Travel the Solar System

RSTA

Hello, welcome to Rainier Space Travel Agency (RSTA). NASA has hired you to create travel brochures for the plants. Your job is to find out all the fascinating information about your planet to make living there appealing.

The Earth's population is booming and new colonies need to be built. Your brochures will help lead people to the plant most suited to their likes and needs.  

On this project your will work in teams of three to compose, correct, and print a travel brochure about one planet in our solar system.

First of all you will need to choose your job titles for your team.

Investigator- – is responsible for navigating the internet—using the mouse, maneuvering around the websites, etc…

Data Recorder—records all data NEATLY on charts, papers, etc…

Art Editor—assists on any data recording and searches for pictures and diagrams, charts pertaining to your plant, etc…

All of you will also be REPORTERS for your brochures. Each writing one-third of the articles.

You will be researching a planet on the internet and recording information onto a Planet Chart.

There is room for fun facts on your planet chart.  You are required to find three fun facts about your planet that are not listed on the planet chart already.

At the end of this WebQuest, there will be an evaluation for each group member to fill out about themselves and their group.  The teacher will also be filling out an evaluation on the projects presented and how well your group worked together.

This project will be part of your regular classroom grade in science so take it seriously and do your very best.

In this part of your job, you will be gathering facts for your planet.  You will investigate facts and record your data.  You will put this data into a fun, colorful and appealing tri-fold brochure using MS Publisher.  Have fun!

Step 1:

Using the following websites, record all needed information about your planet on you Plant Chart. On a separate piece of paper, record three or four fun facts about each planet that are not on the chart already.

http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769141.html

http://www.kidzone.ws/planets/index.htm

http://www.apples4theteacher.com/starwarp2.html

http://lessonplanspage.com/more/205mer.html

http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/doc.StarChild/solar_system_level1/planets.html

http://www.nineplanets.org/

Step 2:

The earth revolves once around the sun approximately every 365 days.  This is our “one year.” But other planets revolve slower or faster than the earth, making their “one year” come much slower or faster than ours.  Find out how many days it takes for your planet to rotate around the sun. Choose only one person from the group to record their age.  Check out the next website to find the age on your planet.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/age/index.html

Step 3:

Research how your planet got its name and record on fun facts page.  Find a picture of the god/goddess that your planet is named after.

http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769141.html

http://lessonplanspage.com/more/205mer.html

http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question48.html

Step 4:

Fun Stuff

Size of the world

http://www.rense.com/general72/size.htm

Space photos from NASA

http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/multimedia/gallery.cfm?&Page=23

Step 5:

Use the information you have gathered to create a travel brochure.  See the following link for setting up your brochure. Each member of your team should fill in one third on the front and one third on the back.  Ask your project engineer for pictures or diagrams to use in your article.

http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/Printing_Press/

Good Job! 

You have created beautiful and informative brochures.  NASA is thrilled to begin mailing these out to potential explorers.

You work has been hard and you have shown great perseverance.  You will go far with the attitudes and workmanship you have shown here.