Overview:

Welcome to Evergreen’s Exoplanet Science Kit!

We’re so glad you’re looking to educate and excite your classroom about current space science, and we are happy to help you do it! In collaboration with NASA’s Universe of Learning, we have assembled training materials, lesson plans, educational resources, and activities with connections to exoplanets. Please adapt the materials however you need to for your classroom.

The main activity is a design challenge for a human habitat. Students will have to think like NASA engineers to design a location where humans can live long-term far from their home planet.

What we need returned:

Your classroom, whether in small groups or individually, will need to design a human habitat for an exoplanet. The habitat designs will be sent back to the museum, where they will be framed and put on display for our guests. Museum guests will vote on their favorite habitat design based on three criteria. The classes with the most-voted designs will win a visit to Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, where they will speak with a NASA scientist that works on exoplanet projects. The habitat designs from Part 2 are the only things we will need returned.

The materials:

• Informational packet • USB drive with activity links and resources • Materials for Trappist Scale Model Activity • Exoplanet Travel Bureau Posters • Paper for Habitat Design Challenge • Return label to return designs to Evergreen

Questions:

If you have questions or would like help using any of your materials, please reach out to Kathryn Sinor, Education Director at Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, at (503) 687-2442 or [email protected].

PART 1: DATA (30 MINUTES)

Objectives: Analyzing data, understanding patterns, and discovering scale

• Represent data in graphical displays (light curves) to reveal patterns • Support an argument with evidence, data, or a model • Understand that our solar system is just one of many in the Milky Way galaxy • Gain an understanding of scale when comparing planet sizes

Methodology: The recommended program includes:

• Background for: o Exoplanet discovery and confirmation o Tools used for exploration • Using and interpreting observational data to understand more about exoplanet characteristics

Learning Questions: How are exoplanets discovered? How do artists represent these worlds?

Next Generation Science Standards:

• 5-ESS1-2: Similarities and differences in patterns can be used to sort, classify, communicate and analyze simple rates of change for natural phenomena. • 5-ESS1-1: Natural objects exist from the very small to the immensely large.

Background:

• Exoplanet PowerPoint (found on USB drive) o Please check the notes on the PowerPoint slides o For background on: § What is an exoplanet? § How do scientists find exoplanets? § What information does the data tell us? § What are some examples of exoplanets? • Five Ways to Find an Exoplanet (link) – interactive • Exoplanet Resource Guide (link) – for more resources and activities

Activities: These are only suggestions, meant to help provide the necessary background information for students to participate in the design challenge.

• Trappist-1 System Scale Model Activity (link) o Materials for this activity included in kit • Planet Makeover (link) – interactive o Design your own exoplanet • Use Trappist-1 system to create music (link)

PART 2: EXOPLANET HABITAT DESIGN CHALLENGE (1 HOUR)

Objectives: Learn about the engineering process, and use the process to design a human habitat on or near an exoplanet.

Methodology: The recommended program includes:

• Background for: o Exoplanets o Human space exploration o The engineering process • Design and draw – human habitats • Share and redesign – human habitats

Learning Question: How could humans live on or near an exoplanet?

Next Generation Science Standards: • 3-5-ETS1-1: Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost. • 3-5-ETS1-2: Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

Background:

• Eyes on Exoplanets o Download link • Exoplanet Travel Bureau Posters o Physical copies in kit o Explore the surface of these exoplanets (link) • The Engineering Process o Ask à research à imagine à plan à create à test à improve o YouTube video (link): the Engineering Process • Habitats o YouTube video (link): A real habitat design NASA is currently testing for a return mission to the Moon

Activity: Main Design Challenge

• Main Design Challenge o Students may work as individuals or in pairs. The assignment is to design a human- inhabited base located on or near an exoplanet. The exoplanet will be determined by grade level. The team will draw a design for this habitat based on the idea of human exploration in deep space. § Please note: The habitat does not have to be on the surface of the planet. Orbiting habitats or habitats on nearby exoplanet moons also count. o There are three criteria for livability, which can be labeled on the designs:

§ Source of energy: How will the base be powered? § The physical layout: What will the base look like? What amenities will it have? What makes it unique? § Source of water and oxygen: Will astronauts have to rely on help from Earth? Are there resources on or near the planet that humans can use? o Teams will design on paper. § Included: Paper § Feel free to use any drawing materials to personalize your base. We highly recommend something darker than pencil so that the designs are visible while on display. • Exoplanet for the Design Challenge o Grade K-2: TRAPPIST-1e, a rocky planet orbiting a small star in a crowded solar system o Grade 3-5: Kepler 16-b, a gaseous planet orbiting two stars o Grade 6-8: 55 Cancri e, a lava planet orbiting closely to its star o Grade 9-12: PSO J318.5-22, a rogue planet without a star • Presentation o Students should learn more about their peer’s designs and ask each other questions. § Things to consider: § How big is the star your exoplanet orbits? How close is your planet to its star? How will this affect your planet’s temperature? § Does your planet have a solid surface, or is it a gas giant? Are there any planets in our solar system that it is comparable to? § What do you need on Earth to live? What do you have on Earth that you don’t have in deep space? § Work area: A place for astronauts to conduct their experiments. § Recreation space: Having fun things to do is just as important as having a place for science experiments. § Food: Will the base grow its own food? Will they store their food? Where will they do this, and what might they need? § Other needs: Don’t forget important things like sleeping areas and bathrooms! o Students should receive feedback from one another to make any changes to their habitat designs for the final product. • Return the designs to Evergreen o Please send student habitat designs back to Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum by April 15th. A return label is included in the kit. These designs will be put on display in the entrance hall of the Space Museum until the end of April. Include the name of students, grade level, and classroom information on the back of each design. o Guests will vote on which design they consider to be the best habitat based on the three criteria for livability: source of energy for base, the physical layout, and source of water and oxygen for people.

o Two winners will be announced May 1st, and everyone will be notified that date. The teachers of first and second place will be contacted separately to schedule a field trip for their classroom. o The top winning designs will be 3-D printed twice – once for your classroom and once for the museum’s collection. The model will be presented to your class during your field trip. o The field trip will also include a section with a NASA scientist currently researching exoplanets.

We hope that your class has fun with this challenge and discovers the fascinating world of exoplanets! Once again, if you have any questions at all, please reach out to us. We are happy to help!

Thank you,

Education Department Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum