Educational resources in astronomy
What kinds of constellations are there in different cultures? How did they get their names? In this assignment, pupils listen to stories about constellations and can then come up with and name their own constellation.
Keywords: night sky, stories, constellation
Now it’s time for your class to shine out! Test your knowledge on astronomy and observatories in “The Universe and I” quiz.
Keywords: quiz, astronomy, space
Welcome on a trip to our neighbourhood, the Solar System! How far away are the other planets from Earth? And how small is our home planet compared to the other objects that orbit our Sun?
Keywords: Solar system, planets, scale
Become a space researcher by studying a very familiar object in the sky! Our Moon orbits the Earth and always looks different: its shape and position vary at different times over the month.
Keywords: Moon, Moon phases
In this activity, students will first learn the correct terms for geological features. Then they identify these same features found on Earth on other planets, grouping the images from other planets into categories, labelling them and noting the similarities.
Students will then complete an activity to understand how water carves channels into their surfaces.
Age Range: 8-13
Prep. Time: 15 minutes
Lesson Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Cost per activity: High
Includes the use of: Sand, Craft Sand, Water, Trays and rocks/pebbles
The moon is Earths natural satellite and a key element of our night sky. This activity starts with an overview of the moon and will deepen understanding of the phases of the lunar cycle and their names. Students will then complete an investigation to discover why the moon appears to us the way it does.
Age Range: 9-11
Prep. Time: 10 minutes
Lesson Time: 1 hour
Cost per activity: Medium
Includes the use of: Balls, printouts, markers
What is a ‘Goldilocks Zone’? Can you plot the orbits of planets in our own and distant solar systems?
In this activity, students will become galactic astronomers, using mathematical skills and key facts to plot the orbits of Earth and planets in our solar system before plotting the orbits of exoplanets around their stars. By plotting the orbits of Earth and other planets in our solar system, they can then learn about and calculate the position of the Goldilocks Zone and discover which of these exoplanets are potentially habitable.
Age Range: 9-11
Prep. Time: 20 minutes
Lesson Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Cost per activity: Medium
Includes the use of: Calculator, scissors, paper, rulers, coloured pens/pencils, star system info sheets
In this session, students will learn about exoplanets. Working together in groups to design their own planets, students will use their imagination and creativity to decide on what sort of conditions would be present. This session also has opportunities for groups to present to the rest of the class. This session also covers themes of adaptation and evolution as they create their own unique life form to survive the conditions on one of the planets.
Age Range: 7-11
Prep. Time: 15 minutes
Lesson Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Cost per activity: Medium
Includes the use of: Arts and crafts supplies, computer or tablets with internet access, books
In this activity, we will demonstrate and model the solar system motions with our selves as objects. In this activity, we will try to find what is the directions of motion and rotation of the the moon and inner planets. How can we “shift” our perspective of the solar system between a stationary observer and an observer standing on a rotating Earth?
Asteroids are small objects that zoom around the Solar System. See if you can find the asteroid in the photos in this assignment! Pluto was discovered using this same method.
Keywords: asteroid, photos, blinking