experts from across the space agency – both virtually and in person. Available to classrooms from preschool to college, informal education organizations such as libraries and science centers, and other eligible groups, NASA Engages enables educators and group leaders to find inspirational guest speakers, knowledgeable science fair judges, and more.
There’s More to Explore
Find student challenges, hands-on activities, and more opportunities on the Learning Resources website managed by NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement. Visit How Do I Navigate NASA Learning Resources and Opportunities? to explore additional platforms and offerings to enhance your STEM curriculum. Subscribe to the weekly NASA EXPRESS e-newsletter to discover the latest events, resources, and other opportunities to bring NASA into your classroom. Explore More
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