Jewels of the Night The Jewels of the Night is a hands-on, teacher-tested activity for middle school and older students. Students measure the color and brightness of stars in the Jewelbox Cluster from a color image. They determine the age of the cluster by plotting their measurements in a color-brightness diagram. The activity develops classification and graphing skills and fosters observation, communication, and cooperative learning skills. The activity is designed to be printed for use in the classroom. The Jewels of the Night activity was developed by NOAO astronomers working together with Tucson teachers. National Optical Astronomy Observatories, 950 North Cherry Avenue, P.O.
STEM Lesson Plans | Mars Education The Mars Education lesson plans section is here to serve as a resource for educators, grades K-12 to download and utilize in formal classroom settings. These lessons are free and made to be fully accessible and downloadable PDF documents that can be saved or printed. All of the Mars Education Program lesson plans include elements of inquiry-based learning that are aligned to the National Science Education Standards, Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards as well as problem-based learning and the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) 5-E instructional model. The STEM lessons included in this section of the website are the very lessons that we apply throughout our educator conferences and professional development training sessions. For questions on the Mars Education Lessons please contact us.
The Universe at Your Fingertips 2.0 DVD-ROM: AstroShop A Collection of Activities and Resources for Teaching Astronomy (on a DVD-ROM) Edited by Andrew FraknoiPublished by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific Wholesale and international orders please contact service {at} astrosociety.org or call customer service at 1-800-335-2624. This DVD-ROM is the most comprehensive resource and activity guide for teaching basic concepts and activities in space science ever published. 133 field-tested hands-on activities, from programs and projects around the US,17 topical guides to to the best sources of information in print and on the web,52 background articles on astronomy and education,12 short videos with instructions for doing some of the most often-used activities, and10 recommended sequences of activities to help students learn some of the topics most often found in the K-12 curriculum. Themes and topics include: Click here for the full table of contents (pdf file).
Astrobiobound | Mars Education Astrobiobound! NEW - NGSS and CCSS Designed and Aligned! Students learn systems engineering by engaging in a mission planning simulation that mirrors the search for life in our solar system. Students create a mission that has to balance the return of science data with mission limitations such as power, mass and budget. In this advanced and exciting activity, students in grades 3-12 will become NASA project managers and have the opportunity to plan their own NASA mission. The NASA App for Smartphones and Tablets Application Description The NASA App showcases a huge collection of the latest NASA content, including images, videos on-demand, NASA Television, mission information, news & feature stories, latest tweets, ISS sighting opportunities, satellite tracking, Third Rock Radio and much more. The NASA App is available free of charge on the iOS App Store from Apple or on Google Play for Android. Features › Get the NASA App for iOS on the App Store → › Get the NASA App for Android on Google Play →
Seeing in the Dark . For Teachers When kids are asked for their favorite topics in science, astronomy (along with dinosaurs) is always high on the list. As a "gateway" to science education, astronomy is essential to the curriculum in many states and school districts. But even where astronomy is not required, it can often be a wonderful way to approach required science principles and ideas. As you explore the Seeing in the Dark website, be sure to take a look at the how-to videos for stargazing, print out a custom star chart of the night sky where you live, and read and watch special effects videos of fascinating astronomy topics. An enormous amount of research has been done during the last few decades on how students learn most effectively, and the consensus is that doing activities and discovering ideas on your own is far better than passive listening. You can also find great astronomy related activities in the PBS Teachers website. Seeing in the Dark Activities Other Activities on the Web Constellations and the Night Sky
Stellarium Bill Gates’ Great-Great-Granddaughter’s Honeymoon: An Astronomy Activity for Several Different Age Groups When students finish a unit or course on the planets these days, they are often overwhelmed with facts, comparisons, and images. A good culminating activity, to help them organize their thinking (and review), is to have them divide into small groups (travel agencies) and come up with their top ten solar system “tourist sights” for future space vacationers, complete with images. The history of the activity and its variants, and resources to help instructors and students, are reviewed. KeywordsKeywords astronomy, educational courses Keywords 7-9 (or middle school), 10-12 (or high school), College non-majors, Solar system, K-12 curriculum development, Hands-on activities, Teaching approaches, Cooperative group activities, Laboratory exercises Keywords In a recent paper ( Fraknoi 2008 ), we offered an annotated listing of the best image repositories available for astronomy education these days. 2.1. This is an open-book, open-computer activity.
Origins: Series Overview Origins: Back to the Beginning September 29, 2004 NEIL deGRASSE TYSON (Astrophysicist): A hellish, fiery wasteland, a molten planet hostile to life, yet somehow, amazingly, this is where we got our start. Right now, we're all eavesdropping on the birth pangs of the cosmos. DAVID SPERGEL (Princeton University): ...how big it is, how old it is, what's it made of, and what were the processes that made galaxies, that made us. NEIL deGRASSE TYSON: So a furious race is on to solve the ultimate mystery. ANTHONY READHEAD (California Institute of Technology): The spirit of competition is one of the things, of course, that drives scientists. Keep our fingers crossed. NEIL deGRASSE TYSON: And as our new vision of the universe emerges, strange ideas reveal themselves. STAN WOOSLEY (University of California, Santa Cruz): Stars are the ultimate alchemist. ROBERT KIRSHNER (Harvard University): You get carbon and nitrogen and oxygen made in stars. We see you inventing the next big thing. Hello. CHARLES L.
Origins: Series Overview Origins: Back to the Beginning September 29, 2004 NEIL deGRASSE TYSON (Astrophysicist): A hellish, fiery wasteland, a molten planet hostile to life, yet somehow, amazingly, this is where we got our start. How? Right now, we're all eavesdropping on the birth pangs of the cosmos. DAVID SPERGEL (Princeton University): ...how big it is, how old it is, what's it made of, and what were the processes that made galaxies, that made us. NEIL deGRASSE TYSON: So a furious race is on to solve the ultimate mystery. ANTHONY READHEAD (California Institute of Technology): The spirit of competition is one of the things, of course, that drives scientists. Keep our fingers crossed. NEIL deGRASSE TYSON: And as our new vision of the universe emerges, strange ideas reveal themselves. STAN WOOSLEY (University of California, Santa Cruz): Stars are the ultimate alchemist. ROBERT KIRSHNER (Harvard University): You get carbon and nitrogen and oxygen made in stars. We see you inventing the next big thing. Hello.
Universe Sandbox | Submrge A “sandbox” of the universe, allowing users to interact with and change almost any aspect of outer space while receiving detailed feedback on effects. Benefits of Play: Creativity, Innovation, Critical thinking, Content-specific Science, STEM, Educational Issue(s): scientific realism Platform: OS X, PC Cost: Free Publisher: Giant Army Game Trailer: Filter-Friendly Game Info: Universe Sandbox How can Universe Sandbox be "modded" (or modified)? Teaching With Universe Sandbox Example(s) of Educational Use: Playing God - Lesson Ideas for Universe Sandbox What Other Educators and Experts Say About Universe Sandbox: Universe Sandbox Review | bit-gamer.net – Bit-Tech.net