Living in Spacesuits Workshop

Our Living in Spacesuits Workshop can be the perfect accompaniment to the Living in Space Stageshow or a wonderful stand-alone activity. In this workshop, students will learn about the layers of a NASA spacesuit—what materials are used and their functions—and why spacesuits are necessary. Students will even get to touch a real fabric sample on loan to us from NASA, showing the materials used in the different layers of the spacesuit. Students will look at and discuss images of spacesuits in action and a diagram of a spacesuit.

After this discussion, the students will be ready to experiment on spacesuit design. Breaking the class into small teams, students will conduct an experiment on the temperature control layer of the spacesuit. Using heat lamps, thermometers, rubber tubing, ice water and a little ingenuity, students will determine the optimum amount of tubing in the spacesuit’s cooling layer, learning the significance of this layer for the astronauts. Results will be tracked on a spreadsheet on our giant Smart Board, reinforcing the scientific method and the significance of interpreting data.

Curricular Links:
Grade 2: Hot and Cold Temperatures
Grade 7: Heat and Temperature, Characteristics of Living Things
Grade 9: Space Exploration

Learner Outcomes:
SpacePort closely matches its programs to Alberta Learning’s Programs of Study for elementary and junior high grades. We are always happy to fax or email a detailed outline of how our programs match Specific Learner Expectations (SLEs) and General Learner Expectations (GLEs) as established by Alberta Learning. Please call or email our Educational Program Director for further information.

Cool and relevant space facts:
Space is a dangerous place! Besides the problem of airlessness, there are millions of small meteoroid particles and debris from hundreds of space missions floating around in space. Due to the incredibly high speed of their orbits, even the smallest particle can be a dangerous projectile to spacecraft and spacewalking astronauts! Temperatures outside of the spacecraft range from minus 100 degrees Celsius to plus 120 degrees Celsius. Astronauts are exposed to intense solar radiation when outside of the spacecraft because they are outside of Earth’s protective atmosphere.

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