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Re: [Phys-L] astronomy activities

Keep a moon journal. It is the second fastest changing object in the sky
(behind the sun). Daily record the moon rise, moon set and moon phase. Look
for patterns (the key to science discoveries I think). The moon rise and
set change by about 15 minutes per day. After 4 weeks you should see
repeating phases with similar moon rise and set times. On a clear night
record the altitude and azimuth of the moon every hour for 3 hours. Notice
the change - why? the earth turns once every 24 hours. Thats 360°/24 hours
or 15°/hour. If you can see some stars they should be able to recognize the
same kind of movement. Why are the time zones about 15° apart? Why are
most globes of the earth set with longitude lines 15° apart?

Can you get them to see some stars/constellations after sundown and then
before sunrise the next morning? Students who do a star session with me at
8 pm and the 'big dipper' at the horizon are amazed when they come out at
5:30 am the next morning that the 'big dipper' is no longer at the horizon.
They know what it looks like but can't find it because they don't look up,
they keep looking at the horizon. They are amazed at the change. In my
opinion there is no substitute for the students to see and experience this
for themselves. No amount of me telling them connects until they see it.


On Tue, May 28, 2019 at 7:45 PM Anthony Lapinski <alapinski@pds.org> wrote:

Thanks for sharing. I'm at a private school in central NJ. Astronomy is an
elective for juniors. Many kids live far from campus, some cannot drive,
and many do after-school activities, sports, etc. Very difficult to require
observing sessions at school. I teach in a planetarium, which is very
useful. Kids do a few observing projects at home (altitude of Polaris,
lunar phases). Any other observing ideas they could do on their own?

On Tue, May 28, 2019 at 8:33 PM Arlyn DeBruyckere <
arlyn.debruyckere@isd423.org> wrote:

I'm at a high school too. I put it in the course description and in the
syllabus. About half of the sessions are at 5:30 am, the others vary
depending on school activities going on starting at 6 to as late as 9 pm.
Former students often tell me how great the sessions were. End of course
surveys describe the "star sessions" as the most difficult and the best
part of the class. We are on trimesters and only offer Astronomy during
the
fall and winter so that I don't have the long daylight hours of spring
(sunrise now about 5:30 am). Yes we go in the winter, even in the cold
-20°F temperatures west of Minneapolis. Students can handle the cold just
fine if they dress properly. Usually after the first session they lose
their "fashion sense" and dress in multiple layers. We go to a county
park
6 miles out of town. I get some complaints every year but I stick to my
guns - 8 graded sessions, 2 simulated and 4 others required to pass. Any
less is an automatic fail. This is an astronomy class and one can't do
astronomy if one never looks at the stars.

On Tue, May 28, 2019 at 5:52 PM Anthony Lapinski <alapinski@pds.org>
wrote:

I like the scale model of the solar system! Good for kids to deal with
proportional reasoning and also engage with each other. Wondering if
this
can be made into a "graded" activity as I'm looking for more ways to
assess
them with labs.

I'm in a high school so I can't really require kids to come back at
night
for observing sessions. I'll have a star party with a telescope in the
fall, and only the most interested kids show up. Not for any "extra
credit." I guess I could have them do observing at home, but I can't be
there and they would not learn as much...

On Tue, May 28, 2019 at 5:43 PM John Denker via Phys-l <
phys-l@mail.phys-l.org> wrote:

On 5/28/19 1:33 PM, Arlyn DeBruyckere wrote:

Do a scale model of the solar system.

Yup, that's a winner.


I use 0.5 au = 1 meter for distance and 5 au=1 meter for planet
size

I think those scale factors are reversed, but we get the idea.

My mother did this with her elementary-school kids, on a larger
scale:
1 AU = 100 meters;
1 meter = 0.01 AU
(for sizes as well as distances).
-- The earth was 8.5 mm in diameter, on the door of her classroom.
-- The sun was a beach ball at the far end of the corridor, 100 m
away.
-- Jupiter was 95 mm in diameter, on a lamp-post ½ km down the road
-- Neptune was 33 mm in diameter, on a lamp-post 3 km down the road
in
the other direction.
-- etc.

The kids could visit Neptune if they wanted, while on shopping
trips or whatever. Some of them walked past Jupiter every day
on their way to school.

There was some talk of setting up a telescope to observe the
outer planet models, but this was deemed too much of a hassle
in the elementary-school setting.

Gory numerical details:
https://www.av8n.com/physics/planetary-data.html
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<https://www.facebook.com/princetondayschool>
<https://twitter.com/PDSPanthers>
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*CONFIDENTIALITY NOTE:*
The information transmitted, including attachments, is intended only for
the person(s) or entity to which it is addressed and may contain
confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission,
dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon
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is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender
and
destroy any copies of this information.




Please consider the environment
before printing this email.



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--
Arlyn DeBruyckere
Science Teacher
School Photographer
Hutchinson High School
1200 Roberts Road SW
Hutchinson MN 55350

HHS Weather at http://weather.isd423.org/

View My Calendar at
https://www.google.com/calendar/embed?src=arlyn%40arlynsphotos.com&ctz=America/Chicago

https://sites.google.com/a/isd423.org/mrdebruyckere/
http://www.hutchk12.org
mailto:arlyn.debruyckere@isd423.org

http://www.educationminnesota.org
If it is to be it is up to me!

Hutchinson Sports Photos on the Web
http://www.arlynsphotos.smugmug.com