Core Values Activity: Picking from a list

Objectives:

• Make decisions as a team

Materials:

• Paper, pencil
• Typed list of items or one item per notecard/post it note (life raft, two 45.5kg/100lb tanks of oxygen, space blanket, lights with solar-powered rechargeable batteries, signal mirror, 38 liters (10 gallons) of water, first aid kit, food concentrate, magnetic compass, solar-powered radio receiver-transmitter, map of the Moon’s surface, 15 meters of nylon rope, parachute, space suit repair kit, box of matches)

Setup:

• Leave the instructions on the table for the team to read on their own.
• Leave the list of items on the table
• Leave pen and paper for notes

Instructions to Team:

The year is 2025 and you and three other crew members are traveling to the Moon. You land off course. The only way you will survive is by making it to the outpost (80km away) that has already been established on the Moon.

Here are some facts you know: (Source: quoted from NASA activity document, see link below)

• The Moon has no atmosphere or magnetosphere to protect you from space radiation.
• The regolith, or lunar soil, is a mixture of materials that includes sharp, glassy particles.
• The gravity field on the Moon is only one-sixth as strong as Earth’s.
• More than 80 percent of the Moon is made up of heavily cratered highlands.
• Temperatures vary widely on the Moon. It can be as cold as -193°C (-315°F) at night at its poles and as hot as 111°C (232°F) during the day at its equator.

In five minutes, pick 5 items from the list provided that you think are the most important to your survival until you either reach the outpost or are rescued by people in the outpost.

Notes: Have the team explain how they picked the five items and why those were chosen? Was the entire team involved in the decision making? How did they resolve conflicts?

This activity is an adaptation of the lesson Survival! Exploration: Then and Now, EG-2006-09-25-LaRC, by NASA. If your team has lots of time, feel free to do the full activity which requires ranking 15 items and comparing your answer with the answers by experts.

Thank you to Catherine Sarisky from FLL Share & Learn for sharing this activity.