Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 4, Space Academy (Jahn) (3rd – 4th)
Hello, fellow astronauts! Today was another day of excitement and curiosity as we explored our vast solar system! In a problem-based learning (PBL) scenario, we discovered that the navigation system in our spaceship broke down! We have minimal tools on our shuttle: an old book of star charts, a telescope, a spectrometer, and a sextant. Cadets used problem-solving skills to generate many ways to use the tools and get back on track. Eventually, cadets were given new information: the reset button. An inaccessible red button, the ship will reset all systems… if cadets can get to it. Using our learning about microgravity, cadets generated possible viable solutions. In this problem-solving, we discussed the reality of “best” solutions. We agreed that the best is relative, and we may all have different ideas. Being more specific than best when working in a group is important. We developed different criteria, like cost-effective, efficient, and simplest, to describe solutions and come to a consensus on how to solve these problems using the tools we have.
With the spaceship back in order, we explored Saturn. Saturn is the least dense planet in our solar system, so we did a density experiment with liquids to understand this property better. Ask your cadet which liquid was most dense between corn syrup, water, and oil! We also visited Uranus and Neptune, learning about their key planet facts and further exploring microgravity and the solar system’s structure. We watched a group of scientists create a live-scale, proportionate solar system model, which takes a whopping seven miles of land to do accurately. Students were in absolute awe as they conceptualized how big the solar system actually is! Here is the video if you want to watch it with your cadet tonight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR3Igc3Rhfg.
Finally, we visited Pluto for some serious planetary debate. We reviewed the criteria for classification as a planet, explored some Pluto facts, and wrote a legal argument using claims and evidence. Cadets acted as lawyers to take their legal writing to court and presented their cases in an Intergalactic Court of Law. This would be a great dinner conversation tonight; can your Intergalactic Lawyer convince you of their position?
We’ll wrap up our week with the Space Exposition and more Mars exploration tomorrow!
Leaving the spacewalk for now! Until next time…
Ms. Jahn