STEM PROJECT: THE NIGHT SKY

I created a mini-science unit on space for my first graders, inspired by Mrs. Myer's Kindergarten.

We made moon paintings, calculated our moon jumps, made constellation art, and completed a lunar space shuttle STEM challenge.

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Moon Paintings:
We focused on the moon and earth for our first week. The kids made moon paintings using flour and white tempera paint.

They used clay and white paper to make their own diagrams of the moon phases. As a class, we wrote down things we knew about the moon and Earth and things we want to know. This is part of our ongoing "investigation" bulletin board.

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We had an unusual amount of rainy days this month, so that meant a lot of extra choice time in the classroom. We did paper mache using some of our round plastic snack bowls. The kids created their own planets using the bowls and tin foil as a form.

We used these rainy days as opportunities to dig out every space activity, including our favorite Melissa and Doug space puzzle!

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Moon Jump Math:
During math, students calculated our "moon jumps." A single foot jump on Earth could be about 6 feet on the moon.

<< Check out my FREE "moon jump" worksheet here.>>

We used rulers and tape measures to measure our jumps and then added the measurement 6 times to calculate how far that would be on the moon. As a follow-up math activity, the kids calculated how far animals could jump on the moon.

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Sun and Stars:
Another fun math activity we did was creating our own constellations using star stickers and rulers. We practiced measuring inches between each star. 

The first star could be placed anywhere on the black construction paper, and then each additional star was 1 inch away, 2 inches away, and so on from the last. I cut the black construction paper into halves to make as many constellations for our display as possible. I also prepped the star stickers ahead of time by cutting them into small pages of five. During story time, we read some great picture books about the moon and stars.

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Lunar Landing STEM Project:
One of our favorite projects so far has been our "Lunar Landing" STEM group project. The challenge was to help the astronaut to land safely on the moon.

Materials:
I gave each group of 2-3 students a gallon-size bag with these materials: (You could add whatever materials you have on hand!)

• a page of white label stickers (instead of tape)
• two paper cups
• several pipe cleaners
• straws
• some index cards
• a sheet of tin foil.
• 1 robot figure from the building center to serve as the designated astronaut

Outcome/Reflection:
My students were most thrilled about decorating their ships, though they created some interested designs involving seat belts, parachutes, and landing cushions! I think the stickers were a great substitute to tape because it made them think about how to secure their ships most efficiently. I did not give them any extra materials. Clean-up was easy because they put everything back into the bag when they were finished.

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Take-Home Constellations:
We learned about the stars more in depth by exploring glow-in-the-dark paint and fluorescent paint. The difference is that glow-in-the-dark paint contains chemicals known as phosphors that retain light energy and glow when it is dark, while fluorescent paint is good as reflecting light, especially black lights.

Much like the glow-in-the-dark paint, stars seem to glow because of a chemical reaction. The life of a star is much more complicated, but essentially the energy is released due to this reaction. What we see on Earth looks like a twinkling light, but it is energy being released thousands of miles away. The twinkling is due to the atmosphere's influence, much like how we see a light through a container of water.

Our take-home project was a mini-constellation on recycled lids. I keep a collection of lids that parents donate to me from all kinds of bottles and containers. I pulled the larger lids out and had the kids draw their stars using black Sharpies. They could be circles, stars, or any other shape. Then the kids filled in the background using the Sharpies. (I am very trusting with Sharpies in my class!) The kids painted their stars with a bit of glow-in-the-dark paint or fluorescent paint. I used a small sheet of wax paper as a "palette" to make easy clean-up because they only needed a little bit of paint and a small paint brush. They were so excited to take their constellations home to observe when it got dark!

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Rocket Ships:
One last fun activity we've done has been making rocket ships. The kids love playing with Legos, so I told them that if they made a rocket ship using Legos during choice time, I could hang it from the ceiling using my clear fishing line. They love seeing their creations in mid-air!