Cross-Divisional Project Inspires Curiosity for Space Exploration

The Space Exploration Exhibit is a cross-divisional collaborative project between St. Margaret’s Upper School astronomy students and grade 3 science students. The Space Exploration Exhibit displays hand-built physical models of past, present, and future space missions, and is specifically designed for Lower School students to spark curiosity about the vast universe, invoke a sense of wonder about the unknown, and highlight the process of scientific discovery.  

 

The project was developed through an Innovation Summer Grant where teachers spend time over the summer working on innovative projects designed to enrich and elevate the student learning experience through experiential and interdisciplinary learning, the integration of emerging technologies into the curriculum, or creating opportunities for cross-divisional collaboration. 

 

The exhibit featured models of various targets in the Solar System which humans have explored or will explore with scientific instrumentation on spacecrafts. The astronomy students created models of the mission targets like planets, asteroids or moons that illustrate the key scientific questions or discoveries of their selected space mission. The grade 3 students engineered small replicas of the mission-specific spacecraft.  

 

Leading up to the exhibit, both Upper School astronomy students and grade 3 science students read books about the planets and created and played with spinning planet tops to illustrate planet rotation.

 

The cross-divisional collaboration sparks more than just curiosity; it also ignites an opportunity to engage with each other as Lower School science teacher David Beshk explains, “Dr. Stephanie Capen and I were discussing our space and solar system units we each taught. The idea of collaboration was born from those conversations. We thought it would be engaging and memorable if we could have our students work together on a space exploration unit of study.”

 

Upper School astronomy students began the project by conducting research on past, present, or future space missions such as Europa Clipper, Artemis, Cassini and New Horizons to name a few. The Upper School astronomy students put together mission research briefs highlighting the type of mission, key facts about the mission target, and what students discovered or hoped to discover as a result of the space mission. 

 

The mission research briefs were delivered to Lower School science teacher Mr. Beshk's classroom, as part of the next phase. Grade 3 students were the engineers who designed a small replica of the spacecraft. 

 

The Upper School and grade 3 students' opportunity to build relationships through the study of astronomy highlights St. Margaret’s unique preK-12 campus. “This is one of the biggest blessings we have at St. Margaret’s,” Mr. Beshk said. 

 

The culmination of all the research, designing, building, and playing launched the Space Exploration Exhibit into a valuable experience. The Lower School classes walked through the exhibit with the opportunity to see and touch the models, while discovering and stimulating more interest about astronomy and the Solar System. 

 

Mr. Beshk remarks, “The exhibit enhances the experience in many ways. First, it brings Upper School and Lower School students together around a common topic. This creates conversations and fosters memorable relationships. Additionally, it creates cross-divisional collaboration that sparks creativity and a sense of teamwork between Lower School grade 3 Students and Upper School students.” 

 

The Space Exploration Exhibit will be on display in the Lower School Science Lab at the upcoming STEAM Expo on Saturday, May 10.