Lift Off to the

International Space
Station with Noggin!
Activity Guide for Families and Educators

Developed in
collaboration with NASA
 Learn About Earth Science

Ask an
Astronaut!
Astronaut Shannon
Walker
Children from across the country had a
unique opportunity to talk with
astronauts aboard the International
Space Station (ISS)!

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space

Administration) astronaut Shannon Astronaut
Walker and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Soichi Noguchi
Exploration Agency) astronaut Soichi
Noguchi had all of the answers!

View NASA/Noggin Downlink and then

try some out-of-this- world activities
with your child!

Why is it important to learn about Space?

● Children are naturally curious about
space and want to explore it!

● Space makes it easy and fun to learn

STEM (Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math).

● Space inspires creativity, critical

thinking and problem solving skills.
 Here is some helpful information
to share with your child before you
watch Ask an Astronaut!

What is the International

Space Station?
The International Space Station (ISS) is a
large spacecraft that orbits around Earth,
approximately 250 miles up. Astronauts live
and work there!

The ISS brings together astronauts from

different countries; they use it as a science
lab to explore space.
Learn Space
Words!
Astronauts Earth
An astronaut is someone who is Earth is the only planet that people have
trained to go into space and learn lived on. The Earth rotates - when it is day
more about it. They have to wear here and our part of the Earth faces the
special suits to help them breathe. Sun, it is night on the other side of the
They get to space in a rocket. Aboard world, as that part of Earth faces away
the space station, astronauts do not from the Sun.
walk on the floor like people on Earth
Orbit
do. Insead, they float around inside the
An orbit is a path in space where one
space station.
object travels around another object. The
The Moon Earth orbits, or travels around, the Sun.
The Moon was the first place people The ISS is also in orbit. It travels around
landed in space. There are lots of the Earth.
craters on the Moon. The Moon orbits
Stars
(goes around) the Earth. It sometimes
Bright balls of burning gas. There are more
looks like a circle and sometimes like
stars in the universe than grains of sand on
only part of a circle.
all the beaches on Earth. That’s at least a
The Sun billion trillion!
The Sun is actually an average-size
star - it is the closest star to Earth and Gravity
is still 93 million miles away! The Sun is A force that makes sure that when we
over 300,000 times larger than Earth; jump up in the air, we fall down. The
the biggest thing in our Solar System. space station has gravity too, almost as
One million Earths could fit inside the much as on Earth. But because the ISS is
Sun! orbiting around the Earth, it makes it
seem like there is a lot less gravity.
Planets That is why astronauts float in the
There are 8 planets that orbit the Sun. space station.
 LEARN ABOUT
Visual Arts, Earth Science
ACTIVITY

Straw
Rockets
Astronauts hitch a ride on a rocket to get to the MATERIALS
International Space Station. Let’s make a straw ● Scissors
rocket and see how far it can go! ● A straw
● Paper
DIRECTIONS ● Tape
Step 1: Cut a small piece of paper in a rectangle shape,
about 2 inches long by 4 inches wide.
KEY VOCABULARY
Gravity - A force that makes
Step 2: Fold this in half and tape the top and long side sure that when we jump up in
opposite the fold. This “rocket” should fit loosely over the air, we fall down. The space
the top of your straw. station has gravity too, almost
as much as on Earth. But
Step 3: Decorate your rocket! because the ISS is orbiting
around the Earth, it makes it
Step 4: Place your rocket over the straw and blow. seem like there is a lot less
gravity. That is why astronauts
Step 5: Explore using your rocket together: float in the space station.

Ask your child, “How far does your rocket fly?” Rocket - An object shaped like
● Use your feet to count how many steps it flies! a tube that pushes something
● Try blowing harder and blowing less—does this forward into the air, such as
change how far your rocket flies? fireworks or spacecrafts
● Try pointing your straw up in the air, straight out,
and down towards the ground, changing the Force - A push or pull on an
angle of your rocket. What happens? object

Ask your child, “Why does your rocket fly?”

