Third Grade, Space Exploration Projects, Lessons, Activities (Page 2)

Growing Plants on Mars

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

To be able to live on Mars, humans need breathable air, clean water, and nutritious food. Spacesuits can provide oxygen to breathe, ice on Mars can be a source of water, but how could we get nutritious food? Today's astronauts bring food with them. But a manned trip to Mars would require food that was either successfully grown in space or on Mars, as taking the extra weight of food for such a long time—it takes 6–9 months one way—is just too costly. In this project, you will… Read more

How Big Are the Planets in Our Solar System?

STEM Activity

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Did you know that there are more planets than stars in our galaxy? All of these planets circle around a star, but only eight of them—Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune—circle around the Sun—the star in our solar system. This activity explores the relative size of these eight planets. Is one bigger than the others, or are they all about the same size? Read more

Build a Two-Stage Balloon Rocket

STEM Activity

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If you have ever watched a rocket launch on TV, you might have noticed that rockets have multiple stages. Some parts of the rocket fall off and burn up in the atmosphere whereas the rest of the rocket keeps going. Why does this happen? Try this activity to find out and build your own two-stage rocket using balloons! Read more

Model the Distances between Planets in our Solar System

STEM Activity

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Did you know that the Voyager 2 spacecraft took 12 years to travel from Earth to Neptune, the furthest planet in the solar system? This sounds like a really long time! Maybe not that long if you consider what distance the spacecraft had to travel to get from Earth to Neptune. In this activity, you will make a model of the planets in the solar system and specifically model their distances to scale. Will it explain why the Voyager 2 took so long? Try it and see! Read more

Make a Spacecraft Motion Simulator!

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

How do you practice landing a spacecraft on another planet or docking it with a space station? With a spacecraft motion simulator here on Earth! In this engineering project, you will design and build your own cable-driven spacecraft motion simulator that lets you move a model spacecraft around in three-dimensional space. Read more

Creating Craters

STEM Activity

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How did the Moon get its craters? What about the craters on Earth? Why do they look the way they do? Find out in this fun science activity, as you make your own craters by dropping balls into a tray of flour. Read more

Build a Model Planetary Lander with micro:bit

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

How do you make a spacecraft land safely on the Moon or another planet like Mars? It probably helps to know how far away the ground is so you can deploy landing gear, activate a parachute, or fire thrusters to help slow down. In this project you will build your own "lander" vehicle with a sensor that can measure distance to the ground, allowing you to program outputs like blinking lights or an audible alarm. Read more

Catching Stardust

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

How do astronomers collect stardust? They design and build satellites that are launched into space to collect particles on specially designed panels. Satellites can be sent to orbit around an object of interest: a planet, moon, or comet. In this experiment, you can build your own mini satellite and use it to collect some pretend stellar debris. If you simulate an asteroid impact, how much stellar dust will your satellite collect? Will placing your satellite at different "orbital" distances from… Read more

How to Build on Mars!

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The idea of a colony on Mars is exciting! In this science project, you will tackle one of the challenges a Martian colony will face: what will buildings on Mars be made of? In this project, you will make bricks from Martian-like ground cover and measure how strong these bricks are. Read more

Asteroid! Identify Space Hazards with Computer Vision

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

Space is a dangerous place for astronauts and spacecraft. Earth's orbit is full of potential hazards like meteoroids, space debris, and other satellites that you do not want to crash into! How do scientists detect these objects in space? If you do detect an object, how can you tell what it is? In this project you will make your own computer program that can recognize and react to three different models of objects that can be found in space. No previous programming experience is required! Read more

Third Grade, Space Exploration Projects, Lessons, Activities (29 results)

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