St Anne’s Science Primary Liaison Planning 2015-6 - Tim Peake STEM Project
Wk / Session Title / Overview / Activities / Discussion Q’s1 / Getting to the ISS /
- Discuss Tim Peake and how he got to the space station – show clip of launch.
- Build model Soyuz rocket and discuss how countries work together on space programmes and the sorts of STEM careers involved in building a rocket to go in to space.
- Ask from student’s ideas on what powered the rocket in to space – discuss the need for special rocket fuel which gives out more energy (so not too heavy etc.) – demonstrate the hydrogen balloon.
- Students carry out alkaseltzer rocket activity – illicit ideas about what propels the ‘rocket’ upwards and link to pressure of gas being made inside and this getting to high which then pushes the rocket upwards (force of rocket pushing the gases down and forces of gases pushing rocket up!)
Application letter for Astronaut training
Diary of an astronaut for launch day/take off
Instructions for experiment
Design own rocket and produce sales brochure
Numeracy:
Calculate amounts and costs of materials needed for building prototype rocket.
Units of measure
Shape and area
Science:
Forces – names, actions, uses
Burning and fuels
Air/Gas pressure
Solids, liquids and gases
D&T:
Design, review, adapt and make model rockets / What sorts of people work on designing and building a rocket?
What are scientists and engineers like?
What skills do you need to be a scientist?
How often do you do science in class?
Do you have any topics that are based around science?
Who is science for?
Mind map – How does science help Tim’s space mission on the ISS?
2 / Staying safe in space! /
- Show students pictures of a satellite (a simplified version of the ISS!) and discuss problems it might come across in space – e,g, debris, heat travelling through the atmosphere, temperature etc).
- Carry out a circus/group sequence of 4 experiments to test best possible material for the satellite testing strength, conductivity of electricity and heat, mass and magnetism of 4 possible materials and choosing the most suitable. – adapted from NASA space case resource: )
- Consider what the astronauts space suit needs to keep them safe – show ‘marshmallow astronauts’ demo (marshmallows – draw faces on!, in wine bottle an use vacuum pump to remove air and reduce pressure) to highlight need for suits to be pressurised and hydrogel (can be bought online or there is a similar substance now in nappies) to demonstrate need for water absorbent filling.
Research a type/types of satellites and write about what they are used for – or how a day would be different with no satellites.
Write a report of their findings from the ‘Space case’ experiments and conclude which material is best
Numeracy:
Calculate amounts and costs of materials needed for building
Units of measure
Recording information (tables etc)
Science:
Materials and their properties
Temperature
Electric circuits
Mass and weight (measuring)
D&T:
Design new satellite or evaluate previous satellite designs (compare design and uses) / What do scientists do on a daily basis?
How do scientists investigate things?
How can they make sure their results are correct?
Why do they have to do so many checks and investigations?
How do different scientists work together?
Mind map – How is science used to make sure Tim Peake is safe?
3 / Keeping healthy on the ISS /
- Discuss the different elements required for a healthy diet and what they are used for in the body.
- Introduce the ‘eatwell’ plate and food information cards (pack one) and ask students to design a healthy meal for Tim on the space station (on template). (Food cards from BHF - - search food cards)
- Show students the space grub and Chris Hadfield’s space kitchen videos. Discuss the problems of preparing, storing and eating food in space.
- Ask them to modify their menu to better suit the ISS environment (using a different colour/post its).
- Astronaut hydration tests – discuss monitoring astronauts blood and urine as a way of checking their health – use sample urine and key to check how healthy the astronauts are – what does healthy wee look like?
- Make ‘astronaut’ pudding with students which they can try / take home (various recipes can be found online)
Write an astronaut’s guide to space food or food labelling
Write a doctor’s letter to the astronauts with advice about how to stay healthy in the space station
Numeracy:
Calculate energy/macros content of food
Units of measure
Mass and weight
Volume (and density) of solids and liquids
Science:
Life processes
Food groups
Nutrients and what they are used for in the body
Digestion
Growth
Heart and circulation
Measuring heatlh
D&T:
Design packaging for a new space food
Design a space oven/cooker unit / How do scientists work?
Is it ok to make mistakes?
What happens when scientists get new information?
How do scientists solve problems?
Why is making dinner a potential health risk in space?
Mind map - How does science help Tim stay healthy on the ISS?
4 / Staying space fit /
- Start by carrying out the astronaut fitness tests.
- Astronauts need a grip strength of at least 70 – test students grip with dynamometer – why do the astronauts need to be so strong? (space suit gloves are very stiff!)
- Ask students why they think the astronauts need to spend 2-3 hours a day on the space station exercising.
- Students use research sheet to work in groups to work out how muscles and bones are affected by being in space and link this to the need to exercise. Pass round the decalcified chicken bones to feel the effects of bone degradation.
- Introduce the idea of scientists modelling things they can’t see/test – using crunchie and aero bars to model healthy Earth bones and ‘space’ bones.
- Students carry out an investigation in groups to see how much mass their chocolate bone will hold – work in groups and share results with group(s) that tested the other bone type.
- Discuss why NASA is doing lots of experiments in the ISS – testing astronauts (and people in bed for long periods of time on Earth), growing plants etc.
Write a fitness plan for the astronauts
Write a newspaper article explaining why astronauts must spend 2-3hours a day exercising in space (or about Tim Peake running the London marathon in space)
Numeracy:
Making measurements, finding averages
Units of measure
Recording information (tables etc)
Science:
Force
Effect of exercise on heart and breathing rate
Fair testing
Density
Muscles and bones
D&T:
Design a prototype exercise machine for the astronauts / Who makes sure the astronauts stay fit and healthy?
How can we monitor health?
How do scientists test their theories?
How do scientists collect reliable results?
How do scientists work together?
How can science in the ISS improve life on Earth?
Mind map – How does science monitor and protect Tim’s health in space?
- Various ISS space station related resources