Students develop models of moon phases, eclipses and seasons with flashlights, tennis balls, globes and their heads! Using their own observations, students make sense of these events and then write a postcard to share what they learned. Finally, students research how cultural groups (Lakota people, Ancient Egyptians or others) use observations of the sun, moon phases and stars, eclipses and seasons to guide their lives and activities.

Students play with magnets and a ball on a string, work through the Gravity and Orbits PhET simulation and give a speech about what they learned. Then, they work through one physical and one digital model to demonstrate the balance of gravity and motion in our solar system (and the rest of the universe) and gain a deeper understanding of this balance while sharing their knowledge with an adult. Finally, students determine if anything in Star Wars (or their favorite space movie) is true!

Students learn about a favorite constellation, figure out how to find north, analyze their observations of the night sky and share what they learn through a video. Then, they create an alien with adaptations for a planet in our solar system. This mini unit is an excellent introduction to astronomy!