Posts Tagged ‘solar system’

Explore NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft

March 29th, 2022

NASA: Solar System Exploration – Cassini

(solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/cassini/overview/)

All grades, with parental supervision

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft arrived at Saturn in July 2004 and, along with the European-built Huygens probe, opened a window into a world never seen before.

When arriving at the website, read the Overview to learn about Saturn and the Cassini mission, lasting over two decades. Make sure to scroll down to see the 10 Ways Cassini Mattered. Next, hover your mouse over the menu in the middle:

  • The Journey – Timeline, Spacecraft, Grand Finale
  • Mission – The Saturn Tour has photos and videos.
  • Science – Learn about Saturn and its largest moon, Titan, and its tiny moon, Enceladus.
  • Galleries – Images, Videos, and more

After exploring all that this website has to offer, check out the “Kids” link under the “More” menu at the top for coloring pages and activities.

If you know someone interested in astronomy, particularly Saturn, this website is a down-to-earth resource for an out-of-this-world study.

Windows to Earth & Space Science

November 9th, 2021

Science: Windows To The Universe

(www.windows2universe.org/)

Grades 3 & up, approximately, with parental supervision

The National Earth Science Teachers Association sponsors this website that offers comprehensive, multi-media information to encourage learning Earth and Space science as well as a range of other related sciences for beginners, intermediate, and advanced students.

When you get to the website you’ll see a sliding panel featuring several of the science presentations in the archives. You can click on anyone to jump right in, or take some time to explore the menu and see what’s available including:

  • Sun – Explore the closest star to Earth including sunspots, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections.
  • Earth – Learn about our planet’s atmosphere and magnetic field, both of which are critical for sustaining life on Earth.
  • Solar System – Discover planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, the heliosphere, and interstellar space.
  • Space – Study stars, galaxies, and other mysterious objects in our Universe.
  • Sciences – Learn how Earth and Space sciences are interconnected with geology, physics, chemistry, and biology.
  • Culture – Browse a collection of myths, folk tales, and stories about the Earth and sky. Check out artwork, poetry, books, and movies that portray the natural world.
  • People – Access biographies of scientists who made science history!
  • Games – Enjoy scientifically themed crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, word searches, and concentration. Play interactives about the carbon cycle, planets, space, and more! Enjoy coloring pages and paper activities
  • Space Weather – Learn about radiation, fluctuating magnetic fields, solar wind and the complex ways they interact with Earth’s magnetic field, including disruption of cell phone communication.
  • Multimedia – Get links to all sorts of pictures, animations, videos, podcasts, and interactive multimedia that are on the “Windows to the Universe” website.
  • Postcards – Read collections of virtual postcards from scientists doing field research around the world with sharks, penguins, ice, rocks, the atmosphere, and the ocean.
  • Citizen Science – Find out about science projects where the public can get involved in scientific research and data collection.

You’ll also find news, research information, and tips for teachers.

Note: This ad-supported site is free, however, you can purchase a membership to access the site ad-free, along with some other interactive features.

Video Presentation of the History of our Solar System

September 14th, 2021

NASA: PlanetQuest Timeline

(exoplanets.nasa.gov/resources/1048/planetquest-timeline/)

Grades 3 – adult, with parental supervision

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory offers a multi-media historic timeline of the discovery of planets in our solar system and in others.

Turn on your speakers to hear the narration as you watch the video slide show. There’s something for everyone here – a description simply doesn’t do it justice.

Explore the World of Astronomy with NASA!

August 17th, 2021

StarChild

(starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/StarChild.html)

Grades 1-8, with parental supervision

NASA created this website to introduce kids to astronomy through colorful, animated pictures and interesting text accompanied by audio narration. 

When you get to the site, choose between Level 1 (easier reading) or Level 2 to learn more about: 

  • Solar System – Sun, Moon, Planets, and more
  • Universe – Galaxy, Stars, Black Holes, and more
  • Space Stuff – Astronauts, Space Travel, Hubble, and more

Each section has audio or video and activities such as Planet TicTacToe, Moonlight Madness, Draw a Space Shuttle, and more.

There is also a Glossary – to look up the definitions of words used on the site.

Fun Science Projects Resource

June 29th, 2021

Instructables – Science

(www.instructables.com/teachers/projects/?subjects=science)

Grades K and up, with parental supervision

This ad-supported website contains thousands of instructions explaining how to do a wide variety of things from cooking to building robots and much more.

As the website explains, “Instructables is a web-based documentation platform where passionate people share what they do and how they do it, and learn from and collaborate with others. The seeds of Instructables germinated at the MIT Media Lab as the future founders of Squid Labs built places to share their projects and help others.”

When you get to the site you’ll see a menu of icons including:

  • Model Earth
  • Solar System Dimensions
  • Homemade Parachute
  • Alka-Seltzer Rockets
  • Build a Model of a Human Cell
  • Make a Human Lung Model
  • Rainbow in a Bottle
  • and much more!

This is a terrific resource you can refer to again and again. Bookmark it to return often!

NOTE – Parents, as always, should preview the site to determine suitability of content and supervise all Internet use.

Infrared Science

May 25th, 2021

Cool Cosmos

(coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/)

Grade K-9, with parental supervision

At this website, IPAC at Caltech has taken the science of infrared astronomy and made it accessible to students of all ages through a variety of free educational activities, web tutorials, lessons, videos, experiments, and resources that explain the infrared universe.

This site provides free classroom activities, lessons, tutorials, image galleries, games, and resources that can be used to satisfy the curiosity of anyone interested in learning about the universe.

When you get to the site, browse the featured categories of:

  • Infrared World – Find out the role of infrared light in Veterinary Science, Geology, Art, Firefighting, Search and Rescue, Environmental Monitoring, Archaeology, and more!
  • Infrared Universe – Discover how infrared light helps scientists explore the solar system, the Milky Way, and other galaxies. 
  • Infrared Missions – Indulge in infrared astronomy through an array of images from telescopes worldwide. You can also explore a gallery of infrared images and check out a timeline on infrared technology.
  • Ask an Astronomer - Text and video answers to questions such as:
  • Why is the sky blue?
  • What will happen to the Earth when the Sun dies?
  • How do you discover an asteroid?
  • What is the nearest galaxy to the Milky Way?
  • Why isn’t Pluto a planet any more?
  • What is a brown dwarf?
  • What causes an eclipse of the moon?
  • Galleries – Check out amazing infrared images of the world and the universe

Use the menu at the top of the page and click on the “Teachers” link to find:

  • Infrared Lesson Plans
  • Infrared Posters & Printouts
  • NASA/IPAC Teacher Archive Research Program (NITARP)
  • Other Astronomy Imagery, Lesson Plans, and Resources

Through this website, you’ll discover that “to study the cool cosmos, infrared light is our window into the heat of the coolest things around.”

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