SCIENCE IN SPACE
Program Features
Science in Space
A Telescope Discovery & Design Challenge
The Science in Space program is designed to support under-represented genders in middle school to learn to learn about astronomy, to develop their identities as scientists and engineers, and to encourage creative collaboration among Canadian youth. This program is provided for free courtesy of McGill Physics & McGill Space Institute with support from Dell Technologies/Girls Who Game. Please email any feedback or questions to scienceinspace@physics.mcgill.ca.
ABOUT
Real, Creative Science
Over the course of 10 meetings, students will discover why telescopes are so varied and how Canadian women have contributed to astronomy. They will choose an astronomical phenomenon to study and design a telescope in the virtual Minecraft: Education Edition world. Science mentors will aid the students in the brainstorming and design process. The final result will be a showcase presentation highlighting the girls' creative scientific work.
PROGRAM RESOURCES
Our comprehensive guides will support your progression through the program at a standard or accelerated pace. They include helpful science resources, hyperlinks, timing, and daily formative reflection.
To organize your use of the program, we provide two easy-to-follow timelines within an aligned engineering design process. The program is broken into meetings that can be spaced apart as needed.
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Daily Minecraft Experiences
Minecraft is built into every meeting's agenda to keep the students engaged in learning Minecraft.
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Community & Teamwork
The program helps grow teamwork skill and community with two sessions of scaffolded peer-to-peer feedback, consistent mentor communication, and team goal-setting practices.
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Canadian Focus
Our program highlights Canadian telescopes, Canadian curriculum alignments, and important Canadian women in science and astronomy.
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Aligned Learning Objectives
Our objectives one-pager provides guidance on how Science in Space aligns with middle school curriculum.
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Differentiated Options
Options are provided throughout the teacher and facilitator guides for students with varied readiness and learning profile.