Inquiring minds want to know about space travel...

The kindergarten students and I are following up on our interest in astronauts and space travel that started last week with Developing Inquiry with Kindergarten Students.  As the students and I read Astronaut Handbook more questions arose. This was inquiry in action!

This week, the students and I sought to answer some of their new questions. I pulled up some information I had found during the week, so we could move quickly from resource to resource.

We started the lesson by talking about research and how research starts with a question which means that they are researchers because they had questions and they needed answers. We talked about how researchers use many different resources to find answers to their questions. We used the books on my bench and then headed to the electronic resources.

Before we get to their questions and answers, I just have to share that the best part of the morning was sharing the NASA video tour of the International Space Station. Astronaut Suni Williams is a fabulous tour guide. We only had time for the first video and it answered most of their questions, but really all four videos would be amazing to watch with students.

This video explains how long it takes to get to the space station. It's in American Sign Language with captions, which is fabulous.

What follows are their questions with links to sites and encyclopedia that would answer them.

How many days does it take to get to the Space Station?

Three Days!

How many years do they train to be astronauts?  
At least two years. ~NASA

How old do you have to be?
There are no age restrictions for the program. Astronaut candidates selected in the past have ranged between the ages of 26 and 46, with the average age being 34. ~NASA

How do they go to the bathroom?
See the video above: NASA video tour of the International Space Station

How do they eat?
See the video above: NASA video tour of the International Space Station

Do they have a bed?
See the video above: NASA video tour of the International Space Station

What do they do once they get there?
Astronauts spend much of their time learning about space. Not every astronaut gets to travel into space. But some astronauts have lived on the space station. A few have been on the Moon. ~PebbleGo


I wonder why they have to wait so long to take off.
There is a ten minute window for them to take off and hit the correct orbit to meet up with the ISS. ~NASA

An added bonus this week from NASA, the super moon over Baikonur

Other NASA resources for working with students:

ISS Activity Book

NASA KNOWS: History K-4

NASA Image Gallery

Current Mission Information - ISS