Astronomy Lessons and Activities

Stargazing is a rewarding activity that introduces students to the many objects visible in our night sky. Observing the moon, planets, stars and other celestial bodies provides students with valuable real-world connections to their classroom lessons. Astronomy lessons range from modeling simple concepts to constructing and using telescopes to understanding the scale of our universe. These astronomy lessons and activities help students discover the wonders of our universe and the power of scientific inquiry.

The Sun, Moon and other stars appear to move across the sky every day as Earth rotates. This kinesthetic activity helps students to understand this daily phenomenon and the underlying reason for the changes in daylight. Students can then apply their knowledge to understand more complex phenomena such as the appearance of ripples on hot days and the way that the Sun looks squashed on the horizon at sunrise and sunset.

This lesson teaches students the importance of a balance of astrophysics, physics and biology in astronomy. Students learn how the Sun, Moon and other stars are formed by gravitational attraction as they construct a model of the Solar System. They also use the model to calculate distances between planets. This lesson is a useful introduction to the concepts of distance and time, while providing students with the foundation they need to understand how stars form constellations.

While a telescope is an amazing tool for viewing the universe, it can be expensive and out of reach for many schools. This astronomy lesson helps students understand how a telescope works and the different parts of a telescope by building their own model. Students also learn to make the most of a free app for locating planets in our Solar System as well as how to use an inexpensive telescope for seeing detail on the surface of the Moon.

The Milky Way is a huge galaxy that contains billions of stars. This lesson teaches students to observe the Milky Way, as well as other galaxies. They use their knowledge of a galaxy’s structure and composition to create stories about how they think our galaxy originated.

Students learn to use their knowledge of wavelength, frequency and speed to compute the wavelength, speed, and frequency of sound waves, tsunamis, light waves, gravity waves, and electromagnetic radiation. They then connect their discoveries to the work of astronomers who use this information to study our universe.

This astronomy lesson encourages students to build their understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum by observing the emission spectra of common household items. They also explore Wien’s law and how observing galaxies at various wavelengths enables astronomers to gather important information about their composition and structure. This is a great lesson to use in conjunction with the Celestia educational program or other space simulations.