NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The NASA's BEST Activities Guides have been designed to bring the principles of engineering alive to younger audiences. The activities can be used as in-school curriculum or after-school clubs; as a set or individually.

The NASA's BEST Activities Guides were designed to teach students the Engineering Design Process. Each guide has been created for grades K-2, 3-5 and 6-8, but all follow the same set of activities that teach students about humans’ endeavor to return to the Moon: how we investigate the Moon remotely (Part 1), the modes of transportation to and on the Moon (Part 2), and humans living and working on the Moon (Part 3).

The Engineering Design Process is a series of steps that engineers use to guide them as they solve problems. What makes this curriculum different than others is that there is no “recipe” for building the items in each activity and there are no given drawings. The emphasis is for students to understand that engineers must “imagine and plan” before they begin to build and experiment. To successfully complete the NASA's BEST Activities, students must draw their ideas first before constructing.