Surviving an Asteroid - 10-Session STEM Enrichment Project

This document includes a minimum of 9 sessions for a STEM Club enrichment opportunity, based around the theme of surviving an asteroid impact. All sessions have been tested and optimised, and come with a clear integrated instruction practical manual for every session. The document is 12 pages and each student should get a copy for the project. Most stocked prep rooms should contain most if not all the equipment needed.

The weeks include:

1. Acids from the skies - Students test everyday items with an without a protective coating to see what helps to evade damage from hydrocholric acid.
2. Where did the sun go? - Students use pondweed to test the rate of photosynthesis under different conditions inluding before the asteroid (full light), during the asteroid (paper representing cloud of smoke) and hydrochloric acid representing acid rain.
3. Pathogen Tyranny - Students use aseptic technique to culture microorganisms to see what may have survived following the asteroid impact.
4. Pathogen Tyranny - part 2 - students calculate zones of inhibition surrounding the different antibiotic disks used in week 3. (optional week)
5. Extremophile Survival - Students search school grounds for moss to identify water bears under the microscope whilst learning about organism adaptability.
6. Artificial Sun - Students will use different coloured bulbs (or bulb coverings) to test the rate of growth of plants over time, students learn about photosynthesis and the visible light spectrum.
7. Artificial Sun - Part 2 (Optional) - Students measure growth rate of ‘crops’ from previous week.
8. Meteorite Simulation - Students use different size (radius and mass) objects dropped from different heights to calculate depth and width of craters, and the potential damage they could do if upscaled to an Earth setting.
9. Strawberry DNA Extraction - Students learn about DNA Mutations as a consequence of meteorite impact, DNA molecules and how to extract them from strawberries. This is a great, fun, and simple practical inquiry for students.
10. A New Home? - Students learn that Earth may no longer be inhabitable and instead must move to another planet. Students will test the ‘atmosphere’ of 3 different planets for oxygen, carbon dioxide, chlorine, and hydrogen using common gas tests (AQA GCSE Chemistry link).

These resources have been trialled and will work effectively at embedding a STEM Curriculum at your school, or for challenge weeks or curriculum enrichment

Practical inquiry must first undergo risk assessments in your department and be performed only with trained professionals, I accept no responsibility for what is done following the download of this resource - this resource is an example only and teacher’s must ensure their own safety measures are followed. **I take no responsibility for practical elements of this lesson – teachers must complete their own risk assessments and are entirely responsible for the safety of students. **