This is an activity on apparent sizes and apparent angles, related to understanding how distance affects what we observe in outer space (the sun, moon, stars, or planets).
Crea un reloj de sol humano para medir el tiempo usando sombras. Actividad de Bolsa de STEM Semanal. Agentes de Colorado Americorp en los condados de Araphahoe, Denver, Garfield, Larimer y Weld. Trabajo apoyado por la Corporación para el Servicio Nacional y Comunitario bajo el número de subvención 18AFHCO0010008 de Americorps. Las opiniones o puntos de vista expresados en esta lección pertenecen a los autores y no representan necesariamente la posición oficial o una posición respaldada por la Corporación o el programa Americorps.
This guided inquiry activity has students using models to create variations of alignment of the Earth, Moon, and Sun. By varying their arrangement, students will discover how the positions of the Earth, Moon and Sun interact, how shadows can be cast on the Moon and on the Earth, and how Earth's view of the lit portion of the Moon changes.
This is an activity about ellipses, their focal points, and how the mathematics involved pertains to planetary orbits. Learners will draw their own ellipse using a string and pencil and calculate the minimum and maximum distance from the Sun for each of the planets. This activity requires access to the Space Weather software and is Solar System Activity 5 in a larger resource, titled Space Update.
Many people hold preconceptions about the reasons behind the phases of the Moon. Many think the phases are caused by the shadow of the Earth on the Moon or by shadows passing in front of the Moon. This activity creates a model with the real Moon and Sun in the sky to help participants discover the real reason for the lunar phases.
This is an activity about the solar activity cycle. Learners will construct a graph to identify a pattern of the number of observed sunspots and the number of coronal mass ejections emitted by the Sun over a fifteen year time span. A graphing calculator is recommended, but not required, for this activity. This is the second activity in the Solar Storms and You: Exploring the Wind from the Sun educator guide.
Children work together in a group to create an Earth landscape, compare different environments on Earth, and talk about what makes Earth special.
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.
Students learn how CCD cameras use color filters to create astronomical images in this Moveable Museum unit. The four-page PDF guide includes suggested general background readings for educators, activity notes, and step-by-step directions. Students look at black-and-white photos to understand gray scale and construct simple red and green cellophane filters and observe magazine images through them.
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientists investigate how farming along the Mississippi River impacts floods and what can be done about it.
About 4.6 billion years ago, a cloud of interstellar dust, ice crystals, and gas collapsed to form a rapidly rotating disk with a young sun at its center: our solar system. This comic strip, a supplement to the Hall of Meteorites Educator's Guide, explains the processes that led to the creation of the planets and the asteroid belt.
Fósiles Realmente Antiguos Equipo STEM. El Centro de Extensión y Educación en Ciencias Naturales colabora con la facultad de CSU, los Parques Nacionales y los programas de ciencia ciudadana para traducir su investigación científica actual en experiencias STEM únicas para los estudiantes en forma de kits educativos que se pueden prestar. Cada kit contiene casi todos los materiales necesarios (menos cosas comunes como agua y toallas de papel) para explorar algunos temas de investigación científica realmente interesantes. enviando un formulario de recogida local disponible en el sitio web vinculado. Utilice la información de contacto en la página de descripción general del kit STEM para obtener más información. https://www.cns-eoc.colostate.edu/stem-kits/ Debido al peso extremo de la arena utilizada en este kit, la única opción es la recogida local. Este kit se proporciona de forma gratuita para uso educativo.
In this Digital Universe activity, students learn firsthand about estimation strategies and observational bias. They estimate how common several celestial objects are based on their location and make inferences about larger population patterns throughout the galaxy. The printable PDF activity includes illustrated step-by-step instructions for the following hands-on and computer-assisted activities: Introduction to Celestial Objects, Broad Distribution of Objects in the Galaxy and Making Galactic Estimates
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.
Students are divided into groups and, after being introduced to galaxies in general, are given 20 galaxy images to sort into categories of their own devising. The groups then compare notes about their sorting criteria and learn more about what the different visual characteristics of galaxies imply.
Students learn how a telescope's aperture determines how much light it can gather in this Moveable Museum unit. It has three procedures, one of which is optional. The four-page PDF guide includes suggested general background readings for educators, activity notes, step-by-step directions, and information about where to obtain supplies. In this activity, the light collector is not a lens or a mirror, but a hole in a cardboard box. Light enters through the hole and lights up the box. Users can change the size of the hole and see how the amount of light entering the box changes. The results show why increasing the aperture of a telescope increases the amount of light it can collect.
This is a set of four, one-page problems about the distance craft travel on Mars. Learners will use the Pythagorean Theorem to determine distance between a series of hypothetical exploration sites within Gale Crater on Mars. Options are presented so that students may learn about the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission through a NASA press release or by viewing a NASA eClips video [6 min.]. This activity is part of the Space Math multi-media modules that integrate NASA press releases, NASA archival video, and mathematics problems targeted at specific math standards commonly encountered in middle school.
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.
This activity is an investigation of the Earths Moon phases and its position in the sky.
The Grand Junction Gem and Mineral Club is a resource for the Grand Valley area of Western Colorado. Club members are available for speaking engagements, or visiting experts at schools. Use the contact form on the website to reach out about specific topics and available guest speakers. The club also sponsors the Grand Junction Gem and Mineral Show each year. They offer a free youth club called Jr Rock Hounds that has monthly meetings with activites and field trips. Visit the main site: https://www.grandjunctionrockclub.org/