Your source at NASA Johnson Space Center may use "simple" Newtonian physics, but please remember, NASA JSC has not executed a trajectory to Mars or any other planet. The NASA focus of expertise in interplanetary navigation is NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), affiliated with Caltech.
Here is a useful link:
A chapter on spacecraft navigation from JPL's "Basics of Spaceflight"
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf13-1.html
A search on JPL's home page will yield numerous references to navigation and trajectory information:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
Navigation generally involves several course corrections along the way. There are early burns to correct the trajectory after launch, another possibly at the midpoint, and one or more final burns for orbital insertion or landing ellipse targeting.
Your source at NASA Johnson Space Center may use "simple" Newtonian physics, but please remember, NASA JSC has not ever planned and executed a trajectory to Mars or any other planet. The NASA focus of expertise in interplanetary navigation is NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), affiliated with Caltech.
Here is a useful link:
A chapter on spacecraft navigation from JPL's "Basics of Spaceflight"
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf13-1.html
A search on JPL's home page will yield numerous references to navigation and trajectory information:
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
Also, remember that navigation generally involves several course corrections along the way. There are early burns to correct the trajectory after launch, another possibly at the midpoint, and one or more final burns for orbital insertion or landing ellipse targeting.
My kids just loved the KidPix software. I'm not sure if it is still available, but it was surely a winner. Other than just line drawing and filling, it had stamps, patterns, coloring templates (and make your own templates) and even animation. As they got older, they switched to more sophisticated programs and now adobe illustrator, photoshop and proCreate and similar design/art tools are their favorites.
The "read aloud" type books were ok - once or twice. They quickly lost their novelty.
Some of the math-oriented games (I think from the Learning Company) were also a hit.
My youngest, now 11, loves to make lego movies. there are a couple of ways to do this. He likes the old-fashioned "claymation" approach where he moves lego pieces according to a script, along with other stuff (like a piece of chicken, silly putting, I've seen it all), takes a few frames on the video cam, and then when he's ready to edit he and I use iMovie to make the final versions. He's almost able to handle the iMovie part on his own.
Generally I'd say the most successful introductory items for my kids have been those that are highly interactive (yet sensitive to different skill levels), allow them to exercise creativity, and have "analogs" in the grown up world ("I want to use your software!")
Regarding web surfing, there is a lot of interesting stuff out there. Lego and NASA sites were good suggestions. But be careful to screen and consider using a tool like Norton Parental Control to block some web sites. There are some out there that *look* like they are for kids but quickly lead you to porno sites.
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Your source at NASA Johnson Space Center may use "simple" Newtonian physics, but please remember, NASA JSC has not executed a trajectory to Mars or any other planet. The NASA focus of expertise in interplanetary navigation is NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), affiliated with Caltech. Here is a useful link: A chapter on spacecraft navigation from JPL's "Basics of Spaceflight" http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf13-1.html A search on JPL's home page will yield numerous references to navigation and trajectory information: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ Navigation generally involves several course corrections along the way. There are early burns to correct the trajectory after launch, another possibly at the midpoint, and one or more final burns for orbital insertion or landing ellipse targeting.
Your source at NASA Johnson Space Center may use "simple" Newtonian physics, but please remember, NASA JSC has not ever planned and executed a trajectory to Mars or any other planet. The NASA focus of expertise in interplanetary navigation is NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), affiliated with Caltech. Here is a useful link: A chapter on spacecraft navigation from JPL's "Basics of Spaceflight" http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/bsf13-1.html A search on JPL's home page will yield numerous references to navigation and trajectory information: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ Also, remember that navigation generally involves several course corrections along the way. There are early burns to correct the trajectory after launch, another possibly at the midpoint, and one or more final burns for orbital insertion or landing ellipse targeting.
My kids just loved the KidPix software. I'm not sure if it is still available, but it was surely a winner. Other than just line drawing and filling, it had stamps, patterns, coloring templates (and make your own templates) and even animation. As they got older, they switched to more sophisticated programs and now adobe illustrator, photoshop and proCreate and similar design/art tools are their favorites. The "read aloud" type books were ok - once or twice. They quickly lost their novelty. Some of the math-oriented games (I think from the Learning Company) were also a hit. My youngest, now 11, loves to make lego movies. there are a couple of ways to do this. He likes the old-fashioned "claymation" approach where he moves lego pieces according to a script, along with other stuff (like a piece of chicken, silly putting, I've seen it all), takes a few frames on the video cam, and then when he's ready to edit he and I use iMovie to make the final versions. He's almost able to handle the iMovie part on his own. Generally I'd say the most successful introductory items for my kids have been those that are highly interactive (yet sensitive to different skill levels), allow them to exercise creativity, and have "analogs" in the grown up world ("I want to use your software!") Regarding web surfing, there is a lot of interesting stuff out there. Lego and NASA sites were good suggestions. But be careful to screen and consider using a tool like Norton Parental Control to block some web sites. There are some out there that *look* like they are for kids but quickly lead you to porno sites.