Using spectroscopy and interactive games to teach Solar System science: A decade of NASA's Project SPECTRA!

Abstract:

NASA's Project SPECTRA! has been in existance for nearly a decade. It highlights mission data and uses interactive games to engage students in middle and high school grades. Students learn about the electromagnetic spectrum and how we use this information to glean information about Solar System objects, and their atmospheres and climates. The program uses data from Cassini, Mars orbiters and rovers (most recently MAVEN), Venus Express, and several Earth orbiters to bring concepts of planetary comparison into focus. Using both traditional paper and pencil lessons and Flash and app based games, students are asked to conduct open ended research, make sense of the data they are presented with, and make scientific observations and hypothesis based upon their explorations. This talk will demonstrate how games are used to engage students in this process. Project SPECTRA! is a NASA product available through NASAWavelength.org, and is aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).