SCIENCE
CONTENT
AND RESOURCES
CLUB ACTIVITIES
SunEarth Connection: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
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The Sun Up Close
Students use NASA images from SOHO, TRACE and ground-based observatories to measure the sizes of convection cells, sunspots, flares, and prominences using earth as a scale.
Submitted By: Sten Odenwald, Holy Redeemer Elementary/Middle School Astronomy Club -
The Spinning Sun
From telescopic observations of sunspots, backed up with web-based real-time data, students plot the location of sunspots over the course of two meetings and calculate how fast the sun rotates from the position shifts. Telescope eyepiece projection onto a white screen, can be used or direct observation through a suitable neutral density solar filter. Additionally, binoculars are very effective at showing sunspots when the image is projected into a box lined with white paper.
Submitted By: Lou Mayo, Sligo Creek Elementary Astronomy Club -
Magnetic Field Simulations
A simple experiment involving magnets and iron filings. Students spread the filings on a piece of paper elevated off the table. A magnet is inserted under the paper showing magnetic field lines with the iron filings. Students can also make their own magnet with batteries, wire, and a nail, showing how magnetic fields are created from changing (rotating) electric current. A discussion of dynamos and the magnetic fields of the sun and planets follows.
Submitted By: Lou Mayo, Sligo Creek Elementary Astronomy Club -
Quiz Show Game
This game generates a lot of energy and enthusiasm! Students divide into teams. Each team picks a name. Then the club leader asks a series of questions on astronomy topics they have already covered. Teams get points for correct answers. A variation on this is having the teams make up their own questions. Additionally, teams can be supplied with text on astronomy as references. (Students love to hum the "Jeopardy" quiz show theme and make "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" jokes while the other teams are working on their answers).
Submitted By: Lou Mayo, Sligo Creek Elementary Astronomy Club -
Solar Cookies
Kids can make models of the sun using 4" sugar cookies, different colored icing (indicates different internal zones (core, radiative zone, convective zone, photosphere), sprinkles (represents granularity of photosphere), and red (coronal loops) and black (delimits cutaway of sun) string licorice.
Submitted By: Lou Mayo, Sligo Creek Elementary Astronomy Club -
Astronomy Screensaver
It's a multi-facetted application that allows you to keep abreast of status reports, news and announcements of events taking place at ESA Science and the most recent near-real-time images from SOHO. I don't know of a NASA equivalent but many of the projects are joint with NASA. For those interested in Solar observations, there's less chance of missing exciting solar storms (like the one that's been going on for the last few days) because the screensaver updates its images whenever you're online.
Download it here: http://sci.esa.int/jump.cfm?oid=34651
Submitted By: Mike Cripps, Neatherd High School Astronomy Club -
Sun-Earth Connection PowerPoint Presentation
This is a PowerPoint presentation I created to teach the basics of the Sun-Earth Connection to elementary and middle-school students. It contains images and information to help students learn about the Sun, the Earth's magnetosphere, and the Sun's connection to such events on Earth as auroras, disruptions in telecommunications on Earth, and other related events.
Sun-Earth Connections.ppt Size: 1.43Mb
Submitted By: Dorian Janney, Watkins Mill High School Astronomy Club -
Outreach
Most of the Orangevale Open Astronomy Club's activities focus on Outreach to local schools and to local organizations that want to hold a Star Party. We work with our local amateur group, Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society (SVAS). Our school has a ten inch Orion dobsonian and several binoculars, and our club members have about four telescopes, all together. Schools and organizations request Star Parties from SVAS, who then schedules the events.
Before each event we spend some time at school talking about the best targets for the upcoming evening and the kinds of things we will tell the Party-goers. We spend some time with Starry Night software and a large projector picking targets that will appeal to the general public. Then we discuss typical misconceptions that the public might have and the clearest, simplest way to communicate a scientific understanding.
My students also participate in the SVAS annual Astronomy Day at a local park. We've made demonstratio ns, posters, PowerPoint presentations and projects that we show at the events. Usually these presentations coordinate with California State Standards. We have a sun filter for our big telescope and make it available during the day of these events.
Submitted By: Jim Carvalho, Orangevale Open K-8 School
