Education Product Teachers Grades K-12 National Aeronautics and Space Administration Liftoff to Learning Toys In Space II A Videotape for Physical Science and Science and Technology Video Resource Guide EV-1997-07-012-HQ Toys In Space II - Video Resource Guide - EV-1997-07-012-HQ 1 Video Synopsis Background Motion toys are effective tools for Title: Toys In Space II helping children learn science and mathematics. Scientific and mathematical Length: 37:49 principles make these toys work. For example, wind-up toys convert stored potential Subjects: Toys in microgravity energy in their springs into kinetic energy as the springs unwind. Gravity often plays an Description: important role in the actions of toys, but how This program demonstrates the actions of a would the same toys function in an variety of children's toys in microgravity for environment where the effects of gravity are classroom comparison with the actions of not felt? The Space Shuttle provides such a similar toys on Earth. setting so students can discover the answer to this question. A Space Shuttle orbiting around Earth Science Standards: is in a state of free-fall which eliminates the Physical Science local effects of gravity, making objects inside - Position and motion of objects appear to float. NASA refers to this - Properties of objects and materials environment as microgravity. Videotapes of Unifying Concepts and Processes toys in microgravity enable students to see -Change, constancy, and measurement subtle actions that gravity masks on the - Evidence, models, and exploration surface of Earth. Science and Technology Dr. Carolyn Sumners of the Houston -Understanding about science and Museum of Natural Science, Houston, Texas, technology recognized the appeal of using toys in space. -Abilities of technological design She assembled a small group of toys and placed them onboard Space Shuttle mission Science Process Skills: 51-D that flew in April of 1985. During the Observing flight, crew members unstowed the toys and Communicating experimented with them. Their experiments Measuring were videotaped and have been used as an Collecting Data effective teaching tool in thousands of schools. Inferring Because of this success, a second Predicting group of toys was flown on the STS-54 Hypothesizing mission in January 1993. Dr. Sumners, Interpreting Data working with a multi-grade and subject area Controlling Variables educational advisory group, selected the toys Defining Operationally from hundreds of possibilities. This videotape Investigating is the record of the actions of those toys in microgravity. Teaching Strategy The Toys In Space II flight was conceived as an experiment in which the Shuttle crew members and the student viewers of the videotape would be co- 2 Toys In Space II - Video Resource Guide - EV-1997-07-012-HQ investigators. Students begin the experiment Available at Toy Stores by investigating how selected toys function on Flipping mouse Earth. Spring jumper ( wind-up frog) To gain the greatest benefit from this Swimming frog (wind-up) videotape, students should then develop a set Swimming angel fish (wind-up) of experimental questions about how these Swimming submarine (wind-up) toys will function in microgravity. For Flapping bird (trade name: Tim Bird) example, can a basketball be thrown into a Balloon helicopter (trade name: Whistling basket in space? Will a wind-up toy Balloon Helicopter) submarine swim in air? Will a Jacob's ladder Gyroscope (trade name: Gravitron) flip? Through their own experiments, Rattleback (trade name: Space Pet) students develop hypotheses to answer their Klacker balls (various trade names) questions. Racquetballs and pool balls Students test their hypotheses by Velcro balls and target (various trade watching the videotape to see what actually names) happened in space. While not all student Horseshoes and post (plastic or rubber questions will be addressed by the orbital shoes) experiments, enough information can be Basketball and hoop (foam rubber ball, gained from watching the videotape to accept, hoop with suction cups) refine, or develop new hypotheses and Metal Coiled Spring (trade Name: Slinky) explanations for what was observed. Police car and track (trade name: Darda) Many of the toys chosen for the flight Magnetic marbles (trade name) are readily available from toy stores. Magnetic rings (see plans) However, other toys, such as the comeback can, paper maple seed, paper boomerang, Toys that can be made and the Jacob's ladder can be made by the Maple seed students. Construction procedures are Jacob's ladder included in the toy section of this guide. Paper boomerang One set of toys can adequately allow Come-back can all students in the class to experience Ball and cup examining the toys and forming hypotheses if the teacher keeps the following strategies in Toy Kits mind: Most of the toys can be purchased • Students can be organized into