Is Anybody Out There?


Source Institutions

Source Institutions

Add to list Go to activity
Learners listen to and try to decipher a radio message that was sent from Earth to possible intelligent civilizations. By decoding the message sent from Earth's Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico, and by creating their own messages, learners consider the question "If there is intelligent life in the universe, how could we communicate with it?" and the fact that if there is intelligent life on worlds other than Earth, so far no one has replied to Earth's message. This activity can be found on pages 4-5 of the activity guide. [Activity is publicly available through a web crawler capture on Archive.org.]

Quick Guide


Preparation Time:
5 to 10 minutes

Learning Time:
30 to 45 minutes

Estimated Materials Cost:
1 cent - $1 per student

Age Range:
Ages 11 - 18

Resource Type:
Activity

Language:
English

Materials List (per student)


  • Arecibo Message download (link)
  • Worksheet 1 .2 – Is Anybody Out There?
  • computer, MP3 player or other device to play downloaded recording
  • pencils or pens

Subjects


  • Earth and Space Science
    • Astronomy
  • Engineering and Technology
    • Technology
      • Information and Communication

Audience


To use this activity, learners need to:

  • hear

Learning styles supported:

  • Uses STEM to solve real-world problems

Other


Access Rights:

  • Free access

By:

Source Collection

  • Science After School Consumer's Guide

Rights:

  • All rights reserved, TERC, 2007

Funding Sources:

  • NASA, NAS5-26555
  • National Science Foundation, NSF 9730728