We wrapped most of our mission today. Finishing touches were put to our Apollo 11 writing assignment. We hope to publish a few of them in the coming days.

We had been hoping to get a class or two to visit us but this has been put off to Monday. We simply had too many habitats to get ready and we were having far too much fun using the iPad to explore the Moon in Augmented Reality. We'll have a full video of our week to share next week but in the meantime here are a few images of our goings on. 

We messed about with a bit with the Green Screen too so we should have a pretty epic class photo to share in the new week too.

Cormac has had a great Space week again. So he might be nice to them on the homework front some day this week. :)

Today we finally began building our Saturn V Rocket. It's going to take a little longer than anticipated so hopefully we will have some photos tomorrow. In the meantime we've included some photos from todays work.

Today we also looked at the different phases of the Moon so hopefully the children will be able to look up at the sky in the future and tell you exactly what phase the Moon is in.

We also began our lives as news reporters today and began a recount of the Apollo 11 Mission. We're hoping to out some of these on the blog in the coming days.

We've also started work on a moon model at the back of the classroom. David is bringing some of his artistic talents to this project and together with Ronan they are busy creating what I think is the nicest display I've ever had in a classroom. Just a few photos of this for the moment until it is all done.
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Finally we used an Augmented Reality app to create a portal in the Halla which brought us on to the Moon along side Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. The kids will get a better chance to explore this tomorrow.

Today we looked at how the moon was formed and how it affects tides here on Earth. We also made our very own rockets. For a class who do a lot of talking some seemed to be short of a good breath. They have been given the chance to practice at home to redeem themselves tomorrow. :)

We also used some Augmented Reality to bring the Saturn V Rocket to life in our classroom. we will be doing some more of this on Friday with the children attempting to land the lunar Lander and beat Cormac's top score. :)

You can see a video of our adventure today below as well as some footage I got of the Moon this evening.

Today we looked at the Apollo 11 Mission to the Moon. We looked at the incredible journey Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins took to become the first humans to walk on the surface of the Moon.

We also looked at the flimsy spacecraft that helped Armstrong and Aldrin land, the Lunar Lander (Eagle). Then we had a go at building our own. The task was simple. Design and build a lander capable of landing right side up and as softly as possible. Normally we do this experiment with an egg as the passenger and in past years the children have used parachutes. todays passengers were a little softer (two marshmallows). As there is no air on the moon todays task was a little trickier. But the children did an amazing job. Today we tested them at a height of 1 metre. Tomorrow we will be trying for a height a little greater. We will also have our first epic class video to share with you.

We also listened to some music inspired by the Moon. From Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy to the Piano Sonata by Beethoven and Moonlight (Four Sea Interludes) by Benjamin Britten it was another day full of stories of the Moon. And we're not done yet. :)

Today we kicked off Space Week 2019 by looking back at the Apollo 13 mission to the Moon. This is the one that didn't quite make it but was still a huge success for NASA. We also watched some videos of the enormous Saturn V Rocket taking off as well as looking at how the weight of objects is affected in space.

The children were also given their assignment for the week. At home I am asking them to design and build a habitat for living on Mars. Today also happened to be World Habitat Day (a nice coincidence). They can make the habitat with any materials they choose. Some have even said they might create it digitally using things like Minecraft. All that I ask is that they think about their habitat and what it needs for astronauts to survive. It won't be enough to come back with a box with windows in it. They can spend as long as they like on this project but if they can get them done by Friday it would be great as we will have visitors from other classes coming to see what we have been up to during the week.

I've attached some links below for the children to look at during the week. The main thing I want from this week is to be curious. There are no set learning targets but I would love the children to try and learn something about the Moon during the week that they can share with the class. If you happen to have a telescope or binoculars at home let them have a look at the moon some evening. I have lots of other activities planned for them during the week so keep an eye on this page for all our adventures.

NASA Moon Page
NASA Paper Models
Main NASA Page
The Lunar Lander
National Geographic
Science Kids
Moon Facts

Remember-Look Up. :)

One of our teacher, Cormac's favourite weeks of the year Space Week is coming between the 4th and 10th of October. This year 5A will be looking at the Moon in celebration of the 50th anniversary earlier this year of the Apollo 11 mission to our nearest neighbour.