FACILITATORGUIDE
IceOrbs
Learningobjectives
Thisactivityexploresthefollowingideas:
• OceanworldsmaybethemostlikelyplacestodiscoverlifebeyondEarth.
• Scientiststhinkthatoceanworldshaveice-coldfrozenexteriors,andwarmer,liquidinteriors.
• Someastrobiologistsarestudyingoceanworldsforevidenceandsignsoflife.
Materials
• Iceorbs(preparedinadvance—seeinstructionsbelow)
• Plastictray
• Spongeandtowel
• Magnifyinglens
• Flashlight
• Toothpicks
• Paperclips
• OceanWorldsposter
• OceansBelowtheSurfaceandmooninformationsheets
• Optional:Insulatedbag(orcooler)
• Optional:Smallbowlstoholdtheballoonsinthefreezer,additionaltools
• Activityandfacilitatorguides
TheExploreSciencetoolkitcomescompletewithallnecessarymaterialsforthisactivity.Materials
arealsoreadilyavailabletocreateorrestockactivitykits.Graphicfilescanbedownloadedfrom
www.nisenet.org.Allothermaterialsareavailableatdiscountstores.
Advancepreparation
Twodaysaheadoftime,preparetheiceorbs.Youwillneed:
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Freezer
About10partyballoons(10balloonsisenoughforapprox.100visitorsover4hours)
Liquidwatercolor
Smallfunnel+confetti,chiaseeds,andtinsel
Waterfaucet
Metalbowl(optional)
Instructions:
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Add2to4dropsofliquidwatercolortotheinsideofeachballoon.
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Usethesmallfunneltoaddatinypinch(about¼teaspoon)ofconfetti,chiaseeds,andtinselto
theinsideofeachballoon.Lessismore!Donotaddtoomuch.
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Placetheneckoftheballoonoverafaucetandholdittightly.Slowlyturnonthetapandfillthe
balloonwithwater,untilitisabout6to8inchesindiameter.Besureyouaddenoughwaterto
getaroundshaperatherthananelongated(egg)shape.Pinchtheneckoftheballoonclosed
andcarefullyremoveitfromthefaucet.
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Releaseanyremainingairfromtheneckofyourballoonortheconfettiwon’tbeencasedinice.
Tieofftheballoon.Repeatfillinginstructionsfortheremainderoftheballoons.
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Placealltheballoonsinafreezer,leavingthemfortwodaysoruntilfrozen.Tip:Youcanrest
thefilledballoonsinasmallround-bottomedbowltohelpthemholdamoresphericalshape
whiletheyfreeze.Togettheroundestshape,freezetheballoonsknot-sidedown.
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Justbeforeyoustarttheactivity,cuttheneckoftheballoonsandpeeltheballoonsofftheice
orbs.Discardtheballoonsandplacetheiceballsintheinsulatedbag(orcooler).
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Whenyoustarttheactivity,placeacoupleiceorbsonthetrayforparticipantstoobserve.Keep
therestcoolintheinsulatedbagorcooler.
Safety
Theballoonsusedtopreparetheiceorbsarelatexsoindividualswithlatexallergiesshouldnotdothe
advancepreparationforthisactivity.Theactivityfacilitatorandparticipantswon’tcomeintocontact
withtheballoons,butbesuretoremoveallballoonresiduebeforetakingtheorbsontothefloor.
Watermeltingfromtheicecanbecomemessyandcouldposeasliphazard.Usethetowelunderneath
thetraytosoakupexcesswater.
Notestothepresenter
Thisactivityisdesignedtoallowopen-endedexplorationofthematerials.Encouragevisitorstomake
closeobservationsoftheiceandcompareitsfeaturestotheimagesofoceanworldsandmoons.
Youcanincludeothertoolsandprobesforyourvisitorsasthey’reexploring,butyoumaynotwant
themtoactuallyremovetheobjectshiddenintheice,sincerealresearcherscan’tdothatyeteither.
Ifyou’rebringingmultipleiceballsontothefloor,keepacoolernearbyforstorageand/ortokeep
themcoldbetweenvisitorgroups.Iceorbstypicallylastafewhoursindoors.
