How Far Away Are the Planets?

Do you plan to get your scientists engaged in the power of nature with the documentary: America's Tsunami-- Are We Next? If so, this 37-question viewing guide will keep your scholars attentive as they record pertinent details such as,...

Upper-elementary astronomers take on the role of interplanetary real estate salesmen. They research an assigned planet and create a PowerPoint to persuade the rest of the class to purchase property and move there. This fun project would...

Scholars gain an insight into the relative size of planets and distance between inner and outer planets with the help of informational text, a data table, and a series of four questions.  

Did you know light can decrease visibility? Light pollution absolutely makes it more difficult to see stars. Scholars build a simple magnitude reader to determine the magnitude of stars. They use these data to estimate the impact of...

The earth only revolves around one thing — and it's not any of your pupils. The lesson includes two activities dealing with the distance to the sun and the moon. First, scholars create a pin hole camera and use the rules of similar...

Students study robotic spacecrafts that have provided detailed information about the inner and outer planets. For this exploring the planets lesson plan, students use posters and diagrams to study the various robotic spacecraft sent to...

Trying to understand the vastness of outer space can be quite a challenge for young scientists. Help put things in perspective with this cross-curricular activity as students work in pairs creating scaled models of the solar system,...

Dr. Joy Reidenberg is an expert in comparative anatomy, but also quite relatable to preteens! Here, she lectures on echolocation by likening it to "farting with the face!" She explains with film, actual whale voice recordings, diagrams,...

Have your class learn about the solar system using this hands on technique. Learners review what they know about the planets, and create a clay model of the solar system. There are a list of resource links to make this lesson a complete...

In this solar system learning exercise students explore how some of the planets have changed their status, view a video and answer questions about Pluto and the other planets.