Earth, Moon, and Sun is not just for school children. Families will enjoy the antics of Coyote as he begins to understand the whys and hows of Earth, Moon and Sun. Check our show schedule for public show times. Teachers and other group leaders may make reservations for the show during the week.
Sunlight, Sun Bright
Construct and use sundials, and map changes in the location of sunrise and sunset.
The Reasons for the Seasons
Understand the causes of the changing seasons on Earth. Addresses
common misconceptions and explains how to observe seasonal differences in the sky.
Creating
Craters
This fun activity invites students to send meteorites crashing into a powdery
"moonscape" and to observe the resulting craters.
Moon Phases and Eclipses
Use spheres to model the relationships between the Earth, Moon and Sun that
cause the familiar phases of the Moon.
NC Science Curriculum
Standards
Review of the 1st through 5th grade science standards addressed by the
Planetarium show Earth, Moon and Sun and the accompanying activities.
Project
ASTRO
Project ASTRO: Teachers and Astronomers as Partners in Learning, A National
Program to Improve Science Education in Grades 4-9 Sponsored by the Astronomical
Society of the Pacific. The complete hardcopy version of this project was
useful to the author of the Earth, Moon and Sun activity pages.
The Universe in the Classroom
The Universe in the Classroom is a free quarterly newsletter published by
the Astronomical Society of the Pacific for educators. It is available
either in printed form or on the website.
Solar System
Simulator
The Solar System Simulator, a NASA/JPL/Caltech spyglass on the cosmos
allows you to select from many options (including date, object of
interest, and field of view) to have the simulator create a color
image of your favorite planet or satellite.
Views of the Solar System
Learn more about meteors,
meteorites, asteroids,
our Moon, planet
Earth, history of space
exploration, and everything else in the solar system. This site has
lots of multimedia applications, links, up-to-date scientific information,
and photographs.
NASA
SpaceLink
This is one of NASA's many educational sites. This ever-changing catalogue
includes activities for teachers and students of all ages, and a very
useful search engine.
NASA
StarChild
NASA's StarChild: A Learning Center for Young Astronomers pages includes facts,
activities, photographs, games, vocabulary, and quiz questions for young
astronomers. A second level is available for more advanced students, and
links to Imagine the
Universe for students 14 years and up.
Windows
to the Universe
Windows to the Universe is a graphic-intensive site with lots of links, a
wide range of astronomy-related pages (follow the links on the bottom of
each page) and some unusual features such as astronomy "virtual
postcards" to send and an interface to search the site for content
relevant to the National Science Standards. The site has student pages
(select beginning, intermediate, or advanced) and teacher pages.
Bad
Astronomy
Phil Plait writes the truth about astronomy misconceptions, scientific
misquotes, and confusing pseudoscience.
National Air and
Space Museum
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum has online exhibits,
information about museum lectures, events, theater shows, and more. Their
Educational
Services page includes online activities, publications to order and to
download free, and teacher workshop information.
Astronomy
For Kids
This small, simple site is easy for young children to read, with basic astronomy
facts and one photo for each subject.
A Private Universe
The A Private Universe site, produced by the Annenberg/CPB Math and Science Project, has
a number of activities for the classroom including lunar phases and other aspects of the Earth/Moon system.