Committed to inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers, NASA is dedicated to offering educators, like you, related resources and information which can be of good aid to your teaching.
We have compiled for you a list of NASA online educational resources that will hopefully help you engage your students in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math.
- Classroom of the Future (COTF)
NASA-sponsored Classroom of the Future (COTF) program at Wheeling Jesuit University provides you with educational materials and resources in mathematics, science, geography and technology education, which are consistent with the national educational reform movement.
It has a research section that will give you access to journal articles, conference papers, dissertations, technical reports, student papers and many more. The website also offers a Virtual Design Center that provides resources and guidelines for designing learning activities for scientific inquiry.
- Image Exchange (NIX)
A web-based search engine that has over 300,000 NASA online images from the various NASA centers, the website provides you access to its audio, movie/video, photo/image materials. Some of the major categories you can browse are: Aeronautics, Aircraft, Devices, Education, Facilities, People, Projects, Solar System and beyond, Space Flights, Wind Tunnels.
- Science@NASA
The website offers a newsletter, which will send to your email around 3-5 new stories on science and involvement projects
- U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission
In honor of the Wright brothers' first powered flight centennial, the website offers comprehensive information for aviation enthusiasts, educators, and students.
- NASA Quest
NASA Quest Online allows you to get to know scientists, engineers, technicians and other diverse NASA professionals. You can read their biographies and join in the chats to learn more about their careers at NASA.
Some of the details you can find are job description, how they got to be part of NASA, tips to students interested in a similar career, and some personal anecdotes to inspire students. It also has field journals that will give you a peek into their day-to-day and special activities.
An important and engaging feature of the website is the NASA Quest Challenges. They are interactive explorations aimed at engaging students in real scientific and engineering processes. Some examples of online challenges are:
- Virtual Skies – Engage students to solve real-life air traffic management problems.
- Moon Math – Invites students to design a lunar habitat while learning concepts of area, volume and proportion.
- Virtual Field Trip – Provides a multimedia application for exploration of areas on Earth identified as analog sites to regions on Mars.
- NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS)
The website offers students, educators, researchers access to NASA’s current and historical technical literature. Its three major STI collections are NACA (1915-1958), NASA (1958-present), and NASA Image eXchange (NIX) (1900-present).
The website also offers the following resources: conference papers, images, journal articles, photos, meeting papers, movies, patents, research reports, and technical videos.
- NASA Scientific and Technical Information Program
The website provides access to more than 3 million aerospace related references, including the latest and most important historical information about aerospace, aeronautics and related topics.
- Global Change Master Directory (GCMD)
The website offers a directory of Earth science data and services for students, teachers, and researchers. Some of the major categories you can browse are: Agriculture, Atmosphere, Biosphere, Climate Indicators, Cryosphere, Human Dimensions, Hydrosphere, Land Surface, Oceans, Paleoclimate, Solid Earth, Spectral / Engineering, and Sun-Earth Interactions.
- NASA Space Science Education Resource Directory
The Space Science Education Resource Directory provides access to NASA space science products which can be used in classrooms.
- Imagine Mars
The website provides teachers with information on Mars, lesson plans, and other resources for students’ projects. The website aims to help students understand the different planetary environment on Mars.
- Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle School Students (EarthKAM)
The website offers a spectacular collection of digital images of Earth taken from the International Space Station and the shuttle.
