NASA Student Involvement Program (NSIP)

Program Description

• My Planet, Earth. Select a study site in your neighborhood and get to know its features. NASA research scientists have learned that the Earth shows different faces and tells different stories when it is observed and described from many perspectives. Students identify and describe features and creatures of the air, land, and water. Their drawings and observations of the site are gathered, shared, and combined into one story. This is an excellent culminating activity and can be readily linked with your local community environmental focus and environmental education resources such as the GLOBE program and Project WILD. (Grades K-2: whole class; Grades 2-4: teams of 2-4 or whole class.)


• Aerospace Technology Engineering Challenge. NASA aerospace engineers must balance their need for speed against the need for lighter, stronger materials. In this competition, students construct and test a structure that can withstand the forces of launch. Students will create a durable, lightweight, and reusable thrust structure with inexpensive everyday materials. Using scientific inquiry, critical thinking, systematic observation, and analysis of data, students will gain insight into the engineering design process. By designing, building, testing, and redesigning their own models, students will gain firsthand knowledge about the challenges faced by NASA engineers as they work on the next generation of aerospace vehicles. (Grades 5-8: teams of 2-4.)


• Science and Technology Journalism. Reflecting Upon the Adventures of Flight: What happened on a cold windswept beach near Kitty Hawk, NC, on December 17, 1903? What were the events leading up to this milestone? How did this event change the world? Who are others who have or are exploring the fundamentals of flight? What are the benefits to our world? What is the future of aviation? What research is happening right now? Inventions? Can you predict future aviation milestones? Students prepare a print or video journalism piece related to a Century of Flight (Grades K-1: Whole class; Grades 2-4: Whole class or teams of 2-4; Grades 5-8: Whole class or teams of 2-4; Grades 9-12: Whole class or teams of 2-4.)


• Watching Earth Change. This is a great opportunity for original student exploration! Students may choose from an unlimited number of topics such as animal migration, global warming, conservation, severe weather events, volcanoes, ozone depletion, urban growth, and more. Cutting- edge NASA science and technology enable observations of the Earth system with unprecedented depth and detail. The challenge is for students to use NASA data (e.g., satellite data, graphs, maps, aerial photos, etc.) to test their own hypotheses about how Earth is changing. (Grades 5-8: teams or individual; Grades 9-12: individual.)


• Design a Mission to Mars...and Beyond! Investigate the solar system via a mission you create. If you could send a mission to any planet, moon, asteroid, or other object in the solar system, what would you look for, and how would you do it? Define the interplanetary question(s) you want your mission to answer. Then, design a mission to answer the question(s). You may design a robotic, orbital, flyby, lander, sample return mission, or even send humans to explore firsthand. (Grades 5-8: individual or teams of 2-4; Grades 9-12: individual or teams of 2-4.)


• Space Flight Opportunities. Design an experiment to fly on the Space Shuttle or on a NASA sounding rocket. The teacher and up to four student representatives of each team selected for flight will win an expense-paid trip to Student Flight Week at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Additional awards may be made as well for high-ranking entries. During SEM Flight Week, SEM experiments will be examined and packaged to await Shuttle flight. During Sub-SEM Flight Week (launch conditions permitting) the Sub-SEM rocket will be flown. (Grades 9-12 only - Teams of 2-4.)

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Last Modified: November 4, 2004
Responsible NASA Official: Susan Miller
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