In December, students at Donegal Intermediate School took a field trip far away. Far, far away. The school embarked on a unit of study about space, with departments including art, music, physical education, STEM and the library providing out-of-this-world curricula.

"We each personally have an interest in space in general and NASA's recent missions - the James Webb telescope and the Artemis mission to the moon," explained STEM teacher Nicole Shoemaker. "In addition, when I was teaching sixth grade, I realized that many students did not have a clear understanding of the basic structure of our solar system and the universe beyond our solar system. Then, we realized we had the opportunity to borrow the Starlab from the (Lancaster-Lebanon IU13) after completing training. So, we started building a unit full of information and experiences for students, and each year it has changed and evolved a bit."

This was the first year departments across the school collaborated on the space unit.

"We are always looking to captivate our students in the area of health and fitness," said librarian Andrew Wulfkuhle. "Collaborating with other specialists will help our lessons be more engaging and educational. While each of our specialty areas are different, trying to find ways to coordinate and collaborate between us make the students excited and the learning experience richer and more rigorous."

For art, students learned about the chemical compositions of different planets and how those affect the planets' colors. They created artwork inspired by planetary palettes, using phosphorescent paint that will glow in a large blacklight gallery.

"This art installation will be an immersive experience on display at the Celebrate the Arts Night art show at Donegal Intermediate School in May," said art teacher Kelly McCart.

Each grade level focused on a different aspect of space for the STEM and library units. Third-graders learned about the solar system, and fourth grade studied Mars and the Mars Rover. Fifth-graders explored the Artemis mission to the moon, and sixth-graders learned about the James Webb telescope.

"At a grade-appropriate level, each grade level does some research related to their topic, a hands-on project related to their topic, and then experiences the Starlab planetarium," Wulfkuhle shared. "Sometimes we are also able to incorporate a movie or documentary and/or a Minecraft world related to their topic."

In physical education classes, students completed "astronaut training," learning how astronauts prepare to experience outer space, said teachers Dan Leighlitner and Sherrie Witmer.

"We would like to see students excited about fitness when comparing how they stack up with different tasks compared to astronauts and how they train," said Witmer. "Ultimately, this would enhance engagement across all subject levels within our space unit. Also, by connecting (physical education) with real-world careers like astronauts, you provide a multidisciplinary, motivating experience that helps students see the relevance of physical activity in everyday life. "

Each grade also applied music studies to its galactic unit, with third-graders learning a song about the solar system and then using the planets to create their own rhythmic and melodic patterns. Fourth-graders applied their knowledge of classical music and the planets to drumming, and fifth-graders compared famous pieces of music written about the moon and then used excerpts from each to imagine their own song lyrics.

"Because sixth-graders have already been exposed to digital music creation, they (explored) the sonification of Webb telescope images and (created) music using those sampled sounds," said music teacher Hollie Mendenhall.

McCart noted that all of the teachers want students to gain a better understanding of what's out there beyond Earth.

"We hope they will also develop their own natural curiosity and desire to learn and understand the world around them," she said.

Leighlitner agreed, adding, "We always tell our students that the unified arts are truly all of the subjects combined - math, (English language arts), science, history, etc. This project makes that come to life, and helps their brains create cross-curricular connections that makes the learning 'stick.'"

And it certainly did stick for the students. The space unit provided fun and education, said fourth-grader Jaidyn Spruill. "I liked drawing the planets," she remarked. "Mars is my favorite, because it's red because there's iron in the soil!"

Zephen Johns enjoyed discovering more about the stars.

"I like learning about how stars make shapes like constellations," shared the third-grader, and sixth-grader Parker Herman said learning about outer space has broadened his world.

"Learning about space helps us learn about what's out there," he said.

Discovering more about the night sky was the best part for third-grader Kade Whitmer. "Space tells us cool things about our Milky Way galaxy," he commented.

And exploring the giant indoor Starlab was a highlight for sixth-grader Luca Giorgio.

"The planetarium was amazing," Luca said. "It feels like stars and other space stuff surround you."