A Lunar Colony in the Playground: Low-cost Exploration Simulations
- Paper number
IAC-06-E1.P.1.05
- Author
Ms. Kerrie Dougherty, Power House Museum, Australia
- Coauthor
Ms. Jennie Young, Arndell Anglican College, Australia
- Year
2006
- Abstract
Providing stimulating, hands-on activities for students is an important component of a quality education, yet financial restrictions imposed by limited budget resources can hamper a school’s ability to deliver experiences of this sort. One small, independent Australian school, Arndell Anglican College, has sought to overcome its budget limitations by developing innovative, low-cost space education projects, one of which is outlined in this paper. The Arndell Lunar Colony project was inspired by plans, freely available on the internet, for simple geodesic domes constructed from corrugated cardboard. These plans were utilised for a project that would use a number of these cheap-to-construct domes as the basis for a ‘lunar colony’ simulation in which the participating students would fulfil the roles of scientists and astronauts living and working on a Moon base. The project consisted of a number of domes, each of which served as a module with a specific function in the colony simulation. In addition to representing different sections of the Moon base, one dome was set up to function as a ‘spaceflight simulator’ and another was designed to allow a Moonwalk simulation. Because of their simple nature, these modules are multi-functional and can be equally well used to model a Martian colony or a possible long duration spaceflight scenario. A single module can also be used as a small, portable planetarium. In the Lunar Colony simulation, participating students from Years 5 to 11 were encouraged to research what life would be like in a lunar colony and then present the results of this research through role-play in the colony domes, acting out the daily work and recreation of a lunar base team for other students visiting the simulator. During their background research, the students studied both the historical importance of the Apollo program and its findings and future lunar research, including what a Human return to the Moon might involve. The project provided a unique learning opportunity for the students of Arndell College and also created a set of resources that can be used for future simulation projects, or loaned out to other schools for similar programs. This paper will detail the aims, objectives and outcomes of the Arndell College Lunar Colony Project and describe the contents of the colony modules and the operation of the simulation. It will provide access to the source materials on the internet and present ways in which schools with limited budgets can source the necessary materials cheaply, or free of charge.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-E1.P.1.05.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.