Do you need proof that driving is a dangerous activity? More Americans have died in car crashes over the past 100 years than in all the wars the U.S. has ever fought combined. More than 40,000 Americans die each year on the nation's highways, most as the result of high-speed collisions. In this video segment adapted from NOVA, learn how engineers developed the air bag, an important automobile-safety device now found in most cars.
Recommended for: Grades 3-12

The AirData Web site gives you access to air pollution data for the entire United States. Want to know the highest ozone level measured in your state last year? Ever wonder where air pollution monitoring sites are located? Are there sources of air pollution in your town? You can find out here! AirData produces reports and maps of air pollution data based on criteria that you specify.

By watching and performing several simple experiments, students develop an understanding of the properties of air: it has mass, it takes up space, it can move, it exerts pressure, it can do work.

This is a series of investigations about air and its properties. How air exists all around us, and things it is capable of doing.

What effect does geography have on air quality? Use this model to explore the effect of point-source pollution, geography, and wind on regional air quality.

What causes an area to have poor air quality? Use this model to explore the connections between pollution sources, weather, geography, and air quality. Discover which weather condition causes the development of additional air pollutants. Compare the effects of two different pollution sources, pollution-control devices, and changing weather conditions on the air quality over a city.

In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members make their own hovercraft and demonstrate how the air leaking out of a balloon can make a plastic plate hover above a table.

Air pressure is pushing on us all the time although we do not usually notice it. In this activity, students learn about the units of pressure and get a sense of just how much air pressure is pushing on them.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students learn about particle pollution.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson introduces students to gain elementary knowledge about air pollution, its sources, and implications on air quality. It provides critical insights on the impacts it has on low-income communities of Los Angeles. The lesson materials are well-written and cited. Thus, this lesson has passed our science review.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson dives deeper into the concept of air pollution and how to monitor air quality.
-This lesson involves movement and allows kids to have fun while learning about something serious.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-You will need to prepare the appropriate materials for The Cilia Game before class begins.
-The Cilia Game is quite silly. Be prepared for some laughs as the "cilia" try to defend the "lungs"!
-Cilia are tiny hair-like structures in our respiratory system that protect our lungs from foreign matter like particle pollution.
-In this lesson we use the term "particle pollution." This is usually referred to as "particulate pollution" or "particulate matter." For the purposes of this lesson, we have decided to use the simpler "particle pollution."
-"Air pollution" is kind of a catchall term, referring to things like ozone, particulate matter, and even greenhouse gases. This can be tricky for elementary students to sort out. The purpose of this lesson is for students to better understand particulate matter.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Curious students may want more time to explore the interactive map of air quality.
-Students who complete their journal entry early can make their own air quality monitor.
-Be sensitive to your students' health situation. Some students with asthma or who know someone with asthma may find it difficult to learn more about this topic.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students connect air quality with environmental justice.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson introduces the relationship between environment and justice. Students understand if their community is healthy and what to do to create a fair, just, equitable, and sustainable planet for all to thrive. Additional materials are suitable to broaden their understanding on a wide range of topics such as segregation, the connection between climate and justice, racial justice, and social justice. All materials in this lesson are properly cited and are void of scientific contradictions. In this light, this lesson has passed our science credibility process.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson allows students to create their own meaning of environmental justice before viewing the explanatory video.
-The EPA's Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool is amazing. Students will love it.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-The video explaining environmental justice might be tough for 3rd-5th graders to understand. Students should understand the core message in the video, even if they might not understand all the details.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Some students may want more time to explore the EPA's Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool.
-The reflection journal at the end of the lesson has options for student creativity and imagination.

Students learn what causes air pollution and how to investigate the different pollutants that exist, such as toxic gases and particulate matter. They investigate the technologies developed by engineers to reduce air pollution.

In this edition museum curator Jennifer Levasseur, NASA chief historian Bill Barry, and astronaut Michael López-Alegría discuss the first American spacewalk.

Animals have been a part of aviation and space travel since the very beginning. Hear stories about animals in aerospace including dogs, cats, lions, and bugs all from two VERY special hosts.

This live Q&A was filmed on 11-20-19 as a follow up to the STEM in 30 Episode - Apollo 12: The Shocking Story.

Join Captain Jim Lovell, Commander of Apollo 13 and National Air and Space Museum curator Dr. Teasel Muir-Harmony for a discussion about Apollo 13. This live chat was recorded on April 16th, 2020.

In this edition NASA Astronaut Randy "Komarade" Bresnik discusses the Artemis program which will land the first woman and next man on the Moon, and takes viewer questions.

Tune in as we talk to NASA astronauts who launched to the International Space Station on the first operational crewed flight of a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft (Crew-1).

What is an eclipse? When is the next meteor shower? How can I find Jupiter in the night sky? Tune in to hear these questions and more answered!

Have you ever wondered how bees fly? Or what use their honeycomb structures have outside of a bee hive? Join us in conversation with Dr. Holly Walker and Imad Atallan.