Explore Moon to Mars: Space Food & Nutrition
Tuesday 11/23/2021
6:00 pm ET
Educators in Grades K-12
 

The NASA Educator Professional Development Collaborative at
Texas State University is providing a 1-hour webinar.
 

Come will learn about food and nutrition onboard the International Space Station and how this also impacts our Artemis planning for the Journey to back to the Moon and then on to Mars. Leave with a presentation ready powerpoint and activities that can be easily modified for the online classroom.

Explore NASA's Space Food using mathematics to investigate nutritional needs for astronauts onboard the International Space Station and long duration space flight. Calculate the impact of body type, age and exercise on an astronauts daily caloric needs. Investigate relationships between food packaging, serving sizes and product waste. Come enjoy a menu of inquiry-based activities designed to integrate food, nutrition and space as you satisfy your mathematics appetite.

Looking at NASA's Space Food will will talk about relevant connections to daily life by making connections between portion size, caloric content and nutritional value. Participants will calculate the energy needs using the basal metabolic rate (BMR) equation and the amount of daily exercise. Plan a daily menu that meets the calculated caloric needs using the current International Space Station menu. Using the weight of the food, calculate the cost to transport a balanced one-day menu. Extension activities include estimating serving size, calculating empty space, and percent difference.

Guidance regarding the use of instructional practices where the instructor is the expert guide and students are engaged with thinking about the content will be used as participants work through the learning process to find optimal solutions. Working first as an individual and then as part of a group, students will plan, estimate a serving and do cost analysis. With multiple levels of difficulty, differentiate learning can be tailored to meet student needs as they calculate the cost of this out of this world meal!

This educational activity aligns to the Co-STEM Priority Goal to improve STEM Instruction by supporting the existing STEM teacher workforce.  It also aligns to NASA Education API 2.4.2 - Continue to support STEM educators through the delivery of NASA education content and engagement in educator professional development opportunities.

 


Barbie Buckner is a 20+ year STEM classroom teacher with a Doctorate Degree in Mathematics Education from the University of Louisville. Her research interest include the impact of technology on student achievement and teacher behavior. Buckner recently served as a 2013-14 Einstein Fellow at the National Science Foundation Education and Human Resources Directorate where she collaborated with colleagues on learning, learning environments, broadening participating and workforce development. Barbie sees education as her calling and has spent her life sharing her love for learning with everyone around her. Knowing that today’s student will compete in a global economy, Barbie says that “It is imperative that today’s students are prepared with consistent, rigorous, and relevant standards that encourage more STEM majors, particularly women, to keep this great nation at the forefront in technology, innovation, and advancement.”