World Space Week runs from the 4th – 10th of October, and is an international celebration of all things Space and focuses on science and technology and its role in the past, present and future of mankind, a way of not only promoting the work that countries do together to explore space but also how vital space technology is to life on earth. World Space Week 2022 celebrates “Space and Sustainability”!
Join thousands of participants in over 90 countries celebrating sustainability in space and sustainability from space. There are a number of resources for educators to use during the week from the official World Space Week website.
If you haven’t used it yet, this week would be a perfect time to (get ready for it!) launch Space Adventures.
This unique, out-of-this-world and engaging cross-curricular resource is based on an original story commissioned by LGfL by the award-winning author Cath Howe, entitled Space Adventures: Mission to the Moon. It features dramatic video content and a virtual reality experience linked to a narrative. The aim is to draw the learner into the turn of events that threatens the ability of our intrepid astronaut Tazz to return safely back to earth. Will her onboard computer be enough to get her back safely or will she need to draw on her maths and science knowledge and understanding?
The resource features a comprehensive set of resources for Maths, Literacy and Science and a Computing unit created by Max Wainwright, author of the popular espresso coding resource for primary schools.
The video below shows how one school used Space Adventures and the impact that it had across the curriculum:
The Just2Easy Toolsuite has an astronomical range of tools that can be used to support Space week, the children could use the tools within j2write (jit5 write or j2e5) to complete research into the planets, space and the Solar System as well as being able to create fact files on famous astronauts. Below is a simple example of how a student could make a satellite fact file with hyperlinks see here for the lesson plan.
You can also find this fantastic lesson from 'Tech She Can' in the new lesson library section, Watch the video to find out how technology is helping us to explore, travel and live in space - and the types of careers that exist in this area.
J2code also has a range of resources and examples that can be used, first off the Turtle coding offers a simple but powerful platform on which you which a simple 'turtle-based coding system to control spite (Or more than one spite using advanced mode) you can change the background and have a limited amount of animated sprites to create simple short based animations for KS1, perfect to make a simple animation.
Secondly, you have Visual which is a block-based coding language in which you can freely code to create more complex coding outcomes for KS2, including, for example, creating a space-themed game:
Busy Things has a range of labelling and fact sheet templates covering the Solar System and Space that can be used in class for KS1 and KS2 for Space week, whilst younger children can get creative with designing their own spaceship and don't forget about their printable Space week pack, The Busy Things team have grouped activities in their special events section so that they can be easily pinned to a classroom during Space Week.
You can find lesson plans and activities from Switched on Science – 'We Are Astronauts' in Year 3 and also The Out of this world Unit for Year 5 are both perfect to use during World Space Week.
Solar System Scope is a free online model of the Solar System and the Night Sky in real-time with accurate positions of objects alongside a range of facts about the planets – great for research and showing in class, there is also a desktop version as well as both android and iOS apps.
BBC Teach has an astronomical selection of resources to use, You can also watch an epic interactive lesson which was designed to get pupils aged 7-11 starry-eyed for World Space Week 2022. inspiring budding astronomers as they linked up with world famous physicist Brian Cox, and Grace Webb from Grace’s Amazing Machines was joined by scientist Greg Foot for an epic space experiment, where they discovered how the Moon got its craters by creating a miniature comet in the studio.
Stem learning has a range of resources that can be used during Space Week, with just a few materials, building a paper model of the International Space Station (ISS) can become a class project. The resource contains a brief overview of the ISS, its parts, the science that occurs on board, instructions, and extension fact sheets. Learn about the ISS, explore fun facts, simulate building the station, and learn about the international partners. Is there anyone out there? This resource was funded by the UK Space Agency and developed by ESERO-UK and CIEC Promoting Science. It is based upon the quest to discover more about the solar system through space projects such as the European Space Agency’s Aurora programme, and NASA’s Curiosity mission seeking to gather evidence of life on the planet Mars. The students take on the role of space scientists or space engineers to discover more about Mars. The activities in this resource are designed for students aged 9-12 years. The activities are organised into three themes: life, landscape and landing. Activities in the life and landscape themes are suitable for students aged 9 to 11. You can find all of the resources here, including getting your students to train like an astronaut in P.E.
Your class could even borrow the moon!
The STFC Lunar Rocks and Meteorites Loan Scheme has been running since the mid-1980s. It has lent the NASA Moon rock discs and meteorites to thousands of schools, museums and outreach organisers. You can find out how to apply here. The site also has a vast range of resources from the National Space centre suitable for ages 5-18.
There is a great range of teaching resources on Moon Camp, Moon Camp features preparatory classroom activities that focus on learning-by-design and science experimentation. Here teachers will find inspirational resources to develop curricular scientific experiments related to the Moon. Classroom resources can be combined to develop interdisciplinary projects.
VirtualiTeach – a non-profit site dedicated to all things AR and VR in Education have produced a great blog post entitled Space: The Virtual Frontier, it features a list of 20 experiences across four categories: AR apps, 360 videos on YouTube, mobile VR apps and full VR experiences from Steam.
Remember we would love to see your work for World Space week – you can share via our Twitter and Facebook page and don't forget to use the events hashtag #WSW2022 to share your work with the larger community.