Astronomy in Elementary and Middle School Classrooms and How to Host an Astronomy Night (Grades: K-8)

My Session Status

When:

2:00 PM, Wednesday 26 Jun 2024 (1 hour 20 minutes)

Where:

The Center for Space Education - Room 7010

_{How often do we look up at the night sky and wonder what we are seeing? What star or constellation is that? Is that a star or a planet? What do we say if a child or student asks these questions of us? Please join us as we will present some basic night sky viewing information and ideas for the elementary and middle school classroom. You do not need to be an expert astronomer to be able to take your students out one evening to view the night sky and lead an astronomy night. In this session, you will learn some basic telescope skills and how to build and use simple telescopes with kids. We teach in the classroom about our solar system, galaxies, constellations, and everything space. Take your students out at night and look through simple telescopes, binoculars, and just with our eyes; show them the Big Dipper, the North Star, Orion, where the first person landed and walked on the moon, Mars, Venus, Saturn’s rings, Jupiter’s moons, and other objects in the night sky. This presentation aligns with NGSS: Space Systems, Motion and Stability: Forces and Interactions, Earth’s Place in the Universe, Energy, and Engineering Design.}