Conversationalprompts
Whileparticipantsareengagedwiththisactivityyoucanexploreadditionalcontenttogether.Share
withvisitorsthatinourquestforlifebeyondEarth,NASAscientistsmustthinkaboutourresponsibility
tolifeonotherworldsand/orlifehereonEarth.Thereareeveninternationalagreementsandtreaties
governingwhattoolscanbeusedtoexplorethesefar-offworlds.Engageparticipantsinconversation:
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OntherecentJunomissiontoJupiter,scientistsmadethedecisiontodeorbit—orcrash—the
spacecraftintoJupitertoavoidcontaminatingJupiter’smoonswithmicrobesfromEarth.Was
thistherightthingtodo?
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Whattoolsshouldweusetostudylifeonotherworldsifwefindit?Shouldwebringsamples
backtoEarthandriskendangeringspeciesnativetoourownplanet?
Difficultconcepts
Withthisactivity,itmaybeimportanttoremindparticipantsthatwehaven’tfoundlifeorsignsoflife
anywhereelseinthewholeuniverse.Somepeoplehavehadexperiences,heardaboutevents,orseen
popularmediathatsuggestextraterrestrialcreaturesexistandhaveevenvisitedEarth.Scientistshave
notvalidatedanyoftheseaccounts,sothecurrentscientificopinionisthatno“aliens”havebeen
foundorhavebeenincontactwithpeopleorplanetEarth.
However,scientistsdoexpectthatlifeexistsbeyondEarthandthatonedaywemayencounterit.
TherearemanyNASAresearchprogramslookingforevidenceoflifeinotherpartsoftheuniverse.If
wefindthem,livingorganismsonotherplanetsarelikelytolookverydifferentfrompeople,orthe
littlegreencreaturesofpopularculture.
Ifparticipantsbringupthingsthey’veexperiencedorhaveheardof,youmightsaysomethinglike,
“Yes,wehearlotsofstoriesandseemoviesaboutaliens,andthatmakesthemseemrealtous.But
rightnowscientistshaven’tbeenabletoverifyanyalienencounters,sowe’restilllookingforgood
evidenceoflifebeyondEarth.”Or,“Yes,sometimesweexperiencethingswecan’texplain,andwe
wonderifextraterrestrialscouldbeinvolved.Butrightnowscientistshaven’tbeenabletoverifyany
alienencounters,sowe’restilllookingforgoodevidenceoflifebeyondEarth.”
Stafftrainingresources
RefertotheTipsforLeadingHands-onActivitiessheetinyouractivitymaterials.
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Anactivitytrainingvideoisavailableatvimeo.com/191168571.
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Acontenttrainingvideoisavailableatvimeo.com/191171452.
TheNISENetworkhasacuratedlistofprograms,media,andprofessionaldevelopmentresourcesin
theNASAWavelengthDigitalLibrarythatdirectlyrelatetothetoolkit.Theseresourcescanbeviewed
anddownloadedfromnasawavelength.org/users/nisenet.
Creditsandrights
ThisactivitywasadaptedfromIceBalloons,developedbytheExploratorium.Retrievedfrom:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/afterschool/activities/index.php?activity=171.
EditedOceanWorldsInfographicpostercourtesyNASA/JPL-Caltech/KimOrrandusedunderapublic
domainlicense:http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/infographics/infographic.view.php?id=11262.
CassiniimageofEnceladuscourtesyNASA.
GalileoimagesofEuropacraterandmineralscourtesyNASA.
ArtistillustrationofJunospacecraftcourtesyNASA.
ArtistillustrationofEnceladusgeologycourtesyNASA.
ImageofimpactcrateronEuropacourtesyPRIL,NASA,andtheGalileoProject,andusedundera
publicdomainlicense:http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap970417.html.
DevelopedanddistributedbytheNationalInformalSTEMEducationNetwork.
Copyright2016,ScienceMuseumofMinnesota.PublishedunderaCreative
CommonsAttribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlikelicense:
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/
ThismaterialisbaseduponworksupportedbyNASAundercooperativeagreement
awardnumberNNX16AC67A.Anyopinions,findings,andconclusionsorrecommendationsexpressed
inthismaterialarethoseoftheauthor(s)anddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewoftheNational
AeronauticsandSpaceAdministration(NASA).