- Ages:Gradeschooler, Teen
This class will help generate interest and foster scientific literacy in children through the delivery of an awe-inspiring, educational, and entertaining astronomy program. Truly breathtaking images, video clips and fun STEM hands-on activities make for an unforgettable cosmic journey. Clarifying questions can be asked through live interaction, and time for addressing in depth questions submitted via the chat box will be given at the end of the slides.
Materials: The provided PDF packet must be printed BEFORE the class. It includes a Daily Observation Log with instructions for the student to record their own observations of the night sky in their back yard or a nearby park or schoolyard as a homework assignment. It also includes two STEM hands-on activities on the moon and constellations. Students will need a pen or pencil to write and draw with.
Topics: The sun, earth, space exploration to the moon and Mars, star color and brightness including patterns in asterisms and constellations, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies, black holes, galactic collisions, looking at matter from subatomic particles to superclusters of galaxies, and the entire universe. It’s a virtual journey throughout the cosmos describing celestial objects and how they were formed as well as their relative sizes compared with each other.
The only requirement is curiosity and interest in the universe.
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to:
A. Define basic terminology used in astronomy and the space sciences.
1. Subatomic particles
2. Planets & moons
3. Stars & constellations
4. Star clusters, nebulae & galaxies
5. Supermassive black holes
B. Understand and state important concepts and principles.
1. Space exploration
2. Colliding galaxies
C. Apply principles to scientific calculations.
1. Speed of light
D. Interpret charts and graphs in evaluating scientific data.
1. Faces of the Moon
E. Demonstrate skill in the use of instruments and scientific reasoning.
1. Particle accelerator
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Provider Kevin Manning
I teach exciting astronomy classes about different aspects of the universe using incredible photos, awesome video clips, and fun STEM hands-on activities. I am an astronomer and science educator with lots of experience who has been a consultant for NASA and worked with the Chandra X-Ray Observatory (space telescope) with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. I was both a Wright Fellow at Tufts University and an Einstein Fellow working with NASA Headquarters, the US House of Representatives, and the US Dept of Energy Office of Science on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, and did some work with Brookhaven National Laboratory. Besides the numerous workshops I've presented over the years, some noteworthy ones include those made at Tufts University, State University of New York at Stony Brook, the National Science Teachers Association's National Convention, American Association for the Advancement of Science Breakfast with Scientists, and the National Parks Service. I'm an author and written some books on astronomy including 4 of them for children as a content specialist for Scholastic. Teaching is an art and requires patience and a thorough understanding of the subject to be able to help someone learn using various approaches and learning styles. I feel it's important to be yourself and add a little humor because that has been shown through research to help an individual relax and learn better. I love working with wood and have used it to build telescopes including one that is over ten-feet long.
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