One day humans will thrive on the Moon for extended periods of time and will use sports for both exercise and entertainment. People back home on Earth may even view these sporting events as spectators. Creating a sport that can be played on the Moon is a difficult task. The Moon’s environment of less gravity and no air provides both challenges and opportunities.

In this presentation, participants will learn how to create or adapt a sport so that it can be played on the Moon while meeting the basic requirements of a sport. This ​“Sports on the Moon” challenge has been attempted by high school students, college students, teachers, scientists and engineers (including some NASA scientists). 

This presentation will also describe how this type of challenge and problem-based learning can improve science instruction.

About the Speaker

Distinguished Professor of Science Education, Professor of Physics and Director of the Centre of Science and Math in Context (COSMIC) at the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston), Eisenkraft is the past president of the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA) and past chair of the Science Academic Advisory Committee of the College Board. 

He leads Active Physics and Active Chemistry, introducing high quality project-based science to students. He also chairs (and co-created) the Toshiba/​NSTA ExploraVision Awards, involving 15,000 students annually for over 30 years. He leads the Wipro Science Education Fellowship programme which is bringing district transformation through teacher leadership across the US.

His current research projects include investigating the efficacy of a second-generation model of distance learning for professional development and a study of professional development choices that teachers make when facing a large-scale curriculum change.

Eisenkraft has received numerous awards recognising his teaching and related work including the National Science Board (NSB) Public Service Award, American Association of Physics Teachers’ (AAPT) Robert A Millikan Medal, and NSTA’s Robert H Carleton Award. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and holds a patent for a laser vision testing system.