Search Results
Showing results 1 to 20 of 30

The Size and Distance of the Planets
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners investigate the concepts of relative size and distance by creating a basic model of the solar system.

Balloon Impacts
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners measure the diameter of their water balloons, model an impact, measure the diameter of the “crater” area, and determine the ratio of impactor to crater.

Make a Sun Clock: Tell Time with the Sun
Source Institutions
Before there were clocks, people used shadows to tell time. In this outdoor activity, learners will discover how to tell time using only a compass, a pencil, a handy printout, and a sunny day.

Stargazing
Source Institutions
In this nighttime, outdoor activity, learners keep a record of what they see in the sky by drawing constellations, the Moon, and making note of the weather and conditions each day.

Jump to Jupiter
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners help create and then navigate an outdoor course of the traditional "planets" (including dwarf planet Pluto), which are represented by small common objects.

The Thousand-Yard Model
Source Institutions
This is a classic exercise for visualizing the scale of the Solar System.
Making An Impact!
Source Institutions
In this activity (on page 14 of PDF), learners use a pan full of flour and some rocks to create a moonscape.

Where Are the Distant Worlds? Star Maps
Source Institutions
This fun hands-on astronomy activity lets learners use star maps (included) to find constellations and to identify stars with extrasolar planets (Northern Hemisphere only, naked eye).

Solar Water Heater
Learners work in teams to design and build solar water heating devices that mimic those used in residences to capture energy in the form of solar radiation and convert it to thermal energy.

Using a Simple Astrolabe
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners use an astrolabe to measure the altitude of objects. Learners will first practice taking measurements by measuring the altitude of trees and buildings.

Finding the Size of the Sun and Moon
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners build a simple pinhole viewer. They use this apparatus to project images from a variety of light sources, including a candle, the Sun, and the Moon.

Moon Watch Flip Book!
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners observe the moon each night for a month and draw their observations in a Moon Watch Log.

Experiencing Parallax With Your Thumb
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners investigate parallax, a method used to measure distances to stars and planets in the solar system.

Portable Sundial
Source Institutions
Learners construct one or more of the following kinds of sundials: a shadow plot, a horizontal sundial, and a diptych sundial.

Telescopes as Time Machines
Source Institutions
This fun, nighttime hands-on astronomy activity lets learners explore how long it takes for light from different objects in the universe to reach Earth.

Build a Solar System
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners make a scale model of the Solar System and learn the real definition of "space." Learners use the online calculator to create an appropriate scale to use as a basis for thei

Why Does the Moon Have Phases?
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners use a simple 3D model to discover why the Moon has phases.

Moon and Stars
Source Institutions
In this craft activity, learners create a string of cut-out moons and stars.

Measure the Sun's Size
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners make their own pinhole viewer in order to measure the size of the sun.

Canned Heat
Source Institutions
In this activity, learners explore how light and dark colored objects absorb the Sun's radiations at different rates.