Spacecraft Design: Beat the Heat!

For the test box:

• 1 thin piece of transparent Plexiglas for testing window (available at hardware stores)
• 1 medium-sized cardboard box, such as a copier paper box
• hairdryer
• duct or packaging tape
• paper towels or plastic liner, to catch drips in the bottom of the box

CopyrightCopyright 2007 Denise W. Carlson, ITL Program, University of Colorado at Boulder.

Each group needs:

• 1 thin square pat of butter
• plastic egg, or another small closed plastic container to represent a space capsule or probe

For the entire class to share:

• scissors
• masking tape
• glue
• construction paper
• aluminum foil
• toothpicks
• assortment of balsa wood, fabric and cardboard pieces
• assortment of Styrofoam cups
• thermometer to measure inside test box temperature
• oven mitt, to remove warmed space capsule form the test box
• timing device