Activity 2.6: suiting up – drama and design

Introduction

The learning focus in Activity 2.6 and in Activity 2.7 is a collaborative endeavour that incorporates problem-solving and critical and creative thinking around the elements of design and drama.

Activity 2.6 is the design phase. Students work in groups to design a spacesuit using recycled newspapers. One group member wears the suit, and then in Activity 2.7 the other members interview the 'astronaut' about their final space mission.

Note: it is recommended that you read through both Activity 2.6 and 2.7 before beginning. You could present the two activities as follows:

• In one lesson, complete the costume design and plan the interview role-play.
• In the second lesson, create the costume and enact the role-play.

Duration

50–60 minutes

Resources

• Design materials such as:
  • recycled paper
  • pens, pencils or markers
• Construction materials such as:
  • piles of newspapers and other appropriate recycled materials
  • masking tape
  • string
  • staplers
  • scissors

• Activity stepsShow details

  Designing a spacesuit

  1. Begin by providing all the relevant resources. Introduce the idea of designing a costume spacesuit using recycled objects.
  2. The costume will be for one member of each group. Once they are in their costume, they will become an astronaut in a role-play. Students can use any ideas already learnt through earlier activities and specifically from the video about astronaut Rex Walheim.
  2. Students divide into working groups of three or four.
  3. They design the costume spacesuit on the recycled paper provided.
  4. Have them think about the elements of a spacesuit – helmet, boots, gloves, jacket, pants, belts, gadgets, backpack, etc.
  5. How can they manipulate the newspapers and other objects to create the suit? In order to meet their design requirements, perhaps they can fold, tear, scrunch, squash, gather, wrap, join, stick and string together. They can experiment with the construction materials that they will be using to build the spacesuit in the next lesson.
  6. As they design the costume, ask them to think about which recycled items they will use for which part of the suit. Ask them to consider how they will attach items to the newspaper.
  3. It is recommended that students present their design to you in case any troubleshooting or assistance is required.
  4. Each group appoints one member to be the astronaut. In Activity 2.7, they will have the costume made on them.

  Note: here, you can end the design part of the activity and ask students to move on to planning the role-play.

  Planning the role-play

  1. Have students develop interview questions for their role-play, using the following questions as starting points.
     • What was the most enjoyable experience of your final mission?
     • What was the most dangerous experience of your final mission?
     • What will you miss most about being an astronaut?
     • What are you most looking forward to back on Earth?
     • What advice do you have for other astronauts?
  2. They need to consider:
     • What would a media interview setting look like?
     • How would you set it up in the space? (This is called 'blocking' – placing the characters in the space so the audience can see and hear.)
     • How would the interview begin?
     • How would the interview end?

  In the next lesson (Activity 2.7), students can costume their astronaut and perform their role-play.