Back to School
Back to School
LEARN Science
Learning and Educational Activities and Resources from NASA Science
With the 2022 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 (community colleges click here) to discover awesome, ready-to-use activities and resources to help teachers 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!
Set…
Explore NASA Science lessons and activities to help make your curriculum out-of-this-world!
- NASA’s Our World videos supplement elementary learning objectives not only in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, but also in reading, writing, and visual and performing arts. Accompanying Educator Guides support teachers in using these videos in the classroom.
- My NASA Data supports students and teachers in analyzing and interpreting NASA mission data for learning about Earth systems. Explore lesson plans about the Atmosphere, the Biosphere, the Hydrosphere, the Geosphere, the Cryosphere, and Earth as a System.
- 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.
- 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 featuring 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!
- Science & Engineering come together in this Space Hazards Unit where students in learn about how to protect humans and robots on Earth and in space.
- 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!
- 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.
- Visualize waves with an interactive tool that allows students to control the direction of wave disturbance. Then, observe the universal phenomenon of waves in this media gallery of Earth and Mars. Together, these resources enable students to make observations of wave phenomena that can be used as evidence in explaining that waves occur as patterns.
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!
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.
- 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!
- Give students an interactive way to explore the evidence from ancient meteorites and the Moon needed to construct an account of Earth’s formation and early history with NASA's Astromaterials 3D Virtual Space Rock Collection.
- 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: Gulf of Maine Research Institute
- 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.
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 the "Visions of the Future" Poster Series. Pairs well with this Solar System and Beyond Poster Set!
- Virtual Backgrounds for Educators: Tired of using the same old virtual background? Try out these amazing views of our planet Earth from My NASA Data!
Set…
Explore NASA Science lessons and activities to help make your curriculum out-of-this-world!
- This Electromagnetic Spectrum & Infrared Astronomy unit from NASA's Astronomy Activation Ambassadors supplements physical science curricula with hands-on activities and lessons comparing and contrasting visible light with infrared ("invisible") light for existing grades 6-14. Some student materials are available in Spanish.
- 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.
- 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.
- The James Webb Space Telescope website offers great Lesson Plans, Activities, & Programs For Educators.
Learn!
Launch these activities and lessons to activate science learning!
- Looking to bring more authentic science experiences to your project-based learning? Explore NASA's Citizen Science Projects. Students can collaborate with scientists and other volunteers to help make scientific discoveries.
- What’s the Recipe for Planet Formation? This infographic is a simplified artistic representation of planet formation in the format of a baking recipe. From the James Webb Space Telescope STEM Toolkit.
- 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.
