Using solar images and date obtained from Astronomical Observatory of the University of Coimbra lets you study the sunspots and their behaviour over days.
Students learn about local and planetary physical geography / geology, toponymy, planetary landing site selection and cartography. The students learn a complex process of landscape evaluation and city planning, based on the interpretation of photomaps or digital terrain models.
In this activity, students learn about astronomical phenomena we can see in the universe and create their own music inspired by astronomical images. By performing original musical improvisations, students enhance their knowledge of what astronomical phenomena are represented in images and experiment with creative ways of representing these using music. This activity engages students in first hand exploration of music and astronomy connections.
In this activity, students familiarise themselves with asteroids. They discuss and build their own model asteroids. They learn how asteroids are formed in the Solar System. At the end of the activity, each student has their own model asteroid made from clay.
This activity allows pupils to learn the difference between diurnal and nocturnal animals, understand that when it is day here, it is night on the other side of the world, and that it is light when the Sun comes up and it is dark when the Sun goes down. At the end, pupils build a model of the Earth and can experiment with day and night.
From Earth’s moon to Europa, our solar system is filled with interesting set of natural satellites. Through art and science, children learn about moons of our solar system with the Deadly Moons activity.
Review the environmental factors that make the Earth habitable and compare them to other worlds within our Solar System. Use creative thinking to design an alien life form suited for specific environmental conditions on an extra-terrestrial world within our Solar System.
The purpose of this activity is to recreate the classic egg-drop experiment with an analogy to the Mars rover landing. The concept of terminal velocity will be introduced, and students will perform several velocity calculations. Also, students will have to design and build their lander within a pre-determined budget to help reinforce a real-world design scenario.
Nursery (or Kindergarten or Preschool) students enjoy seeing the evening sky with the teacher from the playground or through a big window (indoor). This is especially relevant for students who stay for extra-hour care. During late evening hours, some students feel a little lonely waiting for their parents, but they have a wonderful natural treasure: the evening sky. By observing the evening sky with the naked eye, they will notice many colours, changing colours, the first star, the subtle colours of stars, twinkling stars, and the movement of stars. Nursery teachers who think they are not science-oriented will also gain guidance skills of introducing science to students. This activity is also useful for primary school students, especially younger-grade students.
This activity is an interactive “out-of-the-seat” demo that allows the students to become involved in learning about fibre optic cables by imitating the way that one basically functions. While enjoying the physicality of the demo the children will pick up basic details of light, reflection, optical properties, and applications to technology. Additionally, the activity will go into details of how fibre optics are used in astronomy technology and how it is used to improve our understanding of the universe. An emphasis should be placed on asking direct questions to the children about how these concepts can influence technology, astronomy, and our world to reinforce the concepts that they are learning about.
When you add water to effervescent (fizzy) tablets or baking powder, bubbles are formed: a gas is produced. You can use this gas to inflate a balloon without blowing it up yourself. What kind of gas is it? Let us collect this gas and analyse it through experiments.
This video lesson has the goal of introducing students to galaxies as large collections of gravitationally bound stars. It explores the amount of matter needed for a star to remain bound and then brings in the idea of Dark Matter, a new kind of matter that does not interact with light. It is best if students have had some high school level mechanics, ideally Newton's laws, orbital motion and centripetal force. The teacher guide segment has a derivation of centripetal acceleration. This lesson should be mostly accessible to students with no physics background. The video portion of this lesson runs about 30 minutes, and the questions and demonstrations will give a total activity time of about an hour if the materials are all at hand and the students work quickly. However, 1 1/2 hours is a more comfortable amount of time. There are several demonstrations that can be carried out using string, ten or so balls of a few inches in diameter, a stopwatch or clock with a sweep second hand and some tape. The demonstrations are best done outside, but can also be carried out in a gymnasium or other large room. If the materials or space are not available, there are videos of the demonstrations in the module and these may be used.
The spring 2017 syllabus for the General Astronomy Course (AST 110), developed as part of the textbook free courseware initiative at Borough of Manhattan Community College.
The purpose of this lesson is to teach the students about how a spacecraft gets from the surface of the Earth to Mars. The lesson first investigates rockets and how they are able to get us into space. Finally, the nature of an orbit is discussed as well as how orbits enable us to get from planet to planet specifically from Earth to Mars.
Have you ever wondered where we are in our own galaxy, Milky Way? "Glitter Your Milky Way" let you get creative while learning the characteristics of the Milky Way and exploring the types of galaxies.
Students participate in a global campaign to observe and record the faintest visible stars as a means of measuring light pollution in a given location. By locating and observing the constellation Orion in the night sky and comparing it to stellar charts, students from around the world will learn how the artificial lighting in their community contribute to light pollution. Student contributions to the online database will document the visible night time sky.
Move the sun, earth, moon and space station to see how it affects their gravitational forces and orbital paths. Visualize the sizes and distances between different heavenly bodies, and turn off gravity to see what would happen without it!
Move the sun, earth, moon and space station to see how it affects their gravitational forces and orbital paths. Visualize the sizes and distances between different heavenly bodies, and turn off gravity to see what would happen without it!
Students investigate how old the universe is and when important events took place in the universe and on Earth. They draw the universe timeline from the beginning until today on the scale of a year.
This activity aims to teach students about the different layers of the atmosphere. It also aims to teach them which part of our atmosphere is considered outer space and what phenomena occur in each layer.