Below are some online educational products produced for NASA by Planners Collaborative, one of the Foundation's corporate sponsors. Each meets national education standards and offers a range of interactive learning experiences through live web events, design challenges, educational videos and animation, online quizzes, and the like. If you have any additional resources that you would like us to share, please send them to us at emailus@thinkthebest.org

Robin Whirlybird

This interactive children’s book allows children K-4 to learn about helicopters and other rotor-powered aircraft. Written in English, Spanish and Chinese, the site builds on the fascination of children with things that fly, like dragonflies and hummingbirds, in order to introduce basic concepts in aeronautics and rotorcraft.

The site has the look and feel of a children's book, with a story that revolves around a young girl named Robin who visits a NASA research center where her mother works as an engineer. During her visit, Robin explores the thinking behind aeronautical design, the physics of flight and the practical application of rotorcraft. Each page includes activities such as a simulated noise experiments, rotorcraft sounds and fact sheets, as well as puzzles and coloring pages.
rotored.arc.nasa.gov

Astro-Venture

Astro-Venture is an interactive educational environment highlighting NASA research and careers in Astronomy, Geology, Biology and Atmospheric Science. Students are transported to the future where they role play NASA occupations, and use the principles of scientific inquiry, to search for and build a planet for human habitation. Supporting activities include chats with real NASA scientists, online collaborations, classroom lessons, student publishing area and occupation fact sheets and trading cards.

‘Astro Ferret’ is a cartoon character who guides students through the site. Participants feel that they are part of the futuristic world by receiving information seamlessly, through use of graphics, audio, video and audio transcriptions.
astroventure.arc.nasa.gov

PSA

The Personal Satellite Assistant (PSA) is an exciting educational program that uses a volleyball-sized floating robot to introduce students to the science and math that helps to describe forces, matter, and motion. Real PSAs are being designed by NASA to provide astronauts with a robot assistant to help them with their daily tasks, including monitoring the environment on the space vehicle to venturing into situations that might be too dangerous for humans.

The site contains exciting lessons and activities in math, science, and engineering for students in grades 5-12. The activities give students a unique and fun vehicle to learn how forces and motion in space cause objects to move in ways very different from how they move on Earth.
psa.arc.nasa.gov

Future Flight Design

Future Flight Design is a web-based interactive, problem-solving learning environment where students in grades 5-8 learn about the four forces of flight and how to use that knowledge to design air transportation and aircraft systems of the future.

Students are also challenged to improve America’s air transportation system by becoming NASA researchers and designing the air transportation system of the future!

To encourage students to learn more about aerospace careers, fun "trading card" biographies highlight careers of real NASA aeronautical and aerospace engineers.
futureflight.arc.nasa.gov

Virtual Skies

Virtual Skies allows students to explore the world of air traffic management and learn more about NASA research in aviation operations systems and aviation safety.

The site captures students’ attention while teaching them geography, mathematics or science concepts. Through seven learning modules, students acquire and employ decision-making and collaborative skills while applying principles of algebra, geometry and calculus. The science portion of these cross-curricular materials include concepts involved in RADAR, sound and meteorology as it applies to flight. Each section includes on-line activities complemented by downloadable print materials that can be used in the classroom to supplement the geography, mathematics and science concepts. All activities correlate to the national standards in mathematics, science, geography and technology.
virtualskies.arc.nasa.gov