Lift Off To The International Space Station With Noggin!

Lift Off to theInternational SpaceStation with Noggin!Activity Guide for Families and EducatorsDeveloped incollaboration with NASA

Learn About Earth ScienceAsk anAstronaut!Astronaut ShannonWalkerChildren from across the country had aunique opportunity to talk withastronauts aboard the InternationalSpace Station (ISS)!NASA (National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration) astronaut ShannonWalker and JAXA (Japan AerospaceExploration Agency) astronaut SoichiNoguchi had all of the answers!AstronautSoichi NoguchiView NASA/Noggin Downlink and thentry some out-of-this- world activitieswith your child!Why is it important to learn about Space? Children are naturally curious aboutspace and want to explore it! Space makes it easy and fun to learnSTEM (Science, Technology,Engineering, and Math). Space inspires creativity, criticalthinking and problem solving skills.

Here is some helpful informationto share with your child before youwatch Ask an Astronaut!What is the InternationalSpace Station?The International Space Station (ISS) is alarge spacecraft that orbits around Earth,approximately 250 miles up. Astronauts liveand work there!The ISS brings together astronauts fromdifferent countries; they use it as a sciencelab to explore space.

Learn SpaceWords!AstronautsEarthAn astronaut is someone who istrained to go into space and learnmore about it. They have to wearspecial suits to help them breathe.They get to space in a rocket. Aboardthe space station, astronauts do notwalk on the floor like people on Earthdo. Insead, they float around inside thespace station.Earth is the only planet that people havelived on. The Earth rotates - when it is dayhere and our part of the Earth faces theSun, it is night on the other side of theworld, as that part of Earth faces awayfrom the Sun.The MoonThe Moon was the first place peoplelanded in space. There are lots ofcraters on the Moon. The Moon orbits(goes around) the Earth. It sometimeslooks like a circle and sometimes likeonly part of a circle.The SunThe Sun is actually an average-sizestar - it is the closest star to Earth andis still 93 million miles away! The Sun isover 300,000 times larger than Earth;the biggest thing in our Solar System.One million Earths could fit inside theSun!PlanetsThere are 8 planets that orbit the Sun.OrbitAn orbit is a path in space where oneobject travels around another object. TheEarth orbits, or travels around, the Sun.The ISS is also in orbit. It travels aroundthe Earth.StarsBright balls of burning gas. There are morestars in the universe than grains of sand onall the beaches on Earth. That’s at least abillion trillion!GravityA force that makes sure that when wejump up in the air, we fall down. Thespace station has gravity too, almost asmuch as on Earth. But because the ISS isorbiting around the Earth, it makes itseem like there is a lot less gravity.That is why astronauts float in thespace station.

LEARN ABOUTACTIVITYVisual Arts, Earth ScienceStrawRocketsAstronauts hitch a ride on a rocket to get to theInternational Space Station. Let’s make a strawrocket and see how far it can go!MATERIALSScissorsA strawPaperTapeDIRECTIONS Step 1: Cut a small piece of paper in a rectangle shape,about 2 inches long by 4 inches wide.KEY VOCABULARYStep 2: Fold this in half and tape the top and long sideopposite the fold. This “rocket” should fit loosely overthe top of your straw.Step 3: Decorate your rocket!Step 4: Place your rocket over the straw and blow.Step 5: Explore using your rocket together:Ask your child, “How far does your rocket fly?” Use your feet to count how many steps it flies! Try blowing harder and blowing less—does thischange how far your rocket flies? Try pointing your straw up in the air, straight out,and down towards the ground, changing theangle of your rocket. What happens?Ask your child, “Why does your rocket fly?” When you blow air into the straw, the air goesthrough the straw and pushes out, pushing therocket with it. When you blow harder into thestraw, the air has more energy and the rocket canfly further! Gravity is a force that pulls your straw rocketdown at the same time that your breath is a forcepushing the rocket forward. These 2 forces workagainst each other, so the rocket makes a curvedshape. When a real rocket goes into space, it hasto push past the force of gravity pulling it down.Gravity - A force that makessure that when we jump up inthe air, we fall down. The spacestation has gravity too, almostas much as on Earth. Butbecause the ISS is orbitingaround the Earth, it makes itseem like there is a lot lessgravity. That is why astronautsfloat in the space station.Rocket - An object shaped likea tube that pushes somethingforward into the air, such asfireworks or spacecraftsForce - A push or pull on anobject

