17Sep2020
15Aug2020
Technology plays an important role in today’s lifestyle and it is very difficult for us to avoid technology in our daily life. Children are exposed to technology from early childhood and most of the kids under two years start playing / using tablets and smartphone. […]
19Aug2018
5Aug2018
Astronaut training is all about making your body fit to perform better in a different environment. It is no different than training our body exercising to stay fit, just more rigorous than our day to day workouts. The Astronaut training checklist in the Space Explorer kit is a fun way to learn some of these activities and also get our body some activity while learning. Let’s get started:
Tunnel Crawl helps in developing balance and building muscles of an Astronaut. You could cut the flaps off of three to four cardboard boxes and tape the boxes together to form a tunnel or even make something with pillows to pretend like a tunnel. Then tell kids to crawl and go from one end to another without touching head on the rooftop.
Dust Collection. Astronauts have many tasks to perform during their brief moonwalks. Dust collection is also the part of Astronauts’ Space mission. Astronauts collect dust and other particles from surface of moon and other planets. It helps in their research study. Specialized tools are used by Astronauts for collecting samples from lunar surface. Parents could hide some fun treasures to and conduct a kind of dust collection activity.
The term Space Race is refers to dominance in spaceflight capability. Neil Armstrong who was the first man stepped onto the moon in 1969; America became the winner of the space race.
Jumping Jack. This activity is also a part of Astronaut training. This is not a simple jumping but you need to stand upright with your legs together, arms at your sides then bend your knees slightly, and jump into the air. As you jump, spread your legs and stretch your arms out and over your head. Jump back to starting position. This exercise is good for the physical fitness.
Lung capacity Test. This test is done to check the proper functioning of lungs. It measures how much air you can inhale and exhale. Kids can conduct the deep breathing exercise inhale deep hold a bit and exhale.
Toe Touches. This exercise strengthens the abdominal muscles. When toe touch and crunchs are done together, it is known as toe–touch crunch
Line Hops. Astronauts stand parallel with a line and then hop back and forth over the line. They hop with the feet together for a specified time period and do number of repetitions
Comet Catch. A comet is a chunk of ice, rock, and gas flying through space. Catching the comet is a fast paced and engaging energizer activity. You can also pretend play this activity by putting a tennis ball in a stocking. Take the stocking and put a ball in it, then hold the stocking at the ‘tail end’ and release the ball along with stocking in the correct direction. The stocking and ball should look like a comet sailing in the air.
Balance Counts. Improves the balance of the body.
- Choose a smooth-surfaced solid wall, approved by an adult for use.
- For elder kids: Bounce a tennis ball off the wall and try to catch it while balancing on one foot. Raise your
foot up behind you, level with your knee. - Count how many seconds you can stand on one foot while throwing the tennis ball against the wall. Try not to let the ball or your foot touch the floor. Try to balance for at least 30 seconds without falling.
- Continue to practice this activity over time until you can keep your balance for 60 seconds
without having to start over. - For younger kids stand on one foot and count how long can you maintain the balance count as long as the foot is in the air.
29Jul2018
21Jul2018
Neil Armstrong was the first person to walk on the surface of moon. Apart from an astronaut, he was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor.
Talk to the kids about the astronauts. These are people like us, who are also generally expert in several other science fields to be able to perform research and engineering related activities while in the space.
Astronaut training describes the complex process of preparing astronauts in regions around the world for their space missions before, during and after the flight, which includes medical tests, physical training, extra-vehicular activity (EVA) training, procedure training, rehabilitation process,[3] as well as training on experiments they will accomplish during their stay in space.
The kit provided in your box provides a good idea of what all equipment are used in a real space program. Here are some of them below:
Moon rovers. A lunar rover or Moon rover is a space exploration vehicle designed to move across the surface of the Moon.
Satellites. In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object that has been intentionally placed into orbit. These objects are called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as Earth’s Moon.
Saturn 5 rockets. Saturn V was an American super heavy-lift launch vehicle certified for human-rating used by NASA between 1967 and 1973. It consisted of three stages, each fueled by liquid propellants.
Gemini capsules. Project Gemini was NASA’s second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and sixteen individual astronauts flew low Earth orbit (LEO) missions during 1965 and 1966.
Apollos. The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the third United States human spaceflight program carried out by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which succeeded in landing the first humans on the Moon from 1969 to 1972.
Space shuttles. The Space Shuttle was a partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system that was operated from 1981 to 2011 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program.
Hubble telescopes. The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. This has been used in multiple projects including the one to estimate the age of the universe.
As an activity for Show and Tell on Friday learn the names of some of these members of your kit and talk about them on Friday. For role play, you can pretend to be an astronaut and pretend to be landing on the moon. The morning story by the teacher is also a good resource to talk about.
6 months to 5 years is the age when curiosity is at its highest level. We call this age as infant, toddler and preschooler age. The definition is vague, many people consider 2 months to 1 year as infant age, 1 to 3 years as toddler, 3 to 5 preschooler age. As our kids grow […]