Imagination versus fact

Space projects are born in the minds of the people working in the space community. The space community is quite a new group of researchers: People have only been travelling in space for less than 50 years: there are still many things to be discovered. Imagination is one of the most valuable qualities: let’s invent our future, let’s be imaginative!

Preparation: The class is divided into two groups, A and B, each of which is subdivided into teams of 3 or 4. For a week, both the A and B teams work on the different aspects of life without gravity, for example:

Topic 1: How do astronauts cook?
Topic 2: How do astronauts sleep?
Topic 3: How do astronauts wash themselves?

The A teams use written or film documentation and can look for further information in the school's documentation centre, the library, on the internet, from their teacher or their parents. Over the same period, the B teams work on the same topics that the A teams are working on, but using only their imagination and creativity, without doing any research.

Activity: Both groups prepare a poster with captions, pictures and drawings to present their conclusions to the class. The presentations should be given topic by topic, starting with the B teams, followed by the A teams that worked on the same topic.

Conclusions: Is there a big difference between what we imagine and what actually happens in space? Where did the B teams get their ideas? Did any of the facts that groups A presented surprise you? Which ones? Does reality sometimes go further than our imagination? Are some of the new ideas coming from the groups B feasible in space? If yes, would they be of interest for the astronauts on board the International Space Station (ISS)?