"Travel Brochure to a Planet":Combine science with persuasive writing and graphic design. The Project: Students choose one planet (or exoplanet) and design a travel brochure for future space tourists. Requirements: Include "packing tips" based on temperature (e.g., a suit that can withstand 800°F on Venus), "activities" based on gravity (e.g., how high you could jump on the Moon), and travel time. Learning Goal: Synthesize planetary data like atmosphere, gravity, and composition into a creative format.

Modeling Earth’s Movements in Space Have student lab groups model Earth’s movements to cause day and night and/or the seasons. Use materials like craft balls, wooden skewers, Styrofoam blocks, protractors, North Star label, season labels, and lamps. Use the North Star label from the Explore C activity. Mark the equator, landforms, and water on the craft ball using an appropriate medium to make a model Earth. The land forms do not have to be exact replicas of structures on Earth. Push a wooden skewer through the “Earth” model to form the north and south poles. Use the protractor to measure the proper tilt angle for Earth, and then push the south pole into the Styrofoam block to secure Earth model and tilt. Position the Earth model to tilt toward the North Star label. Once the models are set up, turn on the lamps and turn off the classroom lights. Have the students manipulate the models to simulate Earth’s movements in space for either rotation or revolution.

Earth: The Water Planet Have your students design an investigation to compare how the significant presence of water on our planet affects temperature fluctuations. The manipulated variable is the type of material used to absorb—and release—radiant energy: water or sand. The responding variable is the rate of temperature change in each sample. Students will use temperature probes to obtain quantitative temperature data for the energy absorption and release in a water and sand sample using equal volumes of water and sand. Have them insert temperature probes and expose both samples to radiant energy for three hours while they collect temperature data at 15-minute increments. Next, have them remove both samples from the energy source and continue to collect temperature data every 15 minutes for an additional three hours. Students will graph and record their results in lab journals. Set up the temperature probe, interface, and designated graphing calculators with the appropriate programs for the measurement probes. Students must have a link cable ready to transfer the data to their own calculators or computers if appropriate. Share the manufacturer’s instructions for using the program to set the parameters for the investigation. For this investigation, the suggested temperature collection time parameter is 15 minutes. Remind students not to get the wire and plug wet when they’re cleaning the probe. Ask the students: When the two samples were removed from the radiant energy source and the temperature of the samples decreased (thermal energy transfer), where did this energy go? The environment.

​​The Black Hole Find a copy of the Disney film, The Black Hole. Watch it and list the mistakes in the way it depicts the science of black holes. Create a google slide research project about black holes.

What Does the Hubble Space Telescope Do for Us? Have students conduct a survey of students or adults about the Hubble Space Telescope to see what they know about it.

Students will explore how the Mississippi River contributes to flooding and how this impacts: • Residential areas (Kings neighborhood, Highway 61 South) • Local businesses in lower downtown • Transportation and accessibility • Tourism and economic activity

Organize a local history project, where students research and present the history of their town or city. This will include visits to historical sites and interviews with long-time residents. 8th grade social studies standards

I want to design a project about the rocky shore that incorporates NGSS standards. It will blend math, science, and literacy, with students working together in groups to explore key concepts. My students love Pokemon this year. We want to visit the Birch Aquarium.