Build a Mars Colony In Minecraft with Robots and Code? YES! In our middle school computer programming class, students are using Microsoft MakeCode in Minecraft Education to simulate the robotic 3D printing of buildings and farming greenhouses on Mars. This is the futuristic vision of NASA and ICON (a Texas-based 3D house construction company) for both Moon / lunar exploration and colonization, as well as fut...

Helping students understand how a traditional rocket is built in stages through hands-on, problem based engineering and design activities. This build will be supported by the book Pegasus, flying with a little help from my friends. Teachers will build a Pegasus rocket and it's payload from recycled materials. This is a STEAM activity created by a teacher for grades K-6. 

Tired of the same old plant growth lessons? Help spark student interest in agriculture using Space as the hook. When humans go to settle the Moon and Mars, they will have to eat. While some food may be flown in, we will have to learn to cultivate food on other worlds. Help students look at growing crops a whole new way as they use the experimental design process to plan and carry out investigations to cultiv...

The Coding Corner session utilizes five different platforms where participants can learn coding using the LEGO Spike, LEGO Essential, VEX Robotics, Parrot Mambo Drones, and Sphero Bolt. Participants will work through spatial modeling and map zones to complete tasks within the designed space settlement sectors using iPads and laptops. 

Pick up lunch at The Center for Space Education and enjoy time at the KSC Visitor Complex. Picnic tables and indoor dining locations are available for seating. The Center for Space Education will be closed from 12:00-1:15 p.m. 

As astronauts venture farther from Earth, and for longer periods, food will become increasingly critical. Crop production can supplement a packaged diet to provide additional nutrients and dietary variety for astronauts. Several unique challenges exist for growth of plants in microgravity and on other planetary surfaces, and teachers and students are helping NASA to solve these complex challenges. Testing with the Veggie and Advanced Plant Habitat chambers on t...