Audience
Educators, Students
Grade Levels
Grades K-4, Grades 5-8, Grades 9-12
Subject
Careers, Computer Science, Technology, Robotics
Type
Lesson Plans / Activities, Videos
NASA Role Model: Kurt Leucht
NASA Center: Kennedy Space Center
Topic: NASA Software Developer
Original Air Date: Sept. 8, 2021
Watch Kurt Leucht, a software developer at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Hear about his amazing journey to NASA and his research at the Swamp Works laboratory where he helps plan lunar exploration projects and works with Swarmie robots that behave like ants that work as a team.
STEM Short Activity: Design a Robotic Insect
Objective: Design a robotic insect to meet the requirements for an extraterrestrial environment, and then adapt the designs to changes in or new information about the environment. Compare the process to the one NASA engineers use to design robots for other planets. Students can create and share their robotic insects with #NextGenSTEM.
Duration: 60 minutes
Materials Needed: Paper, pencil, robotic insect worksheet barbecue skewers, brass fasteners
Difficulty: Moderate
Next Generation Science Standards: 3-LS4-4, 4-LS1-1, 3-5-ETS1
“NASA STEM Stars” is a webchat series. Each chat introduces a science, technology, engineering or math career, addresses a STEM topic and highlights a NASA mission. The chat includes a STEM activity that students can do at home. After the interviews, experts answer students’ questions.