● When you blow air into the straw, the air goes
through the straw and pushes out, pushing the
rocket with it. When you blow harder into the
straw, the air has more energy and the rocket can
fly further!
● Gravity is a force that pulls your straw rocket
down at the same time that your breath is a force
pushing the rocket forward. These 2 forces work
against each other, so the rocket makes a curved
shape. When a real rocket goes into space, it has
to push past the force of gravity pulling it down.
 LEARN ABOUT
Visual Arts, Earth Science
ACTIVITY

Hidden
Stars
We can usually spot a star (or many!) in the night sky. MATERIALS
But where do stars go during the day? ● White Paper
● White Crayon
Stars do glow during the day, but we can't see them ● Dark Watercolor Paint
because of the Sun. During the day, the Sun’s bright ● Paintbrush
light gets scattered all over, and outshines the light
coming from the stars. Therefore, we can’t see stars
until the sky gets dark at night. KEY VOCABULARY

You can explore this big question together with your Star - A bright ball of burning gas.
child by creating the night sky out of crayons and
watercolor paint! When you draw with white crayons Sun - An average-size star - it is
the closest star to Earth and is still
on white paper, the white of the paper makes it hard
93 million miles away!
to see the white crayon. This is similar to the way
sunlight makes it difficult to see the bright stars during Solar System - The Sun and
the day. However, when you paint over the stars with everything that goes around the
dark watercolor paint, you can see them again! Sun (like planets)

Constellation - Groups of stars

DIRECTIONS that form a pattern when viewed
from Earth
Step 1: Draw stars, the Moon, and other parts of our
solar system on a white sheet of paper.

Step 2: Observe the paper. Ask your child, “Can you

see what you drew? Why or why not?” Let them know Keep learning about
that this is similar to the way stars in the sky look during stars together!
the day. It’s nearly impossible to see them!
Constellations are groups
Step 3: Use a dark watercolor paint to paint over what of stars that form a pattern
you drew. Now ask your child, “What changed? Can you when viewed from Earth.
see your drawing?” Explain that just like in our sky, the Together, look up some
stars are always there. During the day, the bright light famous constellations like
from the Sun is so much brighter than the stars, that we Aries, Cygnus, and Leo. Try
don’t see them. But when the Sun goes down, the drawing them together or
darkness of night lets them shine through. making them out of things
you find in your house like
cotton balls or q tips!
 LEARN ABOUT
Healthy Bodies, Earth Science
ACTIVITY

Healthy
Astronauts
Astronauts work hard to take good care of their MATERIALS
bodies. They exercise regularly so that they stay ● None
healthy for their space journeys. Do some astronaut
exercises together!
KEY VOCABULARY

DIRECTIONS Astronaut - Someone who is

trained to go into space and
Step 1: Do 10 jumping jacks. Count backwards from 10 learn more about it.
as if you were counting down to a spaceship’s lift off!
Gravity - A force that makes
Step 2: When we jump, gravity pulls us back down to sure that when we jump up in
Earth. But because the ISS is orbiting around the Earth, the air, we fall down. The space
it makes it seem like there is a lot less gravity. That is station has gravity too, almost
why astronauts float in the space station! Do 10 big as much as on Earth. But
astronaut jumps and notice the point at which gravity because the ISS is orbiting
starts pulling you back down to Earth. around the Earth, it makes it
seem like there is a lot less
Step 3: Astronauts need a lot of muscle strength to gravity. That is why astronauts
complete their missions. But because their bodies don’t float in the space station.
have to work as hard when there is less gravity,
astronauts have to exercise a lot -- two hours each day Exercise - An activity that
to stay healthy! Train your arm, leg, and core muscles by keeps the body or mind strong.
doing a crab walk! Sit on the floor with your feet
hip-distance apart in front of you and your arms behind
your back with your fingers facing your hips. Lift your
hips up and start crab walking forward by moving one
hand and foot forward at a time. Race your child - who
can get to the other side of the room first?

Step 4: Most food astronauts eat is freeze dried or

vacuum packed. After exercising, snack on some dried
fruit or a squeezie pouch to fuel up like astronauts!