Thank you for coming back for another day of learning with this brand new series here at Mama’s Learning Corner: On This Day in American History!
On this day in American History, January 31, 1958, the United States officially entered the Space Age by launching Explorer One, an artificial space satellite.
If you would like more details on how to use these On This Day in American History posts, please see this page: On This Day in American History in Your Homeschool
You can click here to see all of the posts in this series: On This Day in American History Series
January 31 – The U.S. Enters the Space Age
Explorer One was the first artificial space satellite orbited by the United States, establishing the country’s entry into the Space Age on January 31, 1958.
To do:
1.) Watch this short video on Explorer 1: America’s Debut Into Space. The content of the video might be hard for younger learners to grasp, but the images are amazing!
2.) The satellite was able to transmit information via its batteries until May 23, 1958. How many days did the satellite transmit information?
3.) Even though it did not transmit information the whole time, Explorer One stayed in orbit until March 31, 1970, where it burned up when it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere. What was the length of time the satellite stayed in orbit?
4.) Write your answer: What is the difference between an artificial and a natural satellite? Use a dictionary to help you if you are unsure.
If you are new to On This Day in American History
If you are new to On This Day in American History, Welcome!
Each day, I share an interesting event that occurred in our nation’s past. You will learn about famous Americans, interesting inventions and their patents, American art and music, and more.
You will also find suggested activities – labeled “To do” – if you would like to research this during your homeschool’s group time in the morning, or you can assign the activities for your children to work on independently.
If you think you will do more than one day of On This Day in American History, I would encourage you to have your child keep what I call a Notebook of Knowledge. A spiral notebook or sheets of paper stapled together is more than adequate!
Have your child write the day’s event and the date at the top of his paper. If there are writing activities, have him use his best composition, grammar, and penmanship as he completes the answers. After just a few weeks or even a month, he will have an excellent resource to read through!
If you would like to use this resource throughout the month, you might be interested in purchasing the full January Calendar. It contains:
- Access to the webpage with all of the January events listed, including all suggested activities for each daily event.
- A .pdf of the January Calendar, listed in chronological order with all suggested activities
- All necessary downloads to complete the assigned activities. These same downloads are linked on the webpage, however, they are also included here for easy access.
- The answers to any questions asked in the daily activities.
You can purchase that here:
On This Day in American History: January 30 – First Ironclad Ship is Launched
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