Transcript Document
Extraordinary in the Ordinary: Views from the Hubble Space Telescope Lesson Subject Matter: Astronomy and Hubble Space Telescope Lesson Time: 1-2 hours (Individual slides from the accompanying PowerPoint presentation can be used as mini-lessons or content from individual slides can be expanded into multiple hour-long lessons as part of a larger astronomy curriculum. The referenced website provides a great deal of background information as well links to additional resources.) Target Audience : 4th grade and up. The lesson can be adapted for many age and ability levels. All of the slides and activities are suitable for all of the suggested target audience levels, however the content delivered using the slides should be modified to fit the audience for which the lesson is being used. Throughout the notes for the slides, there are comments that indicate where modifications can be made. The decision to include some content and leave other pieces out can also be guided by the National Science Standards outlined below. Materials Needed: Extraordinary in the Ordinary PowerPoint files (Available at: http://bork.hampshire.edu/~sam/extraordinary/Extraordinary_in_the_Ordinary.ppt), a few US dimes (optional), 35mm film camera (optional), 20mw laser pointer (optional), telescope for after presentation (optional), pre/post assessment questions (included below), grapefruit (optional), ball point pen (optional), 100 tape measure (optional). National Science Standards: Earth and Space Science Standards: LEVELS K-4 LEVELS 5-8 LEVELS 9-12 Objects in the sky Earth in the solar system Origin and evolution of the earth system Changes in earth and sky LEVELS K-4 Physical Science Standards: Light LEVELS 5-8 Properties and changes of properties in matter Origin and evolution of the universe LEVELS 9-12 Structure of atoms Structure and properties of matter Interactions of energy and matter NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STscl/AURA)-ESA Hubble Collaboration HST/ACS STScl-PRC06-46 A. Because it’s there and mind numbingly cool! B. The pursuit of knowledge; discovering the unknown. C. Humility: Finding out that we are not the only ones, that life is just one possibility of existence. D. Understanding the connections between everything out there and everything here on Earth. E. We get to play with cool toys like telescopes and laser pointers. We also get to look at amazingly beautiful objects using those tools. E= 2 MC Imagine looking at a tiny dark piece of the sky where you can’t see any stars or anything else; it’s just dark. The piece of the sky you are looking at is about the size of a dime held 75 feet away. Now imagine using a camera to take a picture of that tiny piece of dark sky. You can take a really long exposure that lasts about 10 days. Don’t worry about the Sun or the rotation of the Earth or bad weather or anything else. Please draw what you think the picture would look like. STS-125 Crew, NASA. (NASA/ESA) NASA/ ESO NASA Cosmicopia NASA/STScI NASA/MODIS/USGS NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STscl/AURA)-ESA Hubble Collaboration HST/ACS STScl-PRC06-46 Pre and Post Assessment Questions The following questions have been used as pre and post assessments of the above astronomy presentation. They have not been used in any specific order and can be modified to suite the needs of the instructor. When you look up at dark night sky what do you see? How far away do you think those object are from Earth? What is a star? How and why does it shine? What is light? When you look up at a dark sky at night how does it make you feel? What is a planet? How is it different than a star? How did the planet Earth form? What do you think are some of the connections between everything you see up in the night sky and things on Earth? What are some of the things found in any planetary system? What is the primary source of energy that sustains life on Earth? What are the four states of matter? What differentiates those four states? What is a galaxy? What are some of the things found in galaxies? What is an atom? What is it made of? What is the nucleus of an atom composed of? How has the Solar System changed over time? How will it change in the future? How has the Universe changed over time? How is it changing now on the largest scale?