Asteroids and Meteorites

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Introduction

National Middle School Science Standards

Earth Science, Physical Science

Key Terms

geology, meteorites, asteroids, minerals, space missions, orbit, solar system history

Key Concepts

Evidence from meteorites about Earth's formation
Characteristics of meteorites, meteors, asteroids
Mineral origins of the universe
Importance of space missions for astronomy
Technology used by meteoriticists

Resource Types

Videos and Webcasts

Meteorites and Spacecraft Missions; with Smithsonian Geologist Tim McCoy on Smithsonian Science How
Exploring the Solar System with Antarctic Meteorites with Smithsonian geologist Cari Corrigan on Smithsonian Science How
STEM in 30 Webcasts National Air and Space Museum
The Dawn Flight Team – 2014 NASM Trophy Winner Smithsonian Insider
The Smithsonian’s Tim McCoy discussing Allende’s diamond dust Neesha Schnepf, YouTube

Printable Lessons

The Universe: An Introduction Smithsonian Education
The Sky is Falling NASA Summer of Innovation Unit (PDF)
Leftovers from Planet Building: Asteroids NASA

Posters and Worksheets

What's That Space Rock? National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Online Activities

Astrogeology - Meteorites and Spacecraft Missions Smithsonian Learning Lab

Science Literacy Resources

Middle School Level

Russian Meteor Q&A with Smithsonian Expert Marc Fries Smithsonian Insider

High School Level

Give Us the Telescope and We’ll Find the Asteroid Mines! Smithsonian Insider
Age and Origin of the Solar System: Clues from Meteorites University of California
Asteroid Diversity = "Snow Globe" Solar System Smithsonian Insider
Chicken Little Was Right Blog from National Air and Space Museum
Ancient Native American Beads Traced to Otherworldy Source: An Iron Meteorite Smithsonian Insider

Advanced Reading Level

Pieces of Rare Meteorite Land at Five Different Academic Institutions Smithsonian Insider
The Ancient Egyptians Had Iron because they Harvested Fallen Meteors Smithsonian Magazine
Iowa Meteorite Crater Confirmed Smithsonian Insider
A Meteorite Older Than Earth Could Tell Us How Planets Were Made Smithsonian Air and Space Magazine
Asteroids: Breaking Up is Hard to Do Smithsonian Insider

Subject Guides

Geosciences Subject Guide Smithsonian Libraries

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

The Asteroids and Meteorites teaching resources support students in meeting the following middle school NGSS Performance Expectations.

Earth Science

MS-ESS1 Earth's Place in the Universe

MS-ESS1-2 Develop and use a model to describe the role of gravity in the motions within galaxies and the solar system.
MS-ESS1-3 Analyze and interpret data to determine scale properties of objects in the solar system.
MS-ESS1-4 Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence from rock strata for how the geologic time scale is used to organize Earth's 4.6-billion-year-old history.

Physical Science

MS-PS2 Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions

MS-PS2-1 Apply Newton's Third Law to design a solution to a problem involving the motion of two colliding objects.
MS-PS2-2 Plan an investigation to provide evidence that the change in an object's motion depends on the sum of the forces on the object and the mass of the object.
MS-PS2-4 Construct and present arguments using evidence to support the claim that gravitational interactions are attractive and depend on the masses of interacting objects.

Resource Type