Classroom Activities
NASA
NASA Activity for Simulating an Eclipse in the Classroom
Students discover relative relationships between the Sun, Earth, and Moon and how the Moon can eclipse the Sun.
Bob Miller’s Light Walk
Bob Miller, an Exploratorium exhibit builder, explores the dynamics of light and how our eye can see the world through a pinhole of a pupil and how we can take advantage of this to make a pinhole camera that will let us see the world, in particular the Sun and solar eclipses.
- Bob Miller’s Web Page
- Bob Miller’s You Tube Video
Explaining how our eyes see the world, and how a pinhole can image a light source.
Activities from William P. Blair
- Several activities demonstrating the geometry of the Earth and the Earth, Moon, Sun system
Blair, W. P. (2001). Some basic astronomy demonstrations for early elementary ages. - Several demonstrations for use in the classroom that should help put the sizes and distances of astronomical objects into a more understandable perspective.
Blair, W. P. (2004). Size scales in astronomy.
Virtual Ballooning
- An interactive simulation that allows students to explore Earth’s atmosphere including pressures and temperature. Shared by the Adler Planetarium.
Virtual Ballooning to Explore the Atmosphere. (n.d.). Retrieved July 07, 2016