< Space Hazards

How to Teach These Units

Take a little time to prepare and get ready to teach. The pages linked below give you an easy-to-follow checklist and resources that get you prepared for facilitating PLANETS activities.

2. Everyday Gloves

Learners try doing simple tasks wearing different kinds of gloves and compare results. Learners then find out about space hazards and spacesuit design.

Guiding Question

Which gloves work best for everyday tasks?

Adventure Downloads

Adventure Timing

10 MIN. Get Ready & Team Up

50 MIN. Which Glove Works Best?

15 MIN. Reflect

75 MIN. TOTAL

Setup: Prep Time 55 min.

  • Set up materials stations.
  • Print handouts.
  • Prepare ice and sponges for upcoming adventures, as noted in Materials & Preparation.

*See Materials & Preparation in the Educator Guide linked above for full info.

21st Century Skills

  • Collaboration

Habits of Mind

  • Collaborate effectively
  • Construct models and simulations

Learners Will Do

  • Connect test results for different gloves with the performance of spacesuits that protect astronauts from space hazards.

Learners Will Know

  • Engineers design technologies that protect people from different hazards.

Connecting Across Adventures

  • Adventure 1: Sharing Experiences: Last time, learners shared experiences with and stories about making hazards safer.
  • Adventure 1: Everyday Gloves: Today, learners do simple tasks wearing different gloves and compare results. Then they learn how spacesuit gloves protect astronauts from space hazards.
  • Adventure 2: Protecting Against Cold: Next time, learners will test different materials to see how well they protect against cold temperatures. Later, they’ll use that info to design space gloves.

Related Video

NASA Spacesuit Development

Level Up! (Optional)

  • Translatable station instructions are available in the How to Prepare and Teach Playlist

  • Refer to the Engineering Design Process (PDF). Ask: What phases of the Engineering Design Process did you use today? (The Ask phase. We asked which gloves are best for which uses.) (5 min.)

    ● If you can, show the NASA video #AskNASA | What Are the Next Generation Spacesuits? (3:32) to help learners understand how NASA engineers design spacesuits to meet the needs of astronauts. The video mentions the testing of five spacesuit materials on Mars, happening now on the Perseverance rover. Learners will be testing materials in Adventures 3, 4, and 5. (5 min.)

    ● Ask this story prompt: Can you tell me a story about another time when using the right tool or clothing made something way easier for you? Tell learners, if anyone asks what they did today, they can say “we tried to do things wearing different types of gloves in the same way that NASA tests spacesuits for astronauts,” and then ask them the above story prompt. Consider returning to learners’ ideas at the start of the next adventure. (5 min.)

    ● Get families or a community member involved to share relevant stories of engineering. Download customizable flyers and get ideas on the Space Hazards Family and Community Connections (weblink). (45 min.)