From a reprt submitted by Jessica Siraco, Maine Mineral and Gem Museuum.
We developed curriculum to align with middle school Next-Generation Standards for earth
and space science, focused primarily on meteorites. Books, posters, and online resources
were aggregated to assist teachers and students in their lessons, and curricula were
developed to facilitate learning.
Two “Space Rocks!” Meteorite Education Kits were designed and assembled to pilot at
middle schools near the MMGM in western Maine, an underserved rural area. Each kit
currently contains 23 specimens, of which 9-10 are meteorites. They contain a full 5-10-
day lesson plan, and more content than any one class will need. Some curricula can also
be used with lower and higher grades.
While the MMGM loaned specimens from its collections for hands-on identification
activities, the Society’s support enabled us to loan relevant books to classrooms to support
their lessons and provided supplies for the identification activity. Society funds also went
towards posters and other classroom educational resources, printing graphics and hard
copies, and laminating reusable print resources.
A digital microscope for presentations and digital jeweler’s loupes for classroom use were
ordered to facilitate a greater understanding of minerals in meteorites and in terrestrial
rocks for comparison, and to expand on the micrometeorite lesson. These activities will be
integrated into the kits and implemented by the end of Q1 2026.
Seven teachers at the Kick-Off Night saw and tried out one of the kits. They were excited
to use them, especially because the MMGM lends them at no cost to schools. Kit 1 was
also piloted at Space Day Maine, an annual event at a public middle school involving
several hundred students. Later in May, both kits were loaned out to public schools in
Oxford County: one to a 6th grade science teacher and one to an alternative education
teacher for grade 8-10 students. Teachers had overwhelmingly positive feedback for us
and reported excellent student engagement. One teacher requested a kit again for two
weeks in the fall of 2025, and the other developed a new activity to use with it. Eventually,
we hope these kits will inspire young people to pursue careers in planetary science, if that
has not already happened.
While we focused on our nearest school districts for this academic year, the kits will be
available to more distant schools throughout Maine and New Hampshire, and to private
schools. A marketing and outreach plan will be implemented for the 2025-6 school year to
reach more schools. The kits include forms for teachers to evaluate the kits and
curriculum, which will inform future improvements.
An unintended consequence was that this project inspired MMGM staff to develop kits and
activities for earth science lessons using terrestrial rock and mineral specimens in a similar
way to the “Space Rocks” kits. We will also continue to improve these meteorite kits’
educational value and ease of use.