Shipborn

Teaching Resources

Shipborn opens in the asteroid belt. Locate a model or diagram of the Solar System. Look between Mars and Jupiter for the Asteroid Belt. Is it marked? Why do you thin it is left off most models of the solar system?
Look at sites like solstation.com or starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov. Write a report about the asteroid belt.
Imagine that you live on one of the space stations that Katy and Sam visit. What would your life be like? Write a diary entry for a typical day.
The International Space Station is a real space station where people work and live. It is being constructed by many nations working together. It will probably be the launching site for any human missions to Mars. Have a look at the station at www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/
Katy's ship, the Aquarius, gets a kind of fake gravity by spinning around. This uses something called centrifugal force. You can try it. Take a small basket with a handle and put something unbreakable inside, like a fluffy toy. Now swing the basket in a big circle up and down. If you swing fast, nothing will fall out, but if you swing slow... Try it at different speeds and different weights of objects and see what happens. Write a report of the results of your experiment.
It is better to live on a planet than on a space ship. Debate.
The rooms in the Aquarius are painted in many bright colours. Design a room for yourself, either by drawing/painting or by making a model. Remember to put a copy of all your furniture on the ceiling!