This resource explains the concept of constellations, with an activity to make a Star Finder origami-type toy. It includes 12 Star Finder patterns to print, color, and fold, each with a star chart for that month. Also, this activity explains in simple language the difference between astrology and astronomy. Full description.

This hands-on, food preparation activity is designed to familiarize children with asteroids: what they are, where they orbit, how they formed, what they look like (making mashed potato mixture look like an asteroid), and why we care about them. Introduces NASA's Deep Space 1 mission that flew very close to Asteroid Braille. The Space Place is an educational NASA site for children and adults with activities ... Full description.

This module of the Space Place Web site is an interactive game in which players must decide on appropriateness of items to take on a long trip to Mars. Players must consider effects of zero gravity, limited electrical power, etc. It explains what NASA is doing to explore Mars and why. The Space Place is an educational NASA site for children and adults with activities and facts related to the exploration ... Full description.

In this activity, children see how a 'skyscraper's worth' of information can be shrunk to a tiny handful without losing anything important. An interactive multimedia demonstration shows three different ways to compress data gathered by a spacecraft before sending it back to Earth. Full description.

This interactive crossword puzzle uses words related to astronomy and the Keck Telescopes. It also describes the telescopes and how their images are combined using interferometry to make an even better image, and explains how the telescopes are used to look for planets around other stars. Full description.

This activity introduces the electromagnetic spectrum. Users stroll through an imaginary amusement park to find out how the universe looks through different types of observing instruments. Full description.

This activity introduces gravitational waves and the NASA technology being developed to detect them in space. It involves building a metaphorical interferometer that demonstrates how the mission (and all interferometry) works. Full description.

This activity describes some simple, yet impressive gyroscopic demonstrations using only a bike wheel with a quick-release hub. Then, itIt explains both the angular momentum principle that tends to keep the wheel in a rigid plane and the effects of the external forces that create precession. And all without a single equation!No equations are used during the activity. Understanding the forces at work ... Full description.

Gives simple, yet authoritative answers to the questions ?Why is the sky blue?? and ?Why is the sky black at night?? Combines technology with its application to Earth science, astronomy, and cosmology, and does so via language arts and music! This article was originally written for and published by the International Technology Education Association in its journal 'The Technology Teacher.' It is now ... Full description.

This article describes an indoor, game-type demonstration, incorporating physics (EM wave modulation), math (binary codes), space technology, and music to show how spacecraft put information into the radio signals they send back to Earth. Beat out rhythms on drums or desks and send messages using the same principles used in space exploration. This article was originally written for and published by ... Full description.