Students use data to investigate and graph the changing day length through the year and across latitudes.
Students use a set of simple materials to observe how the Earth's rotation causes light and dark cycles.
Students illustrate the Native American story of Ant and Bear and their dances for day and night as well as the science story of why we have day and night cycles.
Students use a variety of fruits to construct a scale model of the Moon, Earth, and Sun. After determining the correct sizes and distances for their models, they remove the Moon and consider what it would be like if the Moon was not part of our solar system.
In this series of activities, students explore the features of Mars and Earth, perform experiments to determine how these features form, and discuss what the features suggest about the history of Mars.
In this series of activities, students explore the volcanoes of Mars in comparison with Earth, learn what they tell us about what is happening inside Mars, and review its history.
Students reinforce their understanding of seasonal dynamics by reading and graphing annual day-length data to determine the relative north and south latitude, and name, of a mystery city.
In this game, students use their knowledge of Mars and how it compares and contrasts with Earth to create question cards for a board game that will assess and reinforce their understanding of what they have learned. This activity can be used as a wrap-up for Geologic Scene Investigator: Part 1 or Part 2.
Students create kinesthetic models of the Sun and Moon in the sky to better understand the relationship between lunar phases and the time of day.
Students play a variation of "Go Fish!" in order to reinforce their knowledge of moon phases.
Students are faced with a challenge to determine the truth about the Moon's influence on Earth. They think like a scientist, with reasoning skills and a healthy amount of skeptism, to sort puzzle pieces containing statements about the Moon into two images. The "Far-out Far Side" has incorrect statements about the Moon (urban myths), and "True-Blue Blue Moon" has true facts about the Moon's influence on Earth and life.
Students discover that other planets have day and night cycles and then imagine how a longer of shorter cycle might impact them.
Students use balloons to model how scientists study the interiors of planets with cameras and other instruments.
Students investigate the causes of Earth's seasons by modeling Earth's movement around the Sun and making observations about the changing distribution of light throughout the year.
Students explore light and heat as different components of the Sun's energy.
Students investigate the influence of our Sun as a heat source and develop an understanding that different materials store thermal energy with different levels of efficiency.
Students model Earth's annual passage around the Sun using water-based paint spray and a "human globe." They will explore how the distribution (and directness) of sunlight changes across the globe with seasons.
Students use a set of simple materials to explore how Earth's axial tilt and revolution around our Sun lead to differences in day length through the year.
In this series of activities, students compare Earth and Mars and investigate whether or not life could be possible on Mars. Students will also identify characteristics of living organisms.