NASA Science Events and Activities
Let NASA bring the universe to you!
We’re inviting every student, educator, and lifelong learner to share in the excitement of scientific discovery and space exploration through unique opportunities from NASA’s Science Activation Program – a community-based approach to connect NASA science with learners of all ages. Check out these events and activities for educators, families, and students in kindergarten and up.
Upcoming Events & Activities
Multiple Dates Through November: Artemis ROADS III Professional Development Opportunities for Formal/Informal Educators
Intended Audience: Formal and Informal Educators
Interested in engaging your students in a nationwide Moon-related NASA challenge? Want to infuse NASA science into your after-school activities? Need Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-aligned science and engineering lesson plans?
The NASA Science Activation program’s Northwest Earth & Space Science Pathways project team invites formal and informal educators to participate in the Artemis ROADS (Rover Observation And Discoveries in Space) program, which helps learners explore Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) through hands-on activities (with lots of support for educators!).
This professional development opportunity offers flexible learning for formal and informal educators via Canvas coursework and three live sessions. Choose from various opportunities between August 24th, 2024 and November 2nd, 2024. Earn stipends, clock hours, and access to challenge materials!
Wednesday, September 25th, 2024: Night Sky Network Webinar – Europa Clipper | First NASA Mission to an Ocean World with Dr. Bonnie Buratti
Intended Audience: Formal & Informal Educators, Amateur Astronomers, & Learners of All Ages
Join NASA’s Night Sky Network on Wednesday, September 25th, at 9:00 p.m. EDT with Dr. Bonnie Buratti and learn about Jupiter’s moon Europa and what NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will investigate upon arrival in 2030.
Europa is one of the four moons of Jupiter discovered by Galileo in 1610. It almost certainly harbors a salty ocean underneath a thick ice crust. This ocean has all the requirements for a habitable zone where primitive life could potentially thrive: liquid water, energy in the form of chemical potentials, and organic molecules. Although Europa Clipper isn’t a life-detection mission, it is NASA’s first detailed exploration of an ocean world with an overarching goal of searching for a habitable zone. It will also study the geology, interior, and composition of Europa.
When: Wednesday, September 25th, 9:00 p.m. EDT
Tuesday, October 22nd, 2024: Spark Curiosity with Infiniscope's Free Resources!
Target Audience: Middle & High School Educators
Infiniscope is a NASA-funded project focused on sparking curiosity, fostering exploration, and delivering digital content and tools that transform the learning experience. NGSS-Designed digital learning experiences are just the beginning. Whether you want classroom-ready content or the tools and support to build your own, we've got you covered.
If you're a middle school or high school educator, join the webinars below and discover the incredible FREE resources waiting for you at Infiniscope.org. In this guided tour, you'll learn how to: search for classroom-ready content on the website, find educator resources and detailed lesson information, enroll students in lessons and collections, sign up for future training events, access the virtual field trip creator, and get more information on our adaptive lesson builder. Learn more about Infiniscope.
- Tuesday, October 22nd at 6 p.m. EDT: Intro to Infiniscope – Register
Monthly, Now through December: Heliophysics Big Year Webinars with NASA HEAT
Intended Audience: Formal and informal educators, science communicators, and other heliophysics enthusiasts
Once a month (usually on the first Tuesday), the Heliophysics Education Community meets online to share knowledge and opportunities. During the Heliophysics Big Year (HBY) – a global celebration of the Sun's influence on Earth and the entire solar system, beginning with the Annular Solar Eclipse on October 14, 2023, continuing through the Total Solar Eclipse on April 8, 2024, and concluding with the Parker Solar Probe’s closest approach to the Sun in December, 2024 – the meetings are structured to include short presentations by subject matter experts both inside and outside NASA.
These short monthly presentations help promote the understanding of heliophysics in alignment with monthly HBY themes . Presenters and team members from the NASA Science Activation program's NASA Heliophysics Education Activation Team (NASA HEAT) connect these themes with the Framework of Heliophysics Education in mind, mapping them directly to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) – a set of research-based science content standards for grades K–12.
Everyone is welcome to participate in upcoming presentations and topics on the following dates at 1 p.m. EDT:
- PASSED - 9/02/24 Environment and Sustainability – Solar Sail
- 10/15/24 Solar Cycle and Solar Max – National Solar Observatory
- 11/19/24 Bonus Science
- 12/03/24 Parker’s Perihelion
Tuesday, October 22nd, 2024: Website Accessibility Insights: A Student's Perspective
Intended Audience: College Students, Adult Learners, Formal Educators, Informal Educators, and Subject Matter Experts Interested in Web Accessibility
Join this webinar presented by the NASA Science Activation Program’s Diversability Action Group for a presentation by Jade Steele, a Sonoma State student volunteer with a certification in website accessibility. Jade will share her experience and insights from evaluating three websites—NASA’s Neurodiversity Network, the main EdEon group site, and afh.sonoma.edu—for accessibility.
This session is designed to provide valuable takeaways for anyone interested in web accessibility. Jade will present her findings over 15-20 minutes, followed by an open Q&A session where you can engage directly with her. This is an excellent opportunity to learn from a student's perspective on the importance of accessibility in web design.
The webinar is open to the public, and a recording will be shared with all registrants after the event. Don't miss this chance to listen, learn, and ask your questions about website accessibility!
When: Tuesday, October 22nd at 2 p.m. EDT
Tuesday, November 19th, 2024: Night Sky Network Webinar Series – Chandra's High-Energy Universe with Dr. Kimberly Arcand
Intended Audience: Learners Ages 12+
Join the NASA Night Sky Network on Tuesday, November 19th, at 8:00 p.m. EDT along with Dr. Kimberly Arcand where we’ll discuss 25 years of Chandra X-ray Observatory discoveries.
When: Tuesday, November 19th, at 8:00 p.m. EDT
Wednesday, December 18th, 2024: Night Sky Network Webinar Series – Astronomy Picture of the Day with Dr. Robert Nemiroff
Intended Audience: Learners Ages 12+
Join the NASA Night Sky Network on Wednesday, December 18th, 2024 at 9:00 p.m. EDT for our annual Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) webinar with Dr. Robert Nemiroff. The APOD archive contains the largest collection of annotated astronomical images on the internet.
When: Wednesday, December 18th, 2024 at 9:00 p.m. EDT
On-Demand Events & Activities
Learning & Educational Activities & Resources from NASA Science
Educators are invited to browse these Learning and Educational Activities and Resources from NASA Science (LEARN Science) for multiple grade-levels from early elementary through high school to discover awesome, ready-to-use activities and resources.
