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Learning Lab Descriptions Control the Skies: Air Traffic Control in Action Grades: 6-12 Description: Science, technology, engineering and , mathematics all play a part in air traffic control. Students learn the history, purpose and elements that make up an Air Traffic Control System. They will plot an actual air navigation route and determine the distance and length of flight. Through a computerized simulation, students will act as an Air Traffic Controller, rerouting planes and manipulating their speed so that they can land safely at an airport.
Grades: 5-12 Description: Students discover the four basic principles of flight: weight, lift, thrust and drag. They will see the effects of gravity, air pressure, air resistance, and Newton's Third Law on aircraft. During an airfoil design activity, students analyze the effects of wind angle to the lift generated by an airfoil.
Heats Up, Shields Up: An Exploration in Thermal Protection Grades: 5-10 Description: Students learn the need for thermal protection on spacecraft. Discussions focus on conduction, convection, and radiation as methods of heat transference. Students will also look at forms of insulation and the properties of ablative and non-ablative (reusable) heat protection used in the space program. Working in teams to design, create and modify a heat shield that protects a spacecraft from heat exposure, students will simulate a spacecraft's reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.
Grades: 4-9 Description: Students learn the history and purpose of space stations, explore the technology, innovations, and tools used in the International Space Station (ISS), and investigate the effects of microgravity on astronauts. The group will perform tasks highlighting the communication and cooperation necessary in an emergency aboard the ISS.
New for fall 2007! Grades: Pre-K-K Availability: Tuesdays and Thursday Mornings Only Description: Children can learn about the first trip to the moon; how the Wright Brothers came up with the idea to build the first airplane; the story of Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to earn a pilot's license; or what planes can do and how different they can look.
Grades: 4-9 Description: Students will discover the obstacles and challenges of unmanned planetary exploration. and learn firsthand some of the many discoveries made by satellites, landers, and rovers. Students will explore the latest discoveries from the surface of Mars made by the twin rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. As members of mission design teams, students will work within a budget and other paramaters to create a fictitious spacecraft that could go to Mars.
Grades: 3-6 Duration: 60 minutes Description: Students gain an understanding of stability and aircraft design through hands-on activities and investigations. Students use experimental design, data collection, and graphing to create, manipulate, and test paper airplanes. They will also conduct paper airplane flight trials to explore the relationship between an airplane's center of gravity and flight stability.
New forJanuary 2008! Grades: 4-9 Description: Students explore the history of space travel that led to past Lunar Explorations. Students will discover the obstacles and challenges of living and working on the Moon, what was learned from the Apollo missions, and what can still be learned by returning to the Moon. Students will also learn about future plans to return to the moon, "Project Constellation," and about future explorations beyond the Moon. Students will work as mission design teams and create a fictitious habitat that could sustain human life on the Moon and support further planetary explorations.
Seeing the World Through Satellites’ Eyes Grades: 1-4 Description: Students learn about the uniqueness, benefits, and importance of satellites. With manipulative items and museum artifacts, students look at all key parts of a satellite and how they work. Students create a simulated satellite, highlighting key parts all satellites must have to operate.
Grades: 6 –12 Description: Students explore the effect of changes in oxygen, air pressure, and g-forces on humans.. They learn how we have protected the human body when it goes into the air and into space, and what is needed for survival. Using museum artifacts, the class explores the history of pressure suits and pressurized aircraft. Students will manipulate air pressure and how it affects selected experimental samples. They will document their finds as well as draw and analyze graphs.
Grades: K-3 Description: Students experience the important steps of going on a commercial flight, and the basics of how an airplane flies by examining the four basic forces of flight. Students will create and learn to fly their own flying device based on these principles.
The Wright Brothers and the Process of Invention Grades: 4-9 Description: Students celebrate "A Century of Flight" through a variety of activities and demonstrations which illustrate the Wright Brothers' inspirations, discoveries, and experiences. Class experience is focused on the "Process of Invention." Students work in groups to design, build, and test a simple propeller using the scientific inquiry model.
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Pre-visit Activity
