Independent Site Visits 8th Grade:

Independent Site Visits 8^th Grade:

Create your own planetarium exhibit

The Rose Center

Grade level- 8th grade

Learning standard-

- S3b- Demonstrates understanding of Earth's history.

- S3c- Demonstrates understanding of Earth in the Solar System.

- S4a- Demonstrates understanding of big ideas and unifying concepts.

- S4b- Demonstrates understanding of the designed world.

- S4d- Demonstrates understanding of the impact of technology.

- S6d- Acquires information from multiple sources.

Time requirement

45 minutes preparation time.

135 minutes class time.

Topics covered in this lesson:

- Galaxies.

- Stars and planets.

- The Universe.

Pre- Visit

- Purpose- Students will become experts in one of three topics. They will research their topics form their classroom library and from various Internet web- sites. Then they will develop their own planetarium exhibits.

- Objectives-

a) Students will choose 1 of 3 topics to create their exhibits.

b) Students will be assigned to teams working on the same topic.

c) Students will become familiar with web- sites with topic related information.

Materials required

- Rose center student journal handouts.

- Access to the Internet:

Useful web-sites -

www.amnh.org/rose

www.amnh.org/mars

www.amnh.org/youngnaturalistsawards/index.html

www.astrobulletin.amnh.org

www.discovery.com/exp/universe/amazingspace/ammain.html

www.nasa.gov/index.html

- Topic related books.

- Drawing utensils.

- Presentation boards.

Student learning prerequisites

Students should be familiar with the following vocabulary words: Galaxy, gravity, light, light year, mass, nebulae, orbit, planet, star, and universe.

Visit

First we will visit the passport to the Universe and the Big Ban show. Then we will spend sometime in the Heilbrunn cosmic pathway. Finally, we will visit the meteorite exhibit and the black hole show. Students will complete their student journals about stars, planets, earth and the Universe. In addition, they will begin to explore ideas for their own exhibits.

Post visit

Assessment- Students will be assessed based on the accuracy and the quality of their displays. In addition, they will be responsible of presenting their findings to the rest of the class.

Extensions and suggested homework assignments- Students will be asked to write a journal entry describing their experience in the planetarium and their reflection about the exhibits that were created by the class.

Possible questions that may be brought up

1) How far does the observable universe extend?

2) What is the age of the universe?

3) What holds the planets together?

4) Why don't the planets fall into the sun?

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