LEARN Science
Learning and Educational Activities and Resources from NASA Science
With the 2024 Back to School season upon us, we’d like to help educators launch into the school year with Learning and Educational Activities and Resources from NASA Science (LEARN Science)! Browse the grade-levels linked below to discover awesome, ready-to-use activities and resources to help educators get:
Ready…
Add some “space” to your classroom with free NASA Science posters, science notebooks, and other inspiring printables and visuals.
Set…
Explore NASA Science lessons and activities to help make your curriculum out-of-this-world!
Learn!
Launch these activities and lessons to activate science learning!
We also invite you to continue discovering NASA Science Events and Activities throughout the school year by following @DoNASAScience on Facebook & Twitter for more ways to engage. Thanks Teachers, for all you do!
Find resources by grade level:
Early Elementary (Grades K-2)
Ready…
Add some “space” to your classroom with free NASA Science posters, science notebooks, and other inspiring printables and visuals.
- What do the ABCs look like from Space?! Students can notice, wonder, and practice their observation skills with these amazing images of clouds, plants, and storms that form shapes reminiscent of letters. Video version here.
- Get colorful with these NASA coloring pages for those creative classroom times.
- Prefer to color online? Try the Color Nature with Nebula Game or Color Your Universe by finding hidden space objects.
- NASA Space Place has gathered this amazing collection of Posters, Lithos, Postcards, & Bookmarks.
Set…
Explore NASA Science lessons and activities to help make your curriculum out-of-this-world!
- Elementary GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment): Using a storybook approach, these modules introduce students to various aspects of Earth system science through storytelling, observations, and measurement of their surrounding environment. Translated versions available in Arabic, French, German, Norwegian, and Spanish.
- NASA Space Place enriches elementary-aged learning of space and Earth science through fun online games, hands-on activities, informative articles and engaging short videos. With material in both English and Spanish and resources for parents and teachers, NASA Space Place has something for everyone!
- Bringing the Universe to America’s Classrooms - Free Resources from NASA and PBS LearningMedia: Explore images, videos, interactive games, and more. Use these resources to engage students in science practices with key phenomena.
Learn!
Launch these activities and lessons to activate science learning!
- Every NASA mission starts with a creative idea about how to explore something in a new way. Take the NASA Space Place Art Challenge and have students make art and use their imaginations!
- Seasons Module from Elementary GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment): The hummingbirds have stopped visiting the school garden and it's up to students to figure out why. In this story, students will observe the environment's seasonal changes and how they affect the local wildlife by making observations and writing in a science journal. Activities include, All Year Long, and, The Colors of the Seasons.
- Students use an interactive model to gather evidence about the Pattern of the Moon's Changing Appearance. Students then use this evidence to record and make predictions about the Moon’s appearance in the sky.
Upper Elementary (Grades 3-5)
Ready…
Add some “space” to your classroom with free NASA Science posters, science notebooks, and other inspiring printables and visuals.
- NASA Space Place has gathered this amazing collection of Posters, Lithos, Postcards, & Bookmarks.
- Virtual Backgrounds for Educators: Tired of using the same old virtual background? Try out these fun, Earth data backgrounds from My NASA Data and NASA's Science Explorers Poster Series!
Set…
Explore NASA Science lessons and activities to help make your curriculum out-of-this-world!
- NASA eClips provides educators with standards-based videos, educator guides, engineering design packets, and student opportunities for students in grades 3 to 12. Offerings cover a wide variety of topics that include energy, the Moon, clouds, sound, and more! Educator guides help teachers effectively use videos in the 5E lesson model and are aligned to national standards for science, math, and technology.
- My NASA Data supports students and teachers in analyzing and interpreting NASA mission data for learning about Earth systems with lesson plans about the Atmosphere, the Biosphere, the Hydrosphere, the Geosphere, the Cryosphere, and Earth as a System.
- Bringing the Universe to America’s Classrooms - Free Resources from NASA and PBS LearningMedia featuring images, videos, interactive games, and more. Use these resources to engage students in science practices with key phenomena.
- Elementary GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment: Using a storybook approach, these modules introduce students to various aspects of Earth system science through storytelling, observation, and measurement of their surrounding environment. Translated versions available in Arabic, French, German, Norwegian, and Spanish. Search individual activities here.
- All Learners can be Scientists and Engineers! In PLANETS units, learners in grades 3-8 engineer technologies like optical filters and use them to answer scientific questions like "Where was water on Mars?" Activities are designed to empower all learners and show that they can be scientists and engineers.
Learn!
Launch these activities and lessons to activate science learning!
- With these interactive expeditions from Astromaterials Research & Explorations Science (ARES), learners can explore photographs of Earth taken by astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) or take their first steps in making discoveries by learning how to classify Moon rocks!
- Earth System Module from Elementary GLOBE: The hummingbirds have stopped visiting the school garden and it's up to students to figure out why. In this story, students will observe the environment's seasonal changes and how they affect the local wildlife by making observations and writing in a science journal. Activities include Earth System in a Bottle and We're All Connected: Earth System Interactions.
- NASA Space Place enriches elementary-aged learning of space and Earth science through fun online games, hands-on activities, engaging short videos, and an art challenge. With material in both English and Spanish and resources for parents and teachers, NASA Space Place has something for everyone!
- Visualize waves with an interactive tool that allows students to control the direction of wave disturbance. Partner with this NASA resource introducing electromagnetic waves, their behaviors, and how scientists visualize these data. Come and explore the amazing world beyond the visible!
Middle School (Grades 6-8)
Ready…
Add some “space” to your classroom with free NASA Science posters, science notebooks, and other inspiring printables and visuals.
