Pre-conference Activities:
Classroom Investigation

As part of the DLN Toys in Space module, students investigate four toys in the classroom and complete a Student Investigation Sheet for each of the toys.The four toys that will be investigated are:

• Jump Rope
• Soccer
• Paper Boomerang
• Kendama

Engineering a Boomerang and Kendama- Most schools have a soccer ball and jump rope, but usually do not have a boomerang or a kendama. This module allows for the students to build a boomerang and design and engineer a kendama. Use the below to help with the constuction:

• Boomerang- using card stock paper, print the template at the end of this document (also on the support website) onto the card stock paper and have the students cut it out. Teacher note: have students try throwing the boomerang several different ways; each time recording information about thrust, spin, and direction. Also, toys stores often carry several “in door” boomerang that can also be used
• Kendama- this toy can be build using the following supplies: plastic cup, string, tape, ping-pong balls, and a craft stick (optional). Describing the toy to the students (instead of showing them what it looks like) often produced many different “ball and cup” toys.
  

Break classroom into four sets of teams (one team per toy). With larger groups it may be necessary to have more than one team per toy. Have each team investigate and complete the Student Investigation Sheet together, or they may break-up the assignments so everyone gets to participate.

• Lead Scientist Presenter- Coordinates with team investigation findings and presents back to NASA for videoconference.
• Lead Scientist Recorder- Coordinates with team so that all questions are answered shares findings with Lead Scientist Presenter.
• Engineer- Builds or modifies experiment being tested and helps to explain how toy / game is supposed to function and origin of toy.
• Astronaut Technician- Conducts experiments on Earth for rest of team to observe.
• Complete Student Investigation Sheet and gather any other physical demonstrations you would like to share with NASA (digital photos, on-camera example, etc…)

As part of the DLN Toys in Space module, students investigate four toys in the classroom and complete a Student Investigation.

Materials for module can be downloaded from:

http://aesp.nasa.okstate.edu/ftp/anderson/toysweb/index.htm

Videoconference Includes:

NASA’s vision for human exploration of Space
Science with toys in microgravity
NASA Career highlight: Lead Increment Scientist
Research in microgravity
Predicting the physics of toys
Engineering solutions
Student Prediction: Paper Boomerang
Results & Discussion
Student Prediction: Jump Rope
Results & Discussion
Student Prediction: Kendama
Results & Discussion
Student Prediction: Soccer
Results & Discussion

Have students build on what they’ve learned by designing, building, and testing a toy that would work on the Moon or Mars. Students then develop a marketing campaign for the toy using: print, electronic media, or by presenting to the class or to NASA.

Follow-up by viewing additional Toys in Space from NASA CORE:
http://catalog.core.nasa.gov

Description:
Join the crew of the International Space Station as they work with toys from all over the world. Students can observe and compare the behavior of the toys on Earth with their behavior in the microgravity environment of the International Space Station.

Bonus: The DVD includes an expanded edition of the video, "Toys in Space II." Experiment with a variety of toys and learn new science concepts as you compare the results of your student’s experiments to those conducted on board the space shuttle.