LEARN ABOUTACTIVITYVisual Arts, Earth ScienceHiddenStarsWe can usually spot a star (or many!) in the night sky.But where do stars go during the day?Stars do glow during the day, but we can't see thembecause of the Sun. During the day, the Sun’s brightlight gets scattered all over, and outshines the lightcoming from the stars. Therefore, we can’t see starsuntil the sky gets dark at night.You can explore this big question together with yourchild by creating the night sky out of crayons andwatercolor paint! When you draw with white crayonson white paper, the white of the paper makes it hardto see the white crayon. This is similar to the waysunlight makes it difficult to see the bright stars duringthe day. However, when you paint over the stars withdark watercolor paint, you can see them again!DIRECTIONSStep 1: Draw stars, the Moon, and other parts of oursolar system on a white sheet of paper.Step 2: Observe the paper. Ask your child, “Can yousee what you drew? Why or why not?” Let them knowthat this is similar to the way stars in the sky look duringthe day. It’s nearly impossible to see them!Step 3: Use a dark watercolor paint to paint over whatyou drew. Now ask your child, “What changed? Can yousee your drawing?” Explain that just like in our sky, thestars are always there. During the day, the bright lightfrom the Sun is so much brighter than the stars, that wedon’t see them. But when the Sun goes down, thedarkness of night lets them shine through.MATERIALS White PaperWhite CrayonDark Watercolor PaintPaintbrushKEY VOCABULARYStar - A bright ball of burning gas.Sun - An average-size star - it isthe closest star to Earth and is still93 million miles away!Solar System - The Sun andeverything that goes around theSun (like planets)Constellation - Groups of starsthat form a pattern when viewedfrom EarthKeep learning aboutstars together!Constellations are groupsof stars that form a patternwhen viewed from Earth.Together, look up somefamous constellations likeAries, Cygnus, and Leo. Trydrawing them together ormaking them out of thingsyou find in your house likecotton balls or q tips!

LEARN ABOUTACTIVITYHealthy Bodies, Earth ScienceHealthyAstronautsAstronauts work hard to take good care of theirbodies. They exercise regularly so that they stayhealthy for their space journeys. Do some astronautexercises together!DIRECTIONSStep 1: Do 10 jumping jacks. Count backwards from 10as if you were counting down to a spaceship’s lift off!Step 2: When we jump, gravity pulls us back down toEarth. But because the ISS is orbiting around the Earth,it makes it seem like there is a lot less gravity. That iswhy astronauts float in the space station! Do 10 bigastronaut jumps and notice the point at which gravitystarts pulling you back down to Earth.Step 3: Astronauts need a lot of muscle strength tocomplete their missions. But because their bodies don’thave to work as hard when there is less gravity,astronauts have to exercise a lot -- two hours each dayto stay healthy! Train your arm, leg, and core muscles bydoing a crab walk! Sit on the floor with your feethip-distance apart in front of you and your arms behindyour back with your fingers facing your hips. Lift yourhips up and start crab walking forward by moving onehand and foot forward at a time. Race your child - whocan get to the other side of the room first?Step 4: Most food astronauts eat is freeze dried orvacuum packed. After exercising, snack on some driedfruit or a squeezie pouch to fuel up like astronauts!MATERIALS NoneKEY VOCABULARYAstronaut - Someone who istrained to go into space andlearn more about it.Gravity - A force that makessure that when we jump up inthe air, we fall down. The spacestation has gravity too, almostas much as on Earth. Butbecause the ISS is orbitingaround the Earth, it makes itseem like there is a lot lessgravity. That is why astronautsfloat in the space station.Exercise - An activity thatkeeps the body or mind strong.

straw, the air has more energy and the rocket can fly further! Gravity is a force that pulls your straw rocket down at the same time that your breath is a force pushing the rocket forward. These 2 forces work against each other, so the rocket makes a curved shape. When a real rocket