Space thread challenge.

In "Far-Out Fashion" (p. 8), you learned that astronauts need sturdy spacesuits to help protect them from the harsh environments in space. But the protective gear could be bulky, limiting an astronaut's ability to move around. Here's a challenge: Follow the steps below to come up with a design for a warm, yet thin, "space glove." Then, present your design idea in a classroom "Space Inventors' Conference."

PART A: DESIGN IT

Your mission: Follow the instructions below to design two space gloves. These mitts must use insulation to keep the air inside the mitts warm. The insulation material must also be soft and thin enough to give the glove wearer's hand flexibility. Then, compare the two gloves to find which one worked best.

YOU NEED

thermometer * clock or stopwatch * 6 plastic bags (press sealable, quart-size) * duct or packing tape * large bowl * bucket of ice

Suggested insulation material:

cardboard strips * feathers * Styrofoam packing peanuts * pieces of cloth (strips of old clothing) * shredded newspaper/construction paper * tin foil * vegetable shortening * cotton balls

PROCEDURE

1. Turn a sealable plastic bag inside out. Place this bag inside another sealable bag and "zip" the two bags together to form a mitt. This mitt has no insulation--it is your control.

2. Using the thermometer, record the room temperature in the data table below. Then place the thermometer into the mitt. Fold the tops of the bag down and use tape to seal the mitt's opening.

3. Empty 3 cups of ice into the bowl and place the mitt on top of the ice. Then pour 2 cups of ice over the mitt.

4. Wait 2 minutes and remove the mitt from the ice. Quickly open the mitt, take out the thermometer and record the temperature in the table below.

5. Then, quickly put the thermometer back inside the mitt, re-seal the mitt, and cover the mitt again with ice.

6. Repeat Steps 4 to 5. Then repeat Step 4 once more.

7. Get a new sealable plastic bag and turn it inside out. Place this bag inside another sealable bag.

8. Select insulation material. It could be made of one or more materials. Stuff insulation between the bags. Then, zip them together to form an insulated mitt. Repeat Steps 2 to 6.

9. Repeat Step 7 to make a new mitt. Choose new insulation materials and repeat Step 8.

10. Write a description of each glove's insulation material in the table.

CONCLUSIONS

Which insulation material worked best? Evaluate both gloves and write down the pros and cons of each glove.

PART B: SPACE INVENTORS' CONFERENCE Choose your better-performing glove and share the creation with the rest of the class. Then compare the properties of all the class's gloves. As a class, use the findings to design the ultimate space glove.

Glove   Room temperature  Temperature after
        2 minutes         4 minutes

Control
Glove 1
Glove 2

Glove   Temperature after  Description of
         6 minutes          insulation
                              material
Control
Glove 1
Glove 2