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SOLAR SYSTEM
At a Challenger Learning Center, students don't just plot a course to Mars. They fly it. They intercept a comet and launch a probe into its mysterious depths. They make preparations for a permanent lunar base. They repair satellites. And, most importantly, they develop teamwork and problem-solving skills that will last long after the mission simulation is over. These lessons will help you to prepare your students for their exciting mission to space.
Solar System Distance (510 KB)
Mathematics, Science
The students will understand the distances between the Sun, planets, and small objects in the Solar System.
Designing a Scale Model of the Solar System (510 KB)
National Science Education Standard D2, AAAS Benchmarks 4A4, 9C6, 11B2
From research on the planets, students design a Solar System model which includes planetary characteristics, including patterns and cycles like the length of day and year.
Voyage Through the Solar System (510 KB)
National Science Education Standard D2, AAAS Benchmarks 4A4, 11B2
Students will build the Voyage scale model of the Solar System on a playground, and “travel” to each planet. This experience allows students to recognize that the Sun and planets are tiny worlds in a vast space, giving them a new perspective on the Solar System, and allowing them to gain a new sense of home.
Earth vs. Other Worlds (510 KB)
National Science Education Standards A1, A2, D1, D3, G1, G2
In this activity, students will identify characteristics of Earth that are important for life as we know it. They will then research other planets and moons, and compare these worlds’ characteristics to those of the Earth. Finally, they will select and provide justification for a planet or moon that they believe would be worthwhile to investigate for signs of life.
Exploring the Neighborhood of the Solar System (510 KB)
National Science Education Standards A1, A2, D1, D3, G1, G2
In this activity, students will come to a better understanding of some of the factors that influence a planet’s temperature. Students will use actual data to plot the temperature of a blackbody object at different distances for the Sun against the observed temperatures of the planets at their actual orbital distances from the Sun and discover that in most cases, reality differs significantly from the simple blackbody-equilibrium model. With this information, the students will present hypotheses regarding the differences between expected and actual temperatures, and will use this information to propose a plan for future searches for life in the Solar System.
Gravity Well (510 KB)
Science, Mathematics
A Gravity Well is a pliable vinyl surface where balls of different sizes and masses are rolled around to visually demonstrate some of the properties of orbiting bodies, forces and motion in our solar system and beyond.
How do you know that the Earth goes around the Sun? (510 KB)
Science
Through discussion, questioning, and classroom demonstrations, students will construct a logical, observation-based argument to convince someone that the Earth goes around the Sun, rather than the Sun moving around the Earth.
How long, how far? (510 KB)
Science, Mathematics
Students will calculate how long it will take to travel to each planet and then write a short story about a journey to one of the outer planets.
Our Solar System (510 KB)
National Science Education Standard D3, AAAS Benchmarks 4A2, 4A3
In this lesson, students begin with an inventory of the Solar System. Before any solar system exploration can take place, students must understand what constitutes the Solar System. They will discuss what they already know about the objects in the Solar System and examine the components with which they are unfamiliar.
Sensing the Invisible: The Herschel Experiment (510 KB)
National Science Education Standards B3, AAAS Benchmarks 4F, 12C
Students reproduce William Herschel’s experiment of 1800 and find out that there is radiation other than visible light arriving from the Sun—in this case, they discover the presence of infrared radiation in sunlight. Students learn that since planets emit most of their light as infrared and not as visible light, infrared is an important tool in studying planets. Students also discuss current uses of infrared radiation and learn that it is both very beneficial and a major concern for the MESSENGER mission to Mercury.
Solar Flares (510 KB)
Science
Students use an interactive multimedia program (PC) to answer questions about solar flares and predict which ones might be ready to produce a flare. Students also use a hands-on magnetic field model to understand how the Earth's magnetic field can trap solar particles emitted by flares.
Solar System Hoppers (510 KB)
Mathematics, Science
Students will draw paths through the Solar System using clues provided by their partner.
Solar System Scaling (510 KB)
In this lesson students will gain a better understanding of the sizes of some of the objects that comprise the Solar System as well as the size and scope of the Solar System itself.
Voyage of Discovery (510 KB)
National Science Education Standards D3, 4A2, 4A3
Models are powerful tools of exploration, especially as students investigate the size and distance relationships between the Sun and the planets in the Solar System. Through their activities, the students discover that, even though Earth is the biggest thing any of them have ever touched, it is still very small in comparison to the vastness of the Solar System.
Eclipse: Similar Triangles in Space (478 KB)
Mathematics, Science
Students will explore what happens during a solar eclipse as they learn about similar triangles.
Celestial Review (379 KB)
Mathematics, Science
Students will become NEO (near-Earth object) hunters in this math and space science review game.
How do Shape, Size, and Distance among objects affect the way we interpret things? (350 KB)
Science
The students will perform experiments investigating an object's actual size compared to its apparent size, involving distance and perspective. The students will use the knowledge gained from these experiments to explain why a total solar eclipse and an annular eclipse appear the way they do from Earth.
A Scale Model Solar System (510 KB)
National Science Education Standard E1, AAAS Benchmark 11B1
In this lesson students will investigate the properties of scale models of our Solar System. They can then try to design a conveniently-sized scale model of the Solar System to recognize that the model will likely need to be bigger than they thought.
Earth Clocks and Viewing the Planets (510 KB)
National Science Education Standard E1, AAAS Benchmark 9C1
The simplicity of an Earth Clock and the precision of the Voyage Scale Model Solar System allow students to identify times during which planets are visible in the nighttime sky. Students can animate the Voyage model by letting the model planets revolve on measured strings, showing not only when a planet is visible, but also how the distances between planets change as the planets move in their orbits.
Star Power! Discovering the Power of Sunlight (510 KB)
National Science Education Standards B6, D1, AAAS Benchmarks 4E
Students estimate the energy output of the Sun using a simple device and discover how much power sunlight provides to Earth. They also estimate what the effect closer to the Sun—at the distance of Mercury—might be. Sunlight and the rest of the electromagnetic spectrum are the main tools with which scientists study objects in the solar system.
The Voyage Scale Model Solar System (510 KB)
National Science Education Standard E1, AAAS Benchmark 12B1
It is challenging to design a scale model of the Solar System where the same scale is used to portray not only the physical sizes of the Sun and planets, but also the distances between them. These are tiny worlds in a vast space. So it makes sense to build a model in which the size of a human being is midway between the smallest world and largest distance represented. The result is a model similar to the Voyage Scale Model Solar System that opened in Washington, DC, in October 2001. Now you can take the Voyage too!
