The Universe at Your Fingertips 2.0 « Astronomical Society Purchase through the ASP’s 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 This DVD-ROM is the most comprehensive resource and activity guide for teaching basic concepts in space science ever published. 133 field-tested hands-on activities, from programs and projects around the US,17 topical guides 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. Here are just a few of the interesting activities included on the disk: Themes and topics include: Click here for the full table of contents (pdf file). Click here to order the disk.
SkyServer Challenging Projects - Teacher'ss Guides Our projects are designed to teach astronomy interactively, using the tools that professional astronomers use. All examples in these projects are taken from real stars and galaxies as seen by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the most detailed survey in the history of astronomy. These pages give information on how to use SkyServer's projects as an interactive lab in your science class. The projects were designed to be done individually, but they can be done in teams as well. SkyServer Challenges are designed to stretch the students' thinking with difficult questions and long-term projects. Many of these challenges are ideas that SDSS astronomers thought of, but haven't had the chance to work through yet. Click a name or image to choose your challenge:
space.htm Space Project Descriptions (& a cautionary reminder . . .) Assignments Lab writeups will be due as per the syllabus, generally on lab days after each test. Only projects from this set are available for credit for the due dates labled "space project due". Two credits are due for each duedate - graded on a 20 point basis - projects exceeding 10 points are accepted as multiple credits / 10 pts. Mix & match projects of different values to get the required 20 points. Lab Behavior Project work and individual & group discussion of proceedure, results, and implications is a REQUIRED classtime activity. Bring up ?' Off - task, avoidant behavior, lack of materials to work on or with, absence of verifiable progress, or disruptive behavior result in expulsion from lab with a discipline referral for disobeyance / non-compliance. Product Expectations (Experimental Lab Report Format from SciFest Board) NO REPEATS OF PROJECT SELECTIONS ALLOWED FOR ANY CREDIT! General Resources 1) Send in the Clouds:>!
Marsbound! Mission to the Red Planet - JPL Education by David Seidel David Seidel manages JPL's K-12 education program. Before joining JPL he taught high school astronomy and physical science and ran a planetarium. Marsbound! What's particularly nifty is that this activity simulates real situations experienced by NASA scientists and engineers. Student ability level: Students need to be able to add and subtract fractions, and multiply and divide whole numbers. Tip: Make sure you use a color printer for the game board and cards. You can find Marsbound!
REBROADCAST: Space Celebrate the 35th anniversary of the launch of Voyager 2 (it rocketed off Earth on 8/20/77 carrying a copy of the Golden Record), and tip your hat to the Mars rover Curiosity as it kicks off its third week on the red planet, with a rebroadcast of one our favorite episodes: Space. We've been space-crazy the past few weeks here at Radiolab -- from cheering on the scientifically epic landing of the Mars rover earlier this month, to staying up late to watch the Perseid meteor showers, to reliving a stomach-churning spacewalk with an astronaut in our live show In the Dark. We've been happily turning our thoughts and gazes skyward all summer long. Dark Side of the Earth 200 miles above Earth's surface, astronaut Dave Wolf -- rocketing through the blackness of Earth's shadow at 5 miles a second -- floated out of the Mir Space Station on his very first spacewalk. In this short, he describes the extremes of light and dark in space, relives a heart-pounding close call, and shares one of the most tranquil moments of his life. When we were putting together our live show In the Dark, Jad and Robert called up Dave Wolf to ask him if he had any stories about darkness. And boy, did he. Back in late 1997, Dave Wolf was on his first spacewalk, to perform work on the Mir (the photo to the right was taken during that mission, courtesy of NASA.). Out in blackness of space, the contrast between light and dark is almost unimaginably extreme -- every 45 minutes, you plunge between absolute darkness on the night-side of Earth, and blazing light as the sun screams into view. Dave's description of his first spacewalk was all we could've asked for, and more.
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).
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