Saturn Activities
The lessons below are teacher-favorite lessons focused on Saturn. 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.
Saturn Lessons:
Reading, Writing and Rings!: (Gr 3-4) #9 Drop Zone! Design and Test a Probe
Topic: Language Arts and Science
Grade Level: K-4
Body: Saturn
Mission: Cassini (Saturn)
Short Description: Using the information learned in lessons 6, 7 & 8 -- and their own creativity and problem solving skills -- students design and test a parachuting probe that will withstand a fall from a high point and land intact, be able to float in a liquid, descend slowly, and cost the least to launch into space. This series introduces science into a reading and writing curriculum.
Reading, Writing and Rings: Grades 1-2 Overview (Teacher Introduction)
Topic: Language Arts and Science
Grade Level: K-4
Body: Saturn
Mission: Cassini (Saturn)
Short Description: Information on Reading, Writing, and Rings, using science notebooks throughout the lessons, student assessment, student growth indicators, and a wealth of invaluable information to make your journey more exciting.
Be sure to download the "Introduction" found here.
Reading, Writing and Rings: Grades 3-4 Overview (Teacher Introduction)
Topic: Language Arts and Science
Grade Level: K-4
Body: Saturn
Mission: Cassini (Saturn)
Short Description: Information on Reading, Writing, and Rings, using science notebooks throughout the lessons, student assessment, student growth indicators, and a wealth of invaluable information to make your journey more exciting.
Sand or Rock
Topic: Planetary Surface Processes
Grade Level: 9-12
Body: Saturn
Mission: Cassini (Saturn)
Short Description: Participants understand how scientists remotely determine the composition of an object in outer space and observe the differences in thermal behavior making a series of temperature measurements and plotting the results.
Saturn Educator Guide -- Getting to Know Saturn: #2 Saturns Moons
Grade Level: 5-8, 9-12
Body: Saturn
Mission: Cassini (Saturn)
Short Description: Students use the data provided on a set of Saturn Moon Cards to compare Saturn's moons with Earth's moon, and to explore moon properties and physical relationships within a planet -- moon system. For example, the farther the moon is from the center of the planet, the slower its orbital speed, and the longer its orbital period. The lesson enables students to complete their own Moon Card for a mystery moon of Saturn whose size, mass and distance from the center of Saturn are specified.
Saturn Model
Topic: Modeling Solar System Objects
Grade Level: 5-8
Body: Saturn
Short Description: Participants create a model of Saturn using discarded CDs; they are then able to contemplate Saturn's rings using the fact sheet Why Does Saturn Have Rings?
Scattering: Seeing the Microscopic Among the Giants
Topic: Light and Spectra
Grade Level: K-4, 5-8
Body: Saturn
Mission: Cassini (Saturn)
Short Description: Participants observe that reflection from light comes from the objects around us. Participants will demonstrate how light waves pass through a medium to determine the size of particles using a laser beam and milk.
Size and Shape Imaged
Topic: Life
Body: Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Asteroids, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Comets, Kuiper Belt & Oort Cloud, Earth's Moon
Short Description: This activity contains a series of images of very small things. Students will view the images, hear the information from a script, and make some observations and connections. They will see Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) images of small living organisms and rock surfaces. Then, using their new perspective, they will view unidentified samples and speculate about the surfaces and the origins of the features in the images. The goal is to get the students to think about looking at very small objects and to realize
that observations are a great way to start scientific research.
Solar System Exploration Mission Timeline Activity
Topic: Modeling Solar System Objects
Grade Level: 5-8
Body: Our Solar System, Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Asteroids, Meteors & Meteorites, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Dwarf Planets, Comets, Kuiper Belt & Oort Cloud, Earth's Moon, Europa
Mission: ARTEMIS (Earth's Moon), Cassini (Saturn), Dawn (Dwarf Planets), DSN (Our Solar System), GRAIL (Earth's Moon), Hubble (Beyond Our Solar System), Huygens (Saturn), IBEX (Our Solar System), InSight (Mars), Juno (Jupiter), Lunar Recon Orbiter (Earth's Moon), MESSENGER (Mercury), NEAR Shoemaker (Asteroids), New Horizons (Dwarf Planets), Phoenix (Mars), Stardust (Comets), Venus Express (Venus), Viking 01 (Mars), Viking 02 (Mars), Voyager 1 (Our Solar System), Voyager 2 (Our Solar System)
Short Description: Extreme Exploration -- Solar System Exploration Missions Timeline involves students in the wide range of mission events of 2008-2015+. Using the Solar System Exploration Timeline poster as a guide, student teams research assigned missions and record events such as launch and landing, etc. It is expected that students will be drawn into the excitement of mission events as they follow along with NASA's Solar System Exploration -- past, current, and future.
The Cassini Robot
Topic: Modeling Solar System Objects
Grade Level: K-4
Body: Saturn
Short Description: Participants compare humans to robotic functions.
