Distance Learning Module: Types of Flight
This week we’re looking at different aspects of flight and ways that we can explore those at home.
Our world is full of things that fly! Birds, bats, insects, and other animals have bodies that allow them to soar, glide, and buzz through the air. Humans achieve air travel through all types of vehicles: jets and airplanes, helicopters, blimps, gliders, and even hot air balloons. In this module, we’ll break down the big topic of aviation and aerospace engineering by exploring the different types of flight and categories of human-made aircraft.
Note: Adult supervision is required for today’s hands-on activity, which involves flame!
Distance Learning Module: Recycling Water in Space
This week’s Distance Learning theme is “life in space.”
All living organisms—from the tiniest bacteria to the biggest jungle predators, and all the plants on Earth—require water to survive. Of course, people need water, too—even when they are traveling or working in space. Water is dense—so even a little bit of it is heavy. This makes it very expensive to send water from Earth to space—more than $83,000 per gallon to be exact!
For this reason, astronauts—like the ones on the International Space Station (ISS)—need to find ways of reusing the water that they already have. The process of recycling wastewater is also known as water reclamation. Water reclamation is vital to space travel as we know it, and would be a “must” if we ever got to the point of sending people to live for long periods of time on extraterrestrial (outside of Earth) colony.
Bonus Module: Lenses
This week’s Distance Learning theme is optics, light, and the electromagnetic spectrum.
On Wednesday, we looked at how refraction impacts the way we see an object in water. This module builds on that activity, by using a bowl full of water and a few household props to further explore the properties of lenses.
Stick to just the hands-on activity for younger learners, or bring in the written blog content for middle/high school physics-lovers!
Distance Learning Module: Intro to Spectroscopy
This week’s Distance Learning theme is optics, light, and the electromagnetic spectrum. In this module, geared toward middle school-level learners, we learn more about spectroscopy—the study of how matter interacts with electromagnetic radiation—and how astronomers apply this science to better understand the composition of our universe.
Distance Learning Module: Nutrient Cycling
In honor of National Wildflower Week, this week’s Distance Learning offerings are focusing on the plant world.
Plants use their roots to absorb nutrients from the soil in which they are growing. The process of nutrient cycling captures elements such as nitrogen from the atmosphere, converts them into a usable form for plant nutrition, and returns those elements back to the atmosphere when the plant dies and decomposes. Learn more about the “how” and “why” of nutrient cycling here!