In this paper I demonstrate how zines (pronounced 'zeen', a word that is a contraction of 'magazine') about space science can be theorised as a site of science education at the margins. Through exploring different zines and their potential to create counter-narratives I offer a series of objects that might reshape how we teach and learn about…

This paper explores how public and student engagement with NASA's Lucy Mission--targeting the Jupiter Trojan asteroids affects informal science learning, interest in planetary science, and youth engagement with space-related careers. Through a mixed-methods study including surveys, observational data, and analysis of public outreach campaigns, we…

Since 2017 the Italian Space Agency (ASI) participates to so-called 'Alternanza Scuola-Lavoro' (i.e. 'school-work synergy') outreach projects promoted by the Italian government, and the ASI Space Science Data Center (SSDC) actively contributes to them, with the primary aim of bringing students closer to space-related activities before choosing…

Supporting elementary student understandings of ideas related to Earth's Place in the Universe (ESS1) can be challenging, especially given the large time and distance scales involved with many of the concepts. However, with effective use of crosscutting concepts and science and engineering practices, important concepts within this content domain…

Space has fascinated and intrigued humans of all ages since time immemorial, and continues to do so today. The natural curiosity is engaged when looking up into the sky, notice patterns among celestial objects such as the Sun, Moon, and stars, and wonder. Scientific understanding of those patterns has progressed immensely over the span of human…

The stars closest to Earth are not particularly remarkable or exciting. They are average stars typical of the spiral arms of our Milky Way galaxy. In fact, until recently, most astronomy and Earth science textbooks ignored all but the largest of them to focus on distant, more exotic objects like red supergiants or black holes. The recent discovery…

Recent and exciting discoveries in astronomy and cosmology have inspired many high school students to learn about these fields. A particularly fascinating consequence of general relativity at the forefront of modern cosmology research is gravitational lensing, the bending of light rays that pass near massive objects. Gravitational lensing enables…

In a sophomore-level, interdisciplinary honors class, we introduced students to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence through assigned readings, student presentations, classroom discussions, and multiple experiential activities. In this paper, we present four of these novel experiential activities. In the first, students suddenly find…

This study aims to identify the way upon which ICT can be employed in science teaching to develop scientific literacy level. The study has conclude to design a triple learning model (PEA) based on ICT and constructive learning strategy in teaching science through a context which cares for building positive trends of searching for knowledge and…

The recent missions to Mars have produced a mass of data and information in all forms and have forced the minds of many people world-wide to rethink their own perspectives on life itself. This drama unfolding about 35 million miles from Earth, and digitally on our TV screens, is offering a growing reservoir for teachable moments. The curiosity and…

Exploring the Solar System in the elementary school curriculum has traditionally involved activities, such as building scale models, to help students visualize the vastness of space and the relative size of the planets and their orbits. Today, numerous websites provide a wealth of information about the sun and the planets, combining text, photos,…

This paper will explore a problem finding task the authors developed as one component of the Mission to Mars curriculum, an inquiry-based science unit developed by Petrosino & The Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt (CTGV). The paper also attempts to address evolving conceptions of the problem generation task, primarily from that of…

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Engineers at Marshall Space Flight Center, and their partners at other NASA centers and in private industry, are designing and beginning to develop the next generation of spacecraft to transport cargo, equipment, and human explorers to space. These vehicles--the Ares I and Ares V launch…

In this article, the author describes a student-centered research project he introduced to his students. In this research project, his students used images collected by telescopes at Kitt Peak National Optical Observatory (KPNO) to look for novas in the Andromeda Galaxy. This project grew out of the author's experience during a Teachers As Leaders…

Presents several classroom ideas to help students understand their relationship to and their place in the universe as well as how difficult it would be to find life beyond Earth. Lists activities for children including the "Map Procedure," the "Model Procedure," and "Good Ol' Sol." (CW)