Comet Activities
The lessons below are teacher-favorite lessons focused on comets. For more search options or to search by other science target, missions and other criteria, visit our Fast Lesson Finder. You can also search by curriculum standards on our popular Curriculum Standards Quilts.
Comets Lessons:
Aerogello
Topic: Solar System Exploration
Grade Level: 5-8
Body: Comets
Mission: Stardust (Comets)
Short Description: Participants simulate and observe the collection of particles substituting gelatin for the aerogel. Aerogel is a silica dioxide gel with the lowest density solid known used on STARDUST to collect comet and interstellar dust particles.
Alka-Seltzer Rockets
Topic: Modeling Solar System Objects
Grade Level: 5-8
Body: Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Asteroids, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Comets, Kuiper Belt & Oort Cloud, Earth's Moon
Short Description: Using baking soda and vinegar, propel an object across the floor to introduce the idea of how things move through space.
Analyzing Elemental Abundances
Grade Level: 9-12
Body: Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Asteroids, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Comets, Kuiper Belt & Oort Cloud
Mission: Genesis (Our Solar System)
Short Description: Participants will practice and understand the use of ratios in describing the abundances of isotopes.
Build Your Own Comet
Topic: Modeling Solar System Objects
Grade Level: 5-8
Body: Comets
Mission: Deep Impact (Comets)
Short Description: Participants may assist leaders in constructing a comet of dry ice and dirt. The model can then be used to demonstrate why comets have tails and why the tail always points away from the sun, sublimation, orbits of comets, and concepts of radiation, pressure, and solar wind.
Comet Lingo Bingo (G9-12)
Grade Level: 9-12
Body: Comets
Mission: Stardust (Comets)
Short Description: These activities are designed to engage students in gathering a thorough and flexible knowledge of comet science, and to introduce the NASA missions of Discovery that are helping scientists and engineers expand that knowledge.
Student Comet Chronicle
Comet Lingo Bingo Boards
Comet Lingo Bingo Clues/Card
Comet on a Stick (Educator Guide)
Topic: Modeling Solar System Objects
Grade Level: 5-8
Body: Comets
Mission: Deep Impact (Comets)
Short Description: Students develop a model of a comet and use the same thought processes as a science and engineering team do to design and build missions. Students will use their model to test their theories about comets and then evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their comet model.
Comet on a Stick (Student Guide)
Topic: Modeling Solar System Objects
Grade Level: 5-8
Body: Comets
Mission: Deep Impact (Comets)
Short Description: Students develop a model of a comet and use the same thought processes as a science and engineering team do to design and build missions. Students will use their model to test their theories about comets and then evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their comet model.
Comet Origins and Travels
Topic: Solar System Formation
Grade Level: 5-8
Body: Comets
Mission: Stardust (Comets)
Short Description: Examine comet constitution and their origin.
Comet Sisters
Body: Comets
Short Description: In this story about comets some of what is told is true and some of what is told is what we think might be true. Also, some of it -- is just made up. See if your students can tell which is which.
Comparing Comets (Educator Guide)
Grade Level: 5-8, 9-12
Body: Comets
Mission: Deep Impact (Comets)
Short Description: This exercise allows students to compare and contrast the nucleus of two comets and listen to audio files of NASA scientists and middle-school students conducting the activity.
Scientists Audio Track
Student Audio Track 1
Student Audio Track 2
