Follow-Up to #Hubble30: Additional Resources
Thanks to everyone who joined us for our very first Facebook Live event, in celebration of the Hubble Space Telescope’s 30th birthday! Faithe and Sarah had a blast presenting on live video feed about the history and significance of the Hubble Space Telescope. (Hubble launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the shuttle Discovery on April 24, 1990.)
In this post, we share additional Hubble resources, to keep the learning coming all weekend. In particular, there are plenty of opportunities to dive deeper into the Cosmic Reef—which we are able to visit via the special Hubble image “Tapestry of Blazing Starbirth” that was publicly revealed for the first time on April 24, 2020.
Just for Fun: Paper Shuttle Glider
Assemble and test your own space shuttle glider with this at-home project from NASA!
At-Home STEM Activities: Calculate the Diameter of the Moon
Formulate the diameter of the moon using proportions.
This activity is geared toward middle- and high schoolers due to the mathematical component.
Distance Learning Module: Investigating Clouds
Learn how clouds form—and see it in action!—with this at-home science lesson and video demonstration.
At-Home STEM Activities: Record Today's Cloud Cover
Be a community scientist by logging today’s cloud cover. Learn how here!
Distance Learning Module: Cosmic Dust
Bid “happy retirement” to the Spitzer Space Telescope in this lesson all about an underappreciated substance in space (and our homes): DUST!
Includes activities appropriate for grade levels K-2 and 3-5
Distance Learning Module: Observational Data/Night Sky Journal
Hone your hands-on science skills by recording astronomical data from home
Need an enriching activity for the whole family? This ongoing project can be completed as a group! Build skills in observation, astronomical understanding, writing, sketching/fine motor skills, and more by creating a Night Sky Journal of observational fieldnotes.
Can be modified to incorporate various age/grade/skill levels.
Distance Learning Module: The Challenges of Space Travel
As NASA and others talk about more, longer trips to the Moon and plans for a mission to Mars, we have to consider the hostile environments we’ll encounter and the limits on our equipment. What qualities and technological capabilities will astronauts need in order to make those journeys?
In this lesson, adapted from our 2020 Term 3 Homeschool Workshop, we practice critical thinking, analysis, and discussion skills, and ask ourselves: what does it mean to do something not in spite of it being hard, but because it is hard?
Geared toward grades 6-8.
At-Home STEM Activities: Hole-Punch Earth
Create a scale model of the Earth and Sun with craft supplies in your own home!
This activity is a hands-on lesson in proportions, scale, and relative sizes in the solar system.
Geared toward middle- and high schoolers due to the mathematical component.
Distance Learning Module: Stars and Sun
Get to know the stars…including one very special star in particular!
Geared toward pre-K and lower-elementary level students.
Distance Learning Module: Seasons and Equinoxes
In this timely multimedia lesson, we explore what causes Earth’s seasons, and what it means to experience an equinox.
Geared toward upper elementary-level students.