NASA Launches Website for Teens

December 16, 2009 — Not sure where to start on that science fair project? Or just want to have fun and play a new game on the computer? Look no more. NASA has launched a new Web site that provides middle and high school students access to current NASA spacecraft data for use in school science projects, allows them to conduct real experiments with NASA scientists, and helps them locate space-related summer internships. Called Mission: Science, the site is designed to showcase NASA's educational science resources and encourage students to study and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math or STEM. "This site will allow teenagers, who have their own unique language and style, to get information faster and have fun at the same time," said Ruth Netting, manager of education and outreach activities in NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "NASA provides a vast amount of STEM information online for students of all ages, but this Web site boosts the content available for this age group." The Web site includes a variety of experiments students can do, from creating their own telescope or spectrometer, to designing, building and testing a paper pencil rocket, and a global warming experiment. The site also features social networking tools, links to enter science contests or participate in a monthly family science night at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, information about college research programs, and an array of NASA images, animation, videos and podcasts. You can also play Flash games and activities where you build your own spectrometer to discover gases by their spectral signature, check out the universe as seen by the eyes of NASA observatories through an interactive planisphere, or use your photos to create your own 3D images. In addition, you can learn about planets, stars, tropical twisters, space weather and more. NASA's Science Mission Directorate studies Earth, explores the planetary bodies of our solar system, examines the sun and its influence throughout the solar system and scans the universe to gauge its expanse while searching for Earth-like planets. Click here to access the Mission: Science Web site.

NASA’s new Mission: Science Web site is aimed at teenagers and provides middle and high school students access to current spacecraft data for use in school science projects and much more. Photo credit: NASA Whyville Spectrometer is one of several interactive games students can play on the Mission: Space Web site. Photo credit: NASA The Mission: Space Web site also includes an area where you can ask an astrobiologist, astrophysicist and others questions. Photo credit: NASA

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