NASA Helio Club: Session 1: Heliophysics 101
| Levels |
|
|---|---|
| Material Type |
|
| Heliophysics Big Ideas |
|
| NGSS |
|
| Heliophysics Topics |
|
| Heliophysics Missions |
|
| Material Cost per Learner | $1 – $5 |
| Language | English |
NASA Helio Club is a collection of six lessons that complete a comprehensive module created for a middle-school audience (ages 10-14) to introduce basic heliophysics concepts to learners. Each club session takes approximately two hours and explores at least one NASA mission as a framework for understanding the topic.
Session 1: Heliophysics 101 defines heliophysics and gives an overview of the topics that heliophysicists study. Missions introduced in this session are the Interstellar Boundary EXplorer (IBEX) mission and the Voyager mission.
- Session 1 Instructions ↗
- Session 1 Slides ↗
- Session 1, Activity 1 Handout: IBEX Heliosphere Model ↗
- Session 1, Activity 3 Handout: Sun-Earth Scale Model ↗
Each session includes a full collection of educator instructions, learner handouts, and assessment tools. If you plan on running the entire club, the NASA Helio Club Youth Guide ↗ includes the handouts for all six sessions, plus additional resources for a capstone project. Other resources include Educator Background Information ↗ and a complete Materials Checklist↗ for all sessions. All content is connected to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Learn more about how to use all of the resources in this package with the NASA Helio Club Read Me document ↗
Don't have time for a full session? Each activity in this session can be done individually and takes about 25 minutes.
- Activity 1: Modeling the Heliosphere ↗
- Activity 2: Cosmic Return Address ↗
- Activity 3: Sun-Earth Scale Model ↗