Glovebox Fun day in Grade 2

Ms. Leestma explainshow to use a glovebox to 2nd and 6th grade students	Teams research why astronauts need a glovebox on the ISS	6th graders and 2nd graders team up for research	Putting hands inside the gloves feels funny	Team members help one another with what to do with hands in the box
Hands in the glovebox	It feels funny!	Helping and watching each other	What it looks like inside	One person reads directions while the other follows them
Tying a shoe with gloves outside the glovebox gives the teams practice	Tying a shoe with gloves isn't easy

Using the Glovebox was great fun.First the students use gloves to tie a shoe, getting the feel of the gloves. Next, children work inside a glovebox and see what it takes to use the gloves and work in the small space of a glovebox. In the lesson they were to take a dry paprer towel, put it in the bottom of a plastic cup, put the cup in a bowl of water upside down without getting the towel wet. Then take the cup out, and take the paper towel out of the cup. If it was still dry, the task was successful. We used a simple worksheet to have students answer questions before and after the activity.

For more Glovebox ideas try the NASA Explores - Glovebox page.

Rover Models and Video Conference

Students carry models to the conference center	Teams set up their model for display	The 2nd and 6th Grade teachers	Students show models to New York partner school
Split screen of the video conference remote classroom in New York	Each team in turn demonstrates elements of their rover	A student shows the DLN instructor his rover model	NASA DLN instructor explaining the robotic arm

This project takes a number of weeks to complete. Teams begin planning their models early in the year. Fridays are "Space Days" for these 2nd and 6th grade classes. On Space Days students construct their models and learn about all the moveable parts on a real Mars Rover. They also watch demonstrations using NASA's Educational website and NASA Television Network. When the models are ready and the video conference happens, students can fully explain what they have made and why they have made it.

Star Party

Before the star gazing students learned about stars and telescopes

Night time star-gazers gather to view the stars and the space station as it drifts by

Telescope used by the star-gazers

Planning a night time star gazing activity is always great fun. Students here met together to learn about how to use a real telescope and how to see stars, planets and even the space station!

If you don't have an observatory in your area, you might be able to enlist a local hobbyist - someone who regularly observes the skies and has a larger telescope. But if you can't find someone with a large scope, using one of the smaller, home style telescopes is a great option.