Solar Storm Research Project - This is a major hands-on activity that lets students explore a complete record of the major storms during the current sunspot cycle (1996-2003) using data from satellites and ground-based instruments. The data archive is in the form of an Excel Spreadsheet. Sample questions and topics to explore are provided. (Recommended grade levels 8 - 12).

These activities explain the magnetic field of Earth, which is the basic ingredient to forming the van Allen belts:

• Playing with Magnetism - by Ms. Annie DiMarco (Grade K-5)
  Simple activities involving bar magnets and the classical Tiron filingU method of seeing magnetic fields. This is an important set of activities because it helps students visualize magnetic fields, and experience their effects in hands-on activities.
• Electricity and Magnetism - by Mr. Tom Smith (Grade 6-8)
  A basic lab activity involving a battery, nail and wire to explore the properties of electromagnets. This is an important concept-building activity that lets students see how currents of charges create magnetic fields P the central mechanism for producing magnetic fields within the Earth, Sun and stars.
• The Wandering Magnetic Pole - by Mr. Bill Pine (Grade 9-12)
  Students learn that the magnetic field of Earth is not fixed in space and time, but that it moves in a dramatic and measurable way. This activity helps students see this motion by plotting the location of the north magnetic pole in "polar" coordinates.
• The Motion of the Magnetic Pole - by Ms. Susan Higley (Grade 6-9)
  Students learn about the movement of EarthUs magnetic poles by plotting the location of the north magnetic pole in geographic coordinates (longitude and latitude), based on actual scientific data.

These activities describe the Earth's magnetosphere:

• The Magnetosphere and its Scale - by Mr. Tom Smith (Grade 6-8)
  An activity in which students study the scale of the magnetosphere and learn about its various parts.
• A Soda Bottle Magnetometer - by Ms. Sue Higley (Grade 6-12)
  A popular, and award-winning activity in which students build an inexpensive instrument ($5.00) which lets them measure changes in EarthUs magnetic field during solar storms.
• Investigating Earth magnetosphere - by Mr. Bill Pine (Grade 9-12)
  A high-level introduction to the phenomena associated with EarthUs magnetic field in space, including a discussion of magnetic TreconnectionU which is the origin for aurora and various systems of charged particles near Earth in space.
• The Magnetopause Boundary - by Mr. Bill Pine (Grade 10-12)
  Students learn about the way in which the magnetosphere changes during a solar storm.

These activities describe the effects caused by solar storms acting on the magnetosphere:

• Magnetic Storms from the Ground - by Ms. Sue Higley (Grade 6-8)
  Students use actual scientific data to study how magnetic storms are measured, and studied to learn about solar storms and their terrestrial impacts.
• Magnetic Storms and the Sunspot Cycle - by Ms. Sue Higley (Grade 6-9)
  Magnetic storms on Earth are caused by solar storms. This activity lets students explore the Kp index, which measures the amount of magnetic disturbance detectable by magnetometers on Earth.
• The Aurora as a Simple Electric Circuit - by Mr. Bill Pine (Grade 10-12)
  Students explore the aurora circuit in which disturbances in the magnetotail (battery) cause 1000-volt currents carrying a million amperes to flow along the magnetic field of Earth (wires) and generate aurora (a 100 gigawatt light bulb!). Simple calculations let students explore the power generated by the magnetotail and how the currents generate auroral lights. Review of simple algebraic equations and scientific notation.
• Student 'space weather' Observation Network - by NASA-SECEF
  A link to a related space weather student network at NASA.

These activities describe the human impacts of radiation caused by cosmic rays, trapped particles and other extra-terrestrial sources:

• Cosmic radiation and Air Travel - Radiation belts are a source of energetic particles which can affect humans in space. During intense solar flares, airline crews and passengers can also receive surprisingly high doses of radiation. This reading activity explores several aspects of this problem.

The activities above were written by middle school and high school teachers in collaboration with NASA astronomer Dr. Sten Odenwald (IMAGE/Solar-B/Themis).

• Ms. Annie DiMarco, Holy Redeemer Elementary School, Kensington Maryland
• Ms. Sue Higley, Cherry Hill Middle School, Elkton, Maryland
• Mr. Tom Smith, Parkview Middle School, Gaithersburg Maryland
• Mr. Bill Pine, Chaffey High School, Ontario California