Elementary School Students Explore NASA Careers with NASA eClips

On April 29th, 2022, National Institute of Aerospace’s Center for Integrative STEM Education (NIA-CISE) Educator Betsy McAllister shared about NASA careers with 147 students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade at William Cooper Elementary Magnet School in Hampton, Virginia. Learners were introduced to what a career as an astrophysicist might be like and heard from an actual NASA astrophysicist through the NASA eClips Ask SME: Close-up with a NASA Subject Matter Expert video: “Research Astrophysicist – Dr. Nicholeen Viall.” After watching the video, students were able to describe the work of astrophysicists. Students then assumed the role of astrophysicists in learning about the importance of the Sun. They acted out the stages in the life cycle of a Sun-like star and constructed a bracelet where a different colored bead represented a specific stage in the life cycle. Finally, students were introduced to the James Webb Space Telescope and how this engineering marvel will enable scientists and the public to learn more about the first galaxies that formed in the early universe and the formation of planetary systems around stars.

"Ask SME" videos are professionally developed to capture a glimpse of a NASA Subject Matter Expert's personal interests and career journeys. Each can be used to spark student interest and broaden their ideas of the STEM workforce. Check out the videos: https://nasaeclips.arc.nasa.gov/careerconnection

The NASA eClips project is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number NNX16AB91A and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Please visit https://nasaeclips.arc.nasa.gov/ to learn more.