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Space Travel Project

Program Area

This activity fits well into the Grade 9 Mathematics, Science and Technology program, specifically after the Green Plants, Food, and Energy units have been taught. It also integrates skills taught in the Arts and Languages programs.

Learning Outcomes

  • Teaching, learning and evaluations will focus on the student's ability to:
  • Further develop research skills;
  • Organize and present information in a creative fashion;
  • Review and apply scientific concepts taught in Grade 9 Science;
  • Express appreciation for the beauty and complexity of the natural environment;
  • Develop a curiosity about our planet and space;
  • Analyze current environmental, economic and social problems;
  • Participate in cooperative group discussions and activities.

Classroom Development

  1. Provide each group with an enlarged illustration of the spacecraft's basic shape and dimensions.
  2. Students should work in groups of 4. Consider doing a group evaluation and a pre-planning conference with each group in which individual responsibilities are identified.
  3. Be open to suggestions from the students. They may wish to include additional features in their spacecraft design. They may also wish to include further information in their scrapbook.
  4. Provide magazines for students to cut up. Recent resources on space shuttles would be helpful. Science fiction reading and television may be an inspiration for some.

Timing

Allow at least three periods. Some out-of-class time may be required. This could be treated as an end of term project.

Resources

Check with your school librarian to obtain class reference material from such sources as book, newspapers, periodicals, and videos.

Stine, G. Harry. Space Power. New York: Ace, 1981.

Heppenheimer, T. A. Colonies in Space. Don Mills, Ontario: Nelson, 1977.

O'Neill, Gerry. The High Frontier: Human Colonies in Space. Princeton, N.J.: Space Studies Institute, 1977, 1989.

Niven, Larry. Ringworld. New York: Ballantine, 1970.

NASA's Web site for K-12 educators http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/

Cross-disciplinary Links

The design and layout of the spacecraft and scrapbook incorporate the skills learned in the Arts program. Language skills may be further expanded by asking students to write letters or to maintain a diary about their space adventures. The captain may be asked to write a report which describes the qualities of the crew's performance.

Other aspects of society may be included in the scrapbook. Sample topics are current events (a departure time capsule); geographical features of our planet; key events in human history; and socio-economic problems.

Space Activity in Volume 2 of Towards an Ecozoic Curriculum extends this activity into the Language curriculum.

Student Activity

Space Travel Project

Mission

The members of your group are planning an extended voyage in space. To prepare for this you will complete the following assignment. The first part of this project involves the design of your spacecraft. The second part involves producing a scrapbook about our planet.

Spacecraft Design

Using the basic design given to you, complete the spacecraft by doing the following:

  1. Design a system by which oxygen and carbon dioxide will be cycled;
  2. Describe how your spacecraft will be energy efficient and how the 3 Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle), will be practiced;
  3. Illustrate where your quarters and work areas will be located;
  4. Plan a 3-day menu;
  5. Outline three problems with space travel which you have not yet solved.

Scrapbook

This is a record of Earth which you may wish to share with other civilizations. It may include photographs, diagrams or descriptions of:

  1. 25 wonderful natural things which are on Earth;
  2. 10 amazing human inventions;
  3. pictures of 5 people whom you admire and will miss;
  4. detailed information on 3 problems which we have on Earth;
  5. some scientific information about life on Earth. This may include information about:
  • the cell the basic unit of life on our planet;
  • two important biological processes;
  • the elements oxygen, hydrogen and carbon;
  • the importance of light to life on earth and its behaviour.

Evaluation

The following is a suggested evaluation scheme for this project:

10 % GROUP EVALUATION

30 % SPACECRAFT DESIGN

30 % SCRAPBOOK

20 % KNOWLEDGE OF SCIENCE

10 % CREATIVITY

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