The material developed in this section is suitable for for K-12 students and teachers, who are interested to develop a curriculum at the intersection of mathematics, data sciences, biology, and robotics.

Spring Outreach: Designing a Low-Gravity Explorer

Organizers: Prof. Kathleen Lois Foster and Prof. Alessandro Maria Selvitella

Contatcts: klfoster@bsu.edu and aselvite@pfw.edu 

Description

What if you could engineer a robot or even a creature built to survive and thrive on the Moon or Mars? 

This program is intented to challenge high school students to do exactly that, combining biomechanics, mathematics, and data science in a hands-on design mission where every choice matters and the math drives real decisions. Students don't just learn formulas: they deploy them to predict how high their explorer can jump in low gravity, how stable it will be on rocky alien terrain, and how body shape determines survival. By the end, student team walk away with a data-backed design, quantitative results, and the mindset of an engineer who builds, tests, and improves.

Teacher Guide Link

This guide provides instructors with a full 90-minute lesson plan (adaptable to 60 minutes) for facilitating the Designing a Low-Gravity Explorer activity with high school students comfortable in basic algebra and trigonometry. It walks through five structured steps, from an opening hook on low-gravity movement, to group design work, math and physics calculations, data analysis, and short group presentations, while supplying content notes on gravity vs. mass/inertia, projectile motion simplification, and the stability/tipping model. It also includes differentiation suggestions for stronger students (deriving projectile formulas, optimization problems) and adaptations for shorter sessions.

Student handout Link

The student-facing handout guides small groups (2–4 students) through designing a creature or robot specialized for a chosen mission , including long-range exploration, cliff climbing, sample collection, or rapid rescue,on either the Moon or Mars. Students sketch their explorer, answer qualitative biomechanics questions about locomotion style, limb count, foot type, and center-of-mass placement, then apply projectile motion equations to compute jump height and range across different gravitational environments. They also model tipping stability using the width to height ratio and the critical tipping angle, concluding with a 2–3 minute group presentation of their quantitative results and proposed design improvements.

Data and Modeling Worksheet Link

This companion worksheet presents a small dataset of four hypothetical explorer designs (a low-wide quadruped, a tall biped, a low hexapod, and a medium quadruped) with measurements of leg count, base width, height, jump speed, and maximum slope before tipping. Students compute the morphology ratio for each design and create a scatter plot of max slope vs. width/height to visually identify the trend that wider, lower designs resist tipping on steeper inclines. The worksheet closes by connecting this data-driven pattern back to the engineering design cycle: propose, test, find patterns, improve. therefore reinforcing the iterative, evidence-based nature of design.