from several vendors who have collected cooperative study groups that many of the toys from one or both Shuttle specialize on one or more toy and flights into packages. Three vendors are report to the rest of the class. listed below: • Each student can specialize in a particular toy and report to the rest of Delta Education, Inc. the class. P.O. Box 950 • Each student can experiment with Hudson, New Hampshire 03051 every available toy and engage in class 603-889-8899 discussions on how the toys will operate in space. Museum Products 84 Route 27 The following is a list of the toys used by the Mystic, CT 06355 STS-54 crew: 800-395-5400 Toys In Space II - Video Resource Guide - EV-1997-07-012-HQ 3 and music: NASA CORE "Rat Stuff" (Central Operation of Resources for Educators) Spring jumper Lorain County JVS Swimming angel fish 15181 St. Rt. 58 South Flapping bird Oberlin, Ohio 44074 Maple seed Phone: 440-774-1051 x249 or 293 Paper boomerang FAX: 440-774-2144 Balloon helicopter E-mail: [email protected] Gravitron gyroscope Rattleback Videotape Design Klacker balls This videotape is intended to be Racquetballs and pool balls shown in segments to the students. The Ball and cup introduction is a greeting from the STS-54 Velcro balls and target crew, a description of their flight and an Horseshoes and post invitation to the students to participate in the Basketball and hoop experiment as co-investigators. The Jacob's ladder videotape does not demonstrate why objects Coiled metal spring appear to float on the Space Shuttle when it Magnetic rings is in orbit. That topic is left to the teacher. Magnetic marbles Please refer to the section of this Come-back can guide on microgravity (page 4) for help Police car and track explaining and demonstrating microgravity. The videotape concludes with a farewell by Because individual videotape the STS-54 crew. machines have variations in their counters, The introduction of the tape is followed specific numbers for each toy segment have with toy demonstrations. The toys are not been provided. However, while demonstrated in the following order, with the previewing the tape, the number can be segments separated from each other by titles recorded in the space to the right of each segment listed above. Microgravity Note - Additional information on each of Many people misunderstand why the toys tested in the Toys in Space II astronauts appear to float in space. A flight begins on page 7 of this guide. common misconception is that there is no Suggested activities, brief descriptions of gravity in space. Another common idea is whatSwimming happened frog during the flight, and that the gravity from Earth and the Moon each scienceSwimming and submarine mathematics links also follow. pull on the astronauts from the opposite The science/math links provide lists of direction and cancel out. relevant terms, principles, and equations. The real reason astronauts appear to Additional information about these links float is that they are in a state of free-fall begins on page 19. around Earth. To help your students understand microgravity, show them the videotape Space Basics or use the Microgravity - A Teacher's Guide With Activities. For more information about these NASA educational products, refer to the 4 Toys In Space II - Video Resource Guide - EV-1997-07-012-HQ References and Resources List on page 24. Newton demonstrated how additional Understanding why astronauts appear cannonballs would travel farther from the to float in space first requires an mountain if the cannon were loaded with understanding of how the astronauts and more gunpowder each time it was fired. their space vehicle stay in orbit. Rather than Eventually, a cannonball was fired so fast, in orbiting Earth because there is no gravity in Newton’s imagination, that it fell entirely space, the astronauts and the Space Shuttle around Earth and came back to its starting orbit Earth because there is gravity. point. This is called an orbit of Earth. More than 300 years ago the English Without gravity to bend the scientist Isaac Newton discovered the cannonball’s path, the cannonball would not universal law of gravitation. He reasoned orbit Earth and would instead shoot straight that the pull of Earth that causes an apple to out into space. The same condition applies fall to the ground also extends out into space to Space Shuttles. The Space Shuttle is to pull on the Moon as well. Newton launched high above Earth and aimed so that expanded this discovery and hypothesized it travels parallel to the ground. If it climbs to how an artificial satellite could be made to a 321-kilometer-high orbit, the Shuttle must orbit Earth. He envisioned a very tall travel at a speed of about 27,750 kilometers mountain extending above Earth’s per hour to circle Earth. At this speed and atmosphere so that friction with the air would altitude, the curvature of the Shuttle’s falling not be a factor.