Cities tend to be hotter than the rural areas that surround them. This Urban Heat Island Effect is the result of concrete, asphalt, and a lack of trees. The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program invites you to collect temperature data near you to help scientists better understand this phenomenon. Observation Dates: Now through Dec. 31

NQuest (NASA Quest) offers no-cost STEM engagements to Title I middle schools. Through hands-on workshops, immersive planetarium shows, and interactive exhibits, NQuest was created to spark a lifelong interest in STEM for students. Virtual sessions are on Mondays and Tuesdays. In-person sessions are on Thursdays and Fridays.

The 2025 LiftOff Summer Institute is a weeklong training event at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston sponsored by the University of Texas Center for Space Research. This year’s theme is "Flight Paths to Innovation." Attendees will explore NASA’s supersonic X-59 aircraft, advancements in satellite technology, and the Artemis program, NASA’s initiative to return humans to the Moon. Application Deadline: Dec. 20

Are you interested in enhancing your Earth and space science lessons with STEM experts? Connect your students with the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-R Series) weather satellite program during a Virtual Visit.

The Heliophysics Big Year (HBY) is a global celebration of the Sun's influence on Earth and the entire solar system. The NASA Heliophysics Education Activation Team (NASA HEAT) hosts a monthly webinar for formal and informal educators, science communicators, and other heliophysics enthusiasts to promote the understanding of heliophysics in alignment with monthly HBY themes. Register for an upcoming webinar today!

Calling all future mission directors! Go on a lunar adventure with the new NASA Exploration Experience: Testing Artemis Tools and Spacesuit Gloves. Students in grades 6-8 begin with an Engagement activity to learn about the constraints of spacesuit design and test a glove for use on the Moon. Then, an extended Experience activity tasks students with creating and modifying a tool to collect rock samples on the lunar surface.

Explore the Earthrise monthly newsletter to elevate Earth and climate science in your classroom with STEM resources from NASA and our federal partners!

NASA's EPD connects formal and informal K-12 educators with enriching opportunities designed to support educators in STEM teaching with real-world connections to NASA missions. Join us to learn with NASA team members through virtual and in-person opportunities in real-time.

SPARX provides educators with hands-on, standards-aligned activities, training, and resources to help engage students in STEM learning in a way only NASA can. 

Join the next Sally Ride EarthKAM mission. Your students can "take pictures" of Earth from the International Space Station.

Watch the video, then check out the classroom connection to guide students to use a chemical reaction to launch a model rocket.

Get skywatching tips for the Geminid meteor shower peak in the "What's Up for December?" video. The shower peak will be Dec. 13 – Dec. 14.

On Dec. 17, celebrate the anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight with a paper airplane challenge.

Welcome Winter in the Northern Hemisphere on Dec. 21 by learning about the solstice.

On Dec. 24, the Parker Solar Probe makes its first of three final close approaches to the Sun. Test your knowledge of the mission with an interactive Kahoot! quiz.

In the latest STEMonstration episode, NASA astronaut Michael Barratt explores remote sensors installed on the exterior of the space station and how they help to increase our understanding of atmospheric and oceanic processes on Earth.

In the latest episode of Surprisingly STEM, shape memory metal engineer Othmane Benafan “trains” metal to take specific shapes when prompted. Benafan irons out the details of how he creates alloys that can bend, stretch, and twist when heat is applied, and how this technology is turning up the heat on what’s possible for NASA missions.

As NASA astronaut Don Pettit returns to the International Space Station for the fourth time, he will be bringing with him ideas… ideas for science experiments!

Climate change affects more than air temperatures. Students analyze NASA data and perform an experiment to learn that sea-level rise is also a result of changes in Earth’s weather patterns.

Picture this. NASA sends a spacecraft to land on an asteroid, grab a piece of that asteroid, and then send that sample back to Earth to study. Learn more about all that NASA can learn about the formation of the Solar System from the close encounter of OSIRIS-REx with near-Earth asteroid Bennu.

A great way to practice classifying rocks is by describing the structures found inside different candy bars.

An aerospace engineer explains the basic components that help a rocket launch and fly beyond Earth’s orbit to deep space destinations like the Moon and Mars. Students can follow along and make their own SLS rocket.

In this project, students will build a paper helicopter. Then, just as NASA engineers had to try out different versions of the Mars helicopter before coming up with a final design, you will experiment with the design of your helicopter to see what works best.

Discover how long a year is on other planets.

Use this resource by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to create extraterrestrial robotic insects!