The Universe: An Introduction

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Title:

The Universe: An Introduction

Url:

https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/the-universe-an-introduction/eF...

Publisher:

Smithsonian Office of Education

Description: Astronomy is a science that asks fundamental questions about the very fundament of things, the universe. How big and how far away are the planets and stars? How did they form and when? How do they move and why? Finding answers to those questions has been the highest adventure of the human mind, and yet the questions, in essence, are those of any child looking into the sky. The lessons in this issue of Smithsonian in Your Classroom address the questions, therefore, by first asking the students.

In Lesson 1, the class works together to arrange pictures from space according to the students’ best ideas of size, distance, and age. This active introduction to the cosmos can be a pre-assessment for a unit on space science. Lesson 2 is a modeling exercise in which relationships in space are brought down to a scale of two inches. Both lessons are based on educational materials created by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, in cooperation with NASA. All images needed for the lessons can be downloaded from this page.

The issue also includes a profile of Smithsonian astronomer Lisa Kaltenegger, who is in the burgeoning business of “planet hunting”—the discovery of planets outside of our solar system. The first “exoplanet” was discovered in 1995. There have been hundreds of discoveries since. The work is bringing closer to the fore a question in the back of anyone’s mind when looking at the sky: Is anyone else out there?

LC Classification:

Science -- Astronomy -- Descriptive astronomy -- Universe. Space. Space sciences
Science -- Astronomy -- Descriptive astronomy -- Universe. Space. Space sciences -- Addresses, essays, lectures
Science -- Astronomy -- Descriptive astronomy -- Universe. Space. Space sciences -- Collected works
Science -- Astronomy -- Descriptive astronomy -- Universe. Space. Space sciences -- Study and teaching. Research

GEM Subject:

Science -- Technology
Science -- Astronomy
Science -- Instructional issues
Science -- Space sciences
Science -- Informal education

Key Concept:

Astronomy -- Cosmology
Astronomy -- Galaxies

Resource Type:

Collection
Reference Material
Instructional Material
Instructional Material -- Student Guide
Instructional Material -- Lesson/Lesson Plan
Instructional Material -- Instructor Guide/Manual

Format:

Document -- PDF
Document -- HTML
Video -- Quicktime

Audience:

Educator
Learner
Professional/Practitioner

Education Level:

High School
Middle School
Higher Education
Higher Education -- Undergraduate (Lower Division)
Higher Education -- Undergraduate (Upper Division)
Higher Education -- Technical Education (Upper Division)

Language:

English

Access Rights:

Free access

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Source:

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