vault backup: 2024-09-30 17:48:46

2.1 GSA Meeting Notes/2024-09-30 MoonTree Activity.md

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+# Kindergarten (Easy)
+**Objective:** Introduce the kids to the idea that trees need certain things to grow, and the moon doesn’t provide them.
+
+1. **Introduction (Simple, bold text with pictures):**
+    - **What do trees need to grow?** (Big colorful images of the sun, soil, water, and air)
+        - Sun for warmth and light ☀️
+        - Air for breathing 🌬️
+        - Water for drinking 💧
+        - Soil for standing and food 🌱
+2. **What’s different on the Moon?** (Visual comparison between Earth and Moon)
+    - No air (simple “X” over a cloud of air)
+    - No water (simple “X” over a water droplet)
+    - Too much sun with no protection (UV rays image)
+    - Different soil (moon dust vs. Earth soil image)
+3. **Activity:**
+    - **Challenge:** How can we help a tree grow on the Moon?
+        - Example solutions (visual): Build a bubble, bring soil, give the tree a space helmet.
+    - **Cut and paste activity:** Provide basic shapes (bubble, helmet, water droplet, etc.) for them to cut out and paste on their tree drawing.
+---
+# 3rd Grade (Medium)
+### **Handout for 3rd Grade (More In-Depth Problem-Solving)**
+
+**1. Introduction:**
+- **What do trees need to grow?**
+    - **Sunlight** 🌞 – Trees need light to make their own food through photosynthesis.
+    - **Water** 💧 – Water helps trees drink and grow.
+    - **Air** 🌬️ – Trees breathe air (specifically carbon dioxide).
+    - **Soil** 🌱 – Trees need soil to hold their roots and get nutrients.
+- Include small pictures/icons next to each item to make it visual and engaging.
+
+**2. What’s different on the Moon?**
+- **No air:** The Moon has no atmosphere, so there is no air for trees to breathe.
+- **No water:** There is no liquid water on the Moon.
+- **UV Rays:** The Sun’s rays on the Moon are much stronger without Earth’s atmosphere to protect plants.
+- **Different soil:** Moon soil, called “regolith,” is very dusty and doesn’t have the nutrients trees need.
+
+**3. Activity:**
+- **Challenge:** How can we help trees grow on the Moon?
+    - Provide a few prompts for them to think about:
+        - **How will the tree get air?**
+        - **How will the tree get water?**
+        - **How can we protect the tree from the Sun’s strong UV rays?**
+    - They should try to **come up with their own solutions** by thinking about:
+        - Building a special **container** to give the tree air and water.
+        - Designing a **shield** or using glass to protect the tree from UV rays.
+        - Mixing special **soil** to help the tree stand tall and grow.
+
+**4. Sketching Their Ideas:**
+- Provide a large box where they can **draw** their idea for how they would help the tree grow on the Moon.
+    - Encourage creativity: “Can you build a dome around the tree? Or give it space boots? Maybe it needs a special watering system?”
+    - Include fun ideas like **bubbles** or **domes** that could help them visualize.
+
+**5. Additional prompts (Optional):**
+- **How would astronauts care for these trees?**
+    - Have them think about how people living on the Moon could check on their trees and water them.
+
+---
+# 5th Grade (Hard)
+### **Handout for 5th Grade (Engineering Design & Problem Solving)**
+
+**1. Introduction:**
+- **The problem:** Trees need sunlight, air, water, and soil, but the Moon doesn’t have these things.
+    - Briefly recap each element:
+        - **Air:** The Moon has no air (it’s a vacuum).
+        - **Water:** No liquid water is available.
+        - **Sunlight/UV Rays:** The Moon has no atmosphere, so the Sun’s UV rays are too strong.
+        - **Soil:** Moon dust (regolith) is different from Earth soil—no nutrients for trees.
+    - Provide short, scientific explanations next to simple visuals.
+
+**2. Engineering Challenge:**
+- **Your Mission:** You are an engineer designing a system to help trees grow on the Moon.
+    - Ask them to think about **three main problems**:
+        1. **Providing air** – How can we make sure the tree has enough air to breathe?
+        2. **Providing water** – How can we give the tree water in an environment where there is none?
+        3. **Protecting from UV rays** – How can we protect the tree from the Sun’s strong rays?
+
+**3. Engineering Design Requirements:**
+- Introduce the idea of **requirements** and **constraints**:
+    - **Requirements:** Things the design must do. Example: The tree must be able to breathe air.
+    - **Constraints:** Limitations to the design. Example: It must use materials that astronauts can bring to the Moon.
+
+**4. Activity:**
+- **Sketch Your Design:**
+    - Provide a large space for them to draw their solution to the problem of growing trees on the Moon.
+    - Encourage them to think about:
+        - **What materials would you use?**
+        - **How will the tree get water and air?**
+        - **Can you create a system to recycle air and water for the tree?**
+    - Prompt them with ideas like a **bubble dome**, a **watering system**, or using **solar panels** to power the tree's environment.
+
+**5. Write About Your Solution:**
+- Add a small section where they can write 2-3 sentences about **how their design works**.
+    - Example questions to prompt them:
+        - “How does your tree get air?”
+        - “How does your system protect the tree from UV rays?”
+        - “What materials will you use to build your solution?”
+
+**6. Bonus:**
+- **What if something breaks?** (Optional prompt for advanced thinking)
+    - Ask them to think about how astronauts or engineers could **fix** the system if something stops working.