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Make a Sun Clock: Tell Time with the Sun
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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.

Changing Shadows
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In this sunny day, outdoor activity, learners observe changes in shadows over time. The activity also helps to develop a sense of the Earth's motion.

The Thousand-Yard Model
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This is a classic exercise for visualizing the scale of the Solar System.

Light is Made of Colors
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Learners observe different light sources, outdoors and indoors, using prism glasses (diffraction glasses) and color filters.

Exploring Ultraviolet (UV) light from the Sun
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In this outdoor activity, learners explore UV rays from the Sun and ways to protect against these potentially harmful rays.
Making An Impact!
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In this activity (on page 14 of PDF), learners use a pan full of flour and some rocks to create a moonscape.

Observing the Moon
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Use this Moon Map Guide to help learners identify features on the Moon, while looking through a telescope.

Comet Cratering
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Make impact craters with marbles (or rocks or washers) in a container of flour. Find out what you can learn about your "comets" by the craters they make.

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.

Finding the Size of the Sun and Moon
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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.

Solar Cooker
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Learners build a simple solar oven from a shoebox, black construction paper, and aluminum foil. Over the course of a few hours, the oven heats up water enough to brew tea.

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

How to View a Solar Eclipse
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This is an activity to do when there is a solar eclipse!

Telescopes as Time Machines
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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.

Cook Food Using the Sun
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Learners build a solar oven from a cardboard pizza box, aluminum foil and plastic. Learners can use their oven to cook S'mores or other food in the sun.

Rain Machine (Solar Still)
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In this activity, learners work in groups to build simple solar stills filled with salt water. After the stills are complete, learners observe what happens when they place the stills in the sun.

Solar Cell Simulation
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In this activity, learners model the flow of energy from the sun as it enters a photovoltaic cell, moves along a wire and powers a load.

Reflective Solar Cooker
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In this activity, learners use the Sun's energy to cook marshmallows. Learners construct the solar oven out of simple everyday materials.

Sunblock Investigation
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In this "Sid the Science Kid" activity, learners set up a simple experiment to find out how sunscreen counteracts the effects of the sun.

Shadow Play
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In this three part activity, learners explore and experiment with shadows to learn about the Sun's relative motion in the sky.