Photographs and graphics bring the solar system and Earth to life in this presentation. Viewers are taken on a virtual field trip, beginning with the sun and planet placement, and proceeding through both Earth and the moon's movements....

Space explorers take a virtual trip around the sun right within your classroom! They stand in a circle facing away from the "sun" (a lamp) in the center of the room. As they move according to your instructions, they view different...

This Groundhog Day add a bit of rhythm and rhyme with 23 songs and poems that put a spotlight on the holiday's shining star, the groundhog.  

Are brighter stars actually brighter? Turns out they are probably just closer! A presentation compares features of stars to our favorite star, the sun. In addition, solar lovers learn to classify stars based on their masses,...

Let the star's color be the guide! The color of a star indicates its temperature and its mass and distance affect the gravitational force. The lesson presentations address these concepts as well as how the theory of special relativity...

Star light, star bright ... just how long can you wish on that star? Well, it depends on its mass. The presentation explains the life cycle of stars based on their sizes. Scholars learn about the life expectancy of a star based on the...

Animating an object by moving it across a computer screen can be accomplished by drawing the object repetitively, each time adjusting some aspect of the drawing slightly. This activity is an easy introduction to animation in JavaScript,...

Survey the solar system by viewing this PowerPoint. Amateur astronomers discover that gravity is responsible for Earth's orbit around the sun and the moon's orbit around Earth. They explore the moon's phases and Earth's seasons. This...

Inform your elementary scientists why we experience day and night. They are provided with facts and explanation as to why the day and night cycle occur, discuss what they've learned with a partner, and are then given the task of writing...

How do you put something as large as the universe in perspective? Use a series of scale experiments. Classmates collaborate around four experiments to examine the scale of the earth-moon system, our solar system, the Milky Way galaxy,...

It takes 225 million years for our sun to travel around the galaxy. The presentation covers astronomical units, light years, telescopes, types of stars, the life cycle of a star, and types of galaxies. This is the last lesson in a...

Scholars build a compass using a needle, cork, magnet, and a water-filled cup in order to locate the magnetic north and south.

In this brightness of stars worksheet, high schoolers answer 7 questions about the apparent magnitudes of stars, the sun, and the moon. They compare the brightness of stars, galaxies, astronomical objects and the sun.

Has the solar system always been like it is today? A lesson presentation begins with a discussion of the formation of our solar system. It continues with a compare and contrast of the inner and outer planets. 

Fourth and fifth graders will love showing what they know about the planets and our solar system. This game is fashioned after "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and has the class work through fifteen different solar system related...

Ever made solar s'mores? Or recreated the solar system using peanuts? Astronomers young and old investigate all things solar using a variety of activities. Explore how the sun works, types of light it emits, and methods of charting the...

How does the color of the sky change from blue to reds and oranges to black? An illuminating lesson explains how light travels through different mediums using the sun's light as an example. By examining diagrams and illustrations, pupils...

Let the sun shine as your young coders move the clouds across the sky while practicing animation coding skills in JavaScript. Younger learners may benefit from more guided help or a whole-class discussion before trying this coding...

Explore outer space and decorate your classroom with an astronomy project. Learners create a visual model with the creation of a scaled solar system using different sized balls.

There is more about the Milky Way that scientists don't know than what they do know—that leaves a lot to discover! A thorough lesson presentation explores the components of the Milky Way Galaxy and their behaviors. 

Take a trip through time. A lesson resource provides instruction on the origin of current measurements for time. The text explains the different tools humans used throughout history to measure time as well as provides examples such as...

Questions about water, weather, geology, astronomy, and the scientific process make up this Jeopardy game. It is a pretty well-rounded set of slides, although you may want to be aware that a few of the questions are specific to the state...

The earth sciences are the focus for this Jeopardy-style review game. Categories include geology, space, scientific investigation, meteorology, and oceanography. Diagrams and pictures are involved with most of the questions, making this...

Finish or launch your unit on the solar system with a jigsaw project covering major celestial concepts such as the Milky Way Galaxy, asteroids, meteors, comets, Earth's moon, and, of course, all the planets. Learners start by...