Building a Telescope

Ahoy, matey! Here is an engineering expedition that mini mariners are sure to be swept away by! After reading a brief description and history of periscopes, they work in crews to construct one. Use this activity to enhance a...

Illuminated physics stars show what they know about light by taking this exam. They match several related vocabulary terms to descriptions and answer multiple choice questions about the characteristics of light, magnification, and...

Students participate in a lesson that covers the concepts of solving equations and inequalities. To master the concept they must demonstrate visually and verbally how both sides of an equation must be balanced. They construct a balanced...

The Hubble Telescope is approximately the size of a school bus, but the new Webb Telescope will be approximately the size of a tennis court. The history of the telescope, from its invention to to what it takes to make one, is the focus...

Geometric constructions use simple tools to do complex things. Introduce learners to constructions by copying a segment. A concept video features the proper procedure for performing constructions, so young mathematicans...

At this site students can make their own telescope and see how it works with this experiment. Out of a light, a pair of glasses, a magnifying glass and wax paper.

This site from Georgia State University Physics Department gives a discussion of the manner in which light is refracted by refractive telescopes. Discusses the Galielean telescope and the astronomical telescope.

This simple lesson plan outlines how to build refracting telescopes and calculate their magnification. Use the follow up lab questions to check for student understanding and view links to other NASA lesson plans.

This page explains in fairly simple terms the basics of telescopes. It includes information on the various types of telescopes and the factors people use to select the correct telescope for them. Meade is a leading telescope manufacturer.

Learners explore the difference between a construction and a drawing. They focus on various ways to construct different types of triangles. The lesson plan is an application of Cabri Jr. and reinforces the difference between a...