Toys in Microgravity from NASA
The podcast episode was about what happens to human bodies in microgravity and that would be hard to replicate at home. However, astronauts on board the International Space Station and on the Space Shuttle Endeavor have been experimenting with kids’ toys to help demonstrate how microgravity affects everyday objects.
If possible, gather the toys and test them to see how they work in normal gravity. Otherwise, the videos from NASA show astronauts on Earth playing with the toys first. Then, pause the video and take some time thinking about how the action of the toys may be affected by microgravity. Consider how the action of the toy is impacted by things like gravity, friction, and the action of simple machines.
You can download the International Toys in Space Video Resource Guide and Toys in Space II Video Resource Guide.
