NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

It doesn't matter if it's as heavy as a spacecraft or as light as a feather, what goes up, does come down! Gravity is the force that holds it all together here on Earth and hundreds of miles above us. Join NASA TV during the week of June 13-19, 2005, as NASA showcases some of its award-winning videos that highlight "What's Up With Gravity?"

NASA TV Education Schedule
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This 'Extra' feature highlights educational products, activities, multimedia, and Web sites related to this month's theme "What's Up With Gravity?"

Image to the right: Astronaut Edward M. (Mike) Fincke, is pictured near fresh fruit floating freely in the Zvezda Service Module of the International Space Station (ISS). Credit NASA

NASA Educational Products




Microgravity Educator Guide (Grades 5-12)
This guide contains excellent background information followed by classroom activities that enable students to experiment with the forces and processes microgravity scientists are investigating today.
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3... 2... 1... Liftoff! Educator Guide (Grades Pre-K-2)
This Educator Guide focuses on activities about the International Space Station and the role rockets play in its construction.
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Rockets Educator Guide (Grades K-12)
In this area you will find a Teacher's Guide for Rocketry. Learn about the history, scientific principles and mathematics of Rockets through exciting problem-solving and cooperative learning activities.
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The Brain in Space Educator Guide (Grades 9-12)
The study of the ways in which the body's brain, spinal cord, and network of nerves control the activities of animals and humans is called neuroscience. This guide targets a high school audience and provides background material and activities related to NASA's Neurolab research.
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NASA Educational Multimedia Materials

The Central Operation of Resources for Educators (CORE) is the worldwide distribution center for NASA-produced multimedia materials. Education Modules for themes are bundled by topic and may include CD-ROMs, videotapes, educator guides, posters, lithographs, books, lesson plans, bookmarks, fact sheets, slide sets and activity kits.

Image to right: NASA develops multimedia resources for educators.

Module Spotlight:
Physics 009A
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Physics 009B
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Search words for CORE Materials: gravity

CORE
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Follow the Theme - Activities, Adventures and Web Sites of Interest

How Much Would You Weigh on Another Planet? This page for K-4 students explains how gravity influences weight. The interactive feature allows them to compare Earth weight to weights on other planets. + View site

Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Would you like to fly an experiment on NASA's reduced gravity laboratory? Find out how college students and their experiments fly on the Johnson Space Center's flying reduced-gravity aircraft. + View site

NASA Kids Feature: Play with Your (Space) Food This fun page allows younger students to use a cursor to find information about eating foods in microgravity. + View site

NASA Drop Tower Competition for High-School-Aged Student Teams DIME is a NASA competition program which allows high school teams to design and build a science experiment which will then be operated in a NASA microgravity drop tower facility. + View site

What is Gravity Really? The Space Place helps explain gravity to upper elementary aged students. + View site

Getting the Lowdown on Gravity Dr. Michael Watkins is the project scientist for the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment. In this feature, he talks about his work at NASA. + View site

LISA Space Mission Even though gravity is a common part of our everyday lives, it is the most mysterious force in the Universe. This program is aimed at helping middle school students explore this force. + View site

Ask the Expert Crewmembers and flight controllers are not able to answer questions right now, but there are hundreds of answered questions in the database. To search the archives, just enter the word gravity into the box and press the Search button. + View site

International Space Station (ISS) Science Operation News
This site provides the latest status on payload operations aboard the ISS, including news releases, video, bios, crew information, and photos. The latest microgravity research information is included.
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Liftoff to Learning: Living in Space
This video is designed for a K-4 audience. It contains the ground-based experiments done by the astronaut crew aboard mission STS-73. The program is designed to show teachers and students hands-on experiments that can help them learn about microgravity research.
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NASA CONNECT™: Good Stress: Building Better Muscles and Bones
This 30-minute video shows how NASA researchers and scientists collect and analyze physiological data in order to understand how muscle and bones are constantly changing, especially in a microgravity environment. Emphasis is placed on how the human body, including muscles and bones, requires physical stress to be healthy and grow. Grade Level 5-8.
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Videos showcased in the June 2005 Education File Schedule to support "What's Up With Gravity" are: Who Added the Micro to Gravity?, Newton in Space, Orbital Mechanics, Plants in Space, Doing More in Less, Rocket to the Stars, Pulsars and Quasars, Cosmology, Destination Tomorrow Program 10, Introduction to High Altitude Ballooning, Space Place Live -- Programs 1, 2, 3 and 4, Space Basics, Microgravity, Space Wear, Toys in Space, Bouncing to Mars, Gravity in Space, Gravity and Weight, Evolution of a Star, Orbital Motion, Live From a Black Hole and Live From the Edge of Time and Space.
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Additional Resources

What is Microgravity?
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Gravitation from Worldbook @ NASA
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Black Holes From Worldbook @ NASA
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Office of Space Operations
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Humans in Space
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Vision for Space Exploration
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NASA Human Space Flight
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Living in Space
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Space Work
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Space Station Fundamental Biology Research Facility (SSFBRF): Gravity Basics
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Biology and Gravity Research
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Next Month's Theme: A Space for All

Extra Archives