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Escape from the International Space Station!

Information for parents/teachers:

This is a satellite-themed STEM activity aimed at Key Stage 2 children (7 to 11). Each question below has a puzzle to solve to get a letter or number code for the escape pod, plus extension activities leading on from this question. You could do all the questions as a timed escape room, or try a few questions at a time during science lessons. Please download the teachers pack for more information.

These activities cover parts of the science and geography curriculum. For the science curriculum, this includes learning about what a satellite is, active and passive satellites, geostationary and polar orbits, what satellites are used for. For geography, this includes reading grid references and recognising features such as rivers and mountains from satellite imagery. The later questions have a focus on Earth Observation satellites and looking at satellite imagery.

Click on the images below to solve the puzzles and find out the code for the escape pod!

The fantastic images on these icons are from the Hubble Space Telescope (NASA and Space Telescope Science Institute) or artists impressions of satellites from ESA or NASA.

This material was made by Ruth Amey – hope you enjoyed it!