- Make your classroom out-of-this-world with a Solar System and Beyond Poster Set from NASA (also makes a great wallpaper image for your smartboard or projector).
- Looking for a more art-integrated STEAM approach? Check out the Visions of the Future Poster Series.
- Virtual Backgrounds for Educators: Tired of using the same old virtual background? Try out these fun, Earth data backgrounds from My NASA Data and NASA's Science Explorers Poster Series!
Set…
Explore NASA Science lessons and activities to help make your curriculum out-of-this-world!
- My NASA Data supports students and teachers in analyzing and interpreting NASA mission data for learning about Earth systems. Explore their lesson plans about the Atmosphere, the Biosphere, the Hydrosphere, the Geosphere, the Cryosphere, and Earth as a System.
- Explore the surface of the Earth with authentic NASA imagery in these Hands-on Activities from NASA Astromaterials for grades 5-12.
- Teaching about eclipses? These mini lessons and activities from My NASA Data bring the phenomena right into your classroom! Pair them with this beautiful card/slide deck on Ways of Knowing Eclipses from NASA’s Night Sky Network,
- NASA eClips provides educators with standards-based videos, educator guides, engineering design packets, and student opportunities for students in grades 3 to 12. Offerings cover a wide variety of topics that include energy, the Moon, clouds, sound, and more! Educator guides help teachers effectively use videos in the 5E lesson model and are aligned to national standards for science, math, and technology.
- Bringing the Universe to America’s Classrooms - Free Resources from NASA and PBS LearningMedia featuring images and videos, interactive games, and more. Use resources to engage students with key phenomena and provide opportunities for them to engage in science practices.
- Learning Activities from the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program - a great, action-oriented way for your students to approach scientific concepts.
Learn!
Launch these activities and lessons to activate science learning!
- An Out-of-this-world Biology Project! Growing Beyond Earth® (GBE) is a classroom-based citizen science project about growing plants in space. Teacher resources help you introduce your students to space plant biology and prepare them to participate in the program, through which students have the opportunity to present their findings to NASA Researchers. Materials in English and Spanish.
- Become an Ecosystem Observer: build student connections to local outdoor spaces and learn to make scientific observations with this 12-step module that includes teacher guides and student pages for every step. Source: GMRI Science Learning Resources
- Adaptive Learning and Creative Tools from Infiniscope empower educators to develop next-generation, digital, adaptive learning experiences. Infiniscope provides free content and creative tools to educators who want to personalize learning for their middle and high school students. Join their network and get started here.
- All Learners can be Scientists and Engineers! NASA missions are a perfect way to bring together science and engineering. In PLANETS units, learners in grades 3-8 engineer technologies like optical filters and use them to answer scientific questions like "Where was water on Mars?" Activities emphasize NASA planetary science and engineering and are designed to empower all learners and show that they can be scientists and engineers.
High School (Grades 9-12)
Ready…
Add some “space” to your classroom with free NASA Science posters, science notebooks, and other inspiring printables and visuals.
- This Women in Science project (scroll down to the “For Educators” section) includes beautiful, inspiring posters and a mini-zine celebrating some of the women who have made significant contributions to science, technology, engineering, and math.
- Looking for a more art-integrated, STEAM environment in your classroom? Check out NASA's Earth Day Poster series. Each year’s poster includes a video of NASA's Science Mission Directorate Art Director, Jenny Mottar, explaining her inspiration—and the science—behind that year's poster concept and design. See 2024 Poster and Art Director Video here.
- Take a virtual trip to alien worlds, and maybe even plaster your classroom with new, futuristic space tourism posters. View all Visions of the Future posters here.
Set…
Explore NASA Science lessons and activities to help make your curriculum out-of-this-world!
- My NASA Data supports students and teachers in analyzing and interpreting NASA mission data for learning about Earth systems. Explore their lesson plans about the Atmosphere, the Biosphere, the Hydrosphere, the Geosphere, the Cryosphere, and Earth as a System.
- NASA eClips provides educators with standards-based videos, educator guides, engineering design packets, and student opportunities for students in grades 3 to 12. Offerings cover a wide variety of topics that include energy, the Moon, clouds, sound, and more! Educator guides help teachers effectively use videos in the 5E lesson model and are aligned to national standards for science, math, and technology.
- Explore the surface of the Earth with authentic NASA imagery in these Hands-on Activities from NASA Astromaterials for grades 5-12.
- The GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Teacher’s Guide is your go-to resource for activities from the GLOBE Program. Includes scientific background information, data-collection protocols, and learning activities categorized by Earth sphere.
- Bringing the Universe to America’s Classrooms - Free Resources from NASA and PBS LearningMedia featuring images and videos, interactive games, and more. Use resources to engage students with key phenomena and provide opportunities for them to engage in science practices.
Learn!
Launch these activities and lessons to activate science learning!
- Interact with Real Cosmic Data and Imagery! Data Stories are interactives for high school students that showcase new science imagery and data for a variety of out of this world topics. Ideas for exploration and scientific highlights are included with every story through accompanying video and text.
- Adaptive Learning and Creative Tools from Infiniscope empower educators to develop next-generation, digital, adaptive learning experiences. Infiniscope provides free content and creative tools to educators who want to personalize learning for their middle and high school students. Join their network and get started here.
- An Out-of-this-world Biology Project! Growing Beyond Earth® (GBE) is a classroom-based citizen science project about growing plants in space. Teacher resources help you introduce your students to space plant biology and prepare them to participate in the program, through which students have the opportunity to present their findings to NASA Researchers. Materials in English and Spanish.
- Adaptive Digital Learning Experiences from Infiniscope: Designed for and aligned with NGSS, these on-demand interactive resources include an educator mode (toggle on at the top of the page) for access to the entire suite of educator resources for each lesson or collection.
