In this activity...

You get to create your own full view of our planet as if it were seen from space—something that was not achieved until the 20th century. Even better, the end result will be a colorful “stained glass” window-style ornament that shows off its bright colors when light shines through!

Materials List:

• Two 9” unwaxed paper plates
• Roll of wax paper
• White glue
• Blue, green, and white tissue paper sheets
• A printed template of your choice
• Scissors
• A heavy book or box to use as a weight

Step 1: Download and print your template!

Pick your part of the world! Click the picture and print.

Americas

Europe and Africa

Asia

Step 2: Roll out and cut a roughly 20-inch long piece of wax paper.

Step 3: Tear tissue paper into small pieces and spread out pieces on your work surface.

Step 4: Make two circular borders using the paper plates.

Fold plate in half

Cut a small hole in the center

Then cut a larger hole leaving a 1 to 1 ½ inch border around the edge

Flatten the edges of the paper plates with a pencil

Step 5: Place one half of wax paper over the template and apply glue to the top of the wax paper as shown below.

Work in one area at a time, applying glue and torn tissue paper in that particular area. You will have to continue adding glue as you work.

Step 6: Cover the wax paper with your tissue bits, matching the colors in the pattern.

Blue for oceans

Green for land

White for ice caps

Step 7: Apply glue to the first paper plate border and place on top of finished tissue paper layer. Allow it to dry.

Step 8: Flip over wax paper and apply second border on the other side.

Step 9: Flip over again and apply glue to the other half of the wax paper. Then place wax paper over the top of the tissue bits. Place the whole thing under a heavy book or box for 15-20 minutes.

Step 10: Remove the weight and allow to dry. Cut the excess wax paper around the border. Punch a hole and hang with yarn or string near light!

NASA studies Earth from space!

Earth as viewed from NASA's Apollo 17 mission.

You might think of NASA as those people that study faraway planets, stars, and galaxies. But NASA also spends a great deal of time looking back at our home planet too.

In fact, 2014 has been a big year for studying Earth! NASA launched five satellite missions to do just that.

The Global Precipitation Mission (GPM) studies global snow and rain. Scientists are interested in how rainfall and snowfall patterns are changing over time, and the GPM satellite will help.

The GPM Satellite

RapidScat, attached to the International Space Station, studies ocean winds. Ocean winds play a big role in weather events and changing climates. RapidScat will give scientists a clearer picture of winds all around the world, and the information will help ships navigate from place to place at sea.

RapidScat, onboard the International Space Station

Also on the International Space Station, the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS), will study clouds and other phenomena that affect the atmosphere. It will help scientists keep an eye on things like volcanoes, wildfires, and pollution.

CATS, onboard the International Space Station

Another satellite, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), gives scientists a global view of CO₂ around the world. CO₂ is an important gas to monitor because it contributes to global warming.

OCO-2

Finally, the Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite (SMAP), studies water in the soil. Water is super important, yet scientists have a lot to learn about where it stays and where it goes. This information will help with weather forecasts and also predict floods and droughts.

SMAP

There's so much that still needs to be discovered! It's no wonder NASA is interested in our own planet too!

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