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The activities on this page support International Year of Astronomy (2009). They are also instrumental in teaching the following National Science Education Standards (USA):

• The earth is the third planet from the sun in a system that includes the moon, the sun, eight other planets and their moons, and smaller objects, such as asteroids and comets. [5-8]
  
• Most objects in the solar systems are in regular and predictable motion. those motions explain such phenomena as the day, the year, phases of the moon, and eclipses. [5-8]
  
• Gravity is the force that keeps planets in orbit around the sun and governs the rest of the motion in the solar system.... [5-8]

All the activities below are © by the Regents of the University of California and may be duplicated for non-profit education purposes. Some (as noted) were created in development of the Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) Space Science Sequences and the Full Option Science System (FOSS) Planetary Science course.

Grades K–3

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Kepler Coloring Sheet - Grades K–3 (84 kb PDF).

Grades 4–6

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Kepler Star Wheels - Grades 4–adult. One of the "Uncle Al's Starwheels" series of planispheres, inexpensive star maps, adjustable for any time of night in any month of the year. There are interchangeable star wheel disks designed to help people find constellations with a "Basic Constellations" wheel, locate objects with a "Coordinates Wheel" and, with the "Kepler Wheel" to find the location of the Kepler target field of view as well as naked eye stars known to have exoplanets visible from the northern hemisphere. These Star Wheels are based on the Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS) Sky Challenger star wheels that have even more star wheels: a set of 6, available at the LHS store.

Morning Star and Evening Star (for Grades 3-8; PDF; 453kb) - This activity will help your students to see why Venus appears to us sometimes as the morning "star" and sometimes as the evening"star." This is one of the classroom activities from the Lawrence Hall of Science's Planetarium Activities for Student Success (PASS) series, Volume 11: Astronomy of the Americas.

Simulated Moon Phase Observations (for Grades 4–5) - a simulation for use when weather or other conditions preclude direct observations of Moon phases, as called for in the GEMS Space Science Sequences (grades 3–5) or FOSS. Students stand in a large semicircle around a large screen display so that thay are all around the same distance from it. For each view of the Moon, students (1) draw the shape of the Moon phase on a sheet of paper, (2) measure the separation between the Sun and Moon in "fingerwidths" at arms-length, (3) record that separation next to the Moon phase shape.

Grades 6–8

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Detecting Planet Transits (for grades 6–8) This is part of the GEMS Space Science Sequence for grades 6–8 (Sessions 4.5 andf 4.6) published in 2008. Students model NASA's Kepler mission observations of planetary transits (a planet moving in front of a star) by standing in a circle with model star (light bulb) in the center, and observing, through rolled up paper viewing tubes, a marble planet orbiting the star.

Human Orrery (PDF-580 Kb; updated 2008 Nov 21; for grades 6–8) This is also part of the GEMS Space Science Sequence (Session 3.10) published in 2008. Students lay out and act out a kinesthetic model of the solar system in 3 dimensions: 2 of space and one of time.

Observing the Jupiter System (Session 3.2 of the GEMS Space Science Sequence for grades 6-8) In 1610, Galileo’s discovery and careful observations of four of Jupiter’s moons were instrumental in disproving the geocentric model, which held that the Earth was at the center of everything, including the Solar System. In this session, students carefully observe Jupiter’s moons just as Galileo did. The class discusses their observations and arrives at the conclusion that Jupiter is at the center of a system of orbiting moons. Students’ reenactment of this discovery highlights the important role of the telescope in the development of astronomy, starting at the very onset of the telescope’s use as a scientific instrument. They learn that the farther out an object orbits, the longer it takes to orbit.

Habitable Planets (for Grades 5-8; PDF-350 Kb, 2004 Dec 23)—This activity encourages a discussion about what makes a planet habitable. Students learn that for a planet to support life like we find on Earth, it must have: (a) the right temperature range for there to be liquid water, and (b) the right size range to be able to have suitable atmosphere.

Transit Tracks (designed for grades 6–8; easily adapted for high school) — Using a model of a planet transiting a star, students learn what a transit is, under what conditions a transit may be seen, and what effects a planet’s size and distance from its star have on transit behavior. They interpret graphs of brightness vs time to deduce characteristics of a star-planet system. This activity was developed for an educational poster and is the basis for an investigation for a newly revised edition of the Planetary Science course in the middle school series of Full Option Science System (FOSS).

Grades 9–12

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Tracking Jupiter's Moons (for grades 9–12, requires image processing software) — an investigation from the Hands-On Universe project in which students use image processing software to analyze observatory images of Jupiter and its moons. Students determine the relationship of orbital radius and period, then use Newton's and Kepler's laws to compute the mass of Jupiter. Requires Image Processing software, such as HOU IP 2.0.

Exoplanet Transits (grades 9-12, requires image processing software) — Students use telescope images, image processing software, and data from the Internet to determine the size and orbital period of an exoplanet.

College

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• Transit Problem - suitable for non-science majors taking an astronomy course at the college level.
• Transit Problem (Advanced) - more advanced, designed for students who have had one semester of physics (no calculus needed).