NASA Exploration Design Challenge

The goal of the Exploration Design Challenge is for students to research and design ways to protect astronauts from space radiation. NASA and Lockheed Martin are developing the Orion spacecraft that will carry astronauts beyond low Earth orbit and on to an asteroid or Mars. Protecting astronauts from radiation on these distant travels is an important -- and very real -- problem that needs solving. NASA would like your help!

http://www.nasa.gov/education/edc/#.UhT2GH_heUY

Our goal is to bring Sagamore and/or community students into this interesting low cost science project sponsored by NASA. Students who complete the challenge receive a NASA certificate and their names on the first Orion space craft.

Plan

Would love this to be a Sagamore activity, highlighting our school and our commitment to STEM.

1. Meeting with Ms. Martin (me, 2018-08-21)
2. Any teachers interested in helping?
3. What if any school facilities may we use to show video and complete assignments?
4. School flyers, e-mail notices, street sign. (Future Rocket Scientists and actual Rocket Scientist Sagamore Hills Elementary needs your help to complete the NASA Exploration Design Challenge.) We're looking for students interested in: building a color paper model of the new NASA Orion space ship, completing actual NASA experiments on Ray Shielding, learning about Radiation and the difficulties of long space travel.
5. Information meeting explain the program, field questions, watch short NASA video about challenge, give "homework" of building paper Orion space craft (How much is color printing? We would ask our scientists to build this model and bring it back for the next meeting. http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/714676main_Orion_Model.pdf take picture of meeting. How many meetings NASA says it only takes 30-40 min to complete for younger k-2 kids. Bring space stuff books from library to get the kids interested.
6. Experimentation/design meeting- Talk about building the space craft, discuss space travel, radiation etc. complete the experiments and directed, http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/topnav/materials/listbytype/Ray_Shielding_Activity.html Pictures and update for wiki/blog.
7. When do we do this Saturdays? Friday nights? We could have three meetings (intro, work, presentation) over a couple months or three consecutive months. Depending on the range of students, interested we could have three meetings for K-2 and one extra meeting for 3-5 to complete the extra experimentation as suggested by NASA.
8. Record results and complete the student evaluation paper work.
9. Send the completed names to NASA. Receive e-certificates for students, educators, and school?
10. Build physical certificates with card stock, add stickers? http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/spacestore_2270_129076379
11. Last meeting for presentation of certificates. Pictures with certificates, space ships. STEM victory for Sagamore.
12. Blog/wiki/youtube? Call a newspaper patch, Champion, or AJC for potential coverage?

Materials

Basically free: flashlights, aluminum foil, paper etc. We could charge a nominal fee or ask PTA for assistance for a certificate on acid free card stock with a sticker. (Ask Lara Baldwin for printing, and card-stock ideas)

Materials Required:

• construction paper
• card stock paper
• copy paper
• tissue paper
• flashlights
• balance or scale (does the school have these? I know pre-k had a basic scale)
• gram weights or small paper clips (school have?)
• metric rulers
• eye protection