UCI Observatory - Astronomy Outreach Program

Astronomy Activities for Teachers

We have developed a number of activities for Grade 3, Grade 5 and Grade 8-12 teachers to do with their students prior to and after tours of the Observatory or our outreach visits to the classroom. These activities are based on California State Science Standards and most include fun, hands-on activities that stimulates learning and increases retention. We also have created some activities for college-level introductory astronomy classes, which are especially useful for assigning as extra credit. Click on the links in the right hand column to download the necessary files. Answer keys for the college-level assignments are available by emailing us.

If you use these activities with your class, please let us know and return this survey to us so that we can continually improve these activities. Help us by reporting on the survey any typos or errors that you find. Mail or email the survey to: Prof. Tammy Smecker-Hane, tsmecker@uci.edu, Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, 4129 Reines Hall, University of California, Irvine, CA 96697-4575. We greatly apprecitate your input.

Activity	Grade Level	Required Files
1. Exploring the Phases of the Moon This activity gives students a chance to do hands-on experiments that demonstrate that the relative positions of the Earth/Moon/Sun determine the observed phase of the Moon.	Gr 3	ELEM_Activity_MoonPhases.pdf
2. Rising and Setting of the Moon In this activity students will do hands-on experiments and learn that each different phase of the Moon rises and sets at a different time of day. Children also learn that the time of day is set by the location of the Sun relative to an observer on earth, and the time of day is different for people at different longitudes on the Earth.	Gr 3	ELEM_Activity_MoonRiseSet.pdf
3. Your Place in the Universe In this activity, students will explore where our Earth and our Solar System reside in our Galaxy.	Gr 8-12	HS_Activity_YPIU.pdf HS_Activity_YPIU_Worksheet.pdf
4. Observing the Constellations of the Zodiac This activity teaches students about the constellations of the Zodiac and when they can be observed as a function of month and time of day.	Gr 8-12, but can be adapted for Gr 3	HS_Activity_Zodiac.pdf Zodiac.ppt
5. Determining the Sizes of Stars Using the HR Diagram In this activity students will explore the reasons why stars are grouped into specific categories in the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) Diagram based on their luminosities, temperatures and radii.	Gr 8-12 (Requires Algebra)	HS_Activity_HRDiagram.pdf
6. Measuring the Rotational Speed of Sprial Galaxies and Discovering Dark Matter In this activity, students will measure the rotation of a spiral galaxy using the Doppler shift and learn that galaxies are mostly made of "invisible" mass called dark matter.	Gr 8-12 (Requires Algebra)	HS_Activity_RotCurve.pdf
7. Measuring the Rotational Speed of Sprial Galaxies and Discovering Dark Matter In this activity, students will measure the rotation of a spiral galaxy using the Doppler shift and learn that galaxies are mostly made of "invisible" mass called dark matter.	College (Requires Algebra)	COL_Activity_RotCurve.pdf Answers available upon request
8. Determining the Sizes and Distances of Stars Using the HR Diagram In this activity students will explore the reasons why stars are grouped into specific categories in the Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) Diagram based on their luminosities, temperatures and radii. In addition, they will use the apparent magnitudes of the stars to calculate the stars' distances.	College (Reguires Algebra and Logarithms)	COL_Activity_HRDiagram.pdf Answers available upon request

http://www.physics.uci.edu/~observat/astro_activities_teachers.html
Last updated on May 26, 2009
Tammy Smecker-Hane

The UCI Observatory
Department of Physics & Astronomy
University of California, Irvine