For Educators- Stanford Solar Center

For Educators Our web site provides a collection of multi-disciplinary, interactive exercises and activities based on the Sun and solar science, most geared to grades 4-12. We encourage your feedback, suggestions, and ideas for new projects. We also offer solar spectroscopes that your students can cut out and put together (see Activity 1 below). These come complete with gratings, as well as instructions for construction and use. Additional solar posters are available as well. Order spectroscope kits. If you wish to order enough spectroscopes for an entire class, please see how to order spectroscope class sets for details. Also visit Space Math @ NASA to download hundreds of math problems for grades K12 featuring a behind the scenes look at NASA press releases and discoveries. The problems range from simple scaling and proportions to algebra and calculus, and cover topics spanning all NASA science and engineering activities. Science Education Content Standards
1. Build Your Own Spectroscope Students build a working spectroscope to study the nature of light. (Younger students use a prism to learn about the rainbow.) Spectroscopes and gratings available from the Stanford SOLAR Center.	Grades 2-4, 5-12
2. Effects of the Sun on our Planet Students experiment with plants, light, heat, and water evaporation. They experiment with solar cells to design a simple solar cooker, create a "solar-powered" method to perform a routine task, or build a parabolic solar collector. They explore radio signals during daytime and nighttime. Older students construct an ionosphere monitor to track solar storms and other changes in ionosphere	Grades 2-4, 5-8, 9-12
3. What is Ultraviolet Light? Explores ultraviolet light -- what it is, where it comes from, how we can detect it, and what effects it has upon us and our Earth. Using (inexpensive to order) UV sensitive beads, the students test the beads with various levels of sunscreen protection, as well as the quality of UV protecting sunglasses. Surprises await when using the beads on cloudy days.	Grades 2-4, 5-8, 9-12
4. Are Sunspots Really on the Sun? Students measure sunspot speeds and shapes across the solar disk to determine whether the spots are on the Sun or are planets revolving around it (Galileo's dilemma). Includes pointer to hands-on demonstration of concepts.	Grades 5-12
5. Proving a Sun-centered Solar System This activity is a low-cost method of demonstrating a heliocentric Solar System. It is also one of Galileo's observations using his telescope: the phases of Venus and its apparent diameter change, as it orbits the Sun.	Grades 2-5
6. The Spinning Sun Students use their solar data to (estimate or) compute, using angular velocity, the Sun's rotation period.	Grades 6-12
7. Sunspot Races Using daily solar images, students predict when spots will disappear or reappear from view on the solar disk.	Grades 3-5
8. Observing the Sun Information on building pinhole cameras, using telescopes, accessing an online solar telescope, observing eclipses, and sketching sunspots. Includes pointers to related activities.	Grades 4-12
9. Solar Math! This activity contains Sun-related math problems from the NASA Space Math website. Categories include Number Operations, Algebra, Geometry, Statistics, and Problem solving.	Grades 3-12
10. NOAA / NWS Education This page from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center has a section on Space Weather, reference papers, and a Classroom section with activities and accompanying reading materials.	Grades 7-12
11. SOHO Lesson Plans Ten lesson plans on NASA's website for the SOHO spacecraft. Topics include sunspots, solar rotation, magnetic fields, orbits, solar wind, and convection cells.	Grades 6 -12
12. An Interview with Mr. Sol Students do some research on the Sun then, in pairs, generate an "interview" with The Star to determine how he (she?) works. An Example.	Grades 4-6
13. Solar Learning Activities Sun-related, hands-on activities for teaching basic physical concepts of the Sun from Montana State University Solar Physics web site.	Grades 8-11
14. Our Star the Sun Detailed lesson plans for elementary school teachers from the Project FIRST: Eye on the Sky website	Grades 1-3
15. Retrieving Solar Images Students are instructed to use the web every day to retrieve a current solar image. Subsequent activities will show the students how to use the data for scientific purposes.	Grades 4-12
16. Solar Music Introduction to helioseismology -- Solar music. Encourages the students to realize you can learn about an object by listening to it, just as astonomers listen to the Sun's "heartbeat" to learn about its interior.	Grades K-3
17. Hearing the Sun Students listen to sound waves generated from acoustical waves on the Sun. An animated video is provided to visualize the acoustic wave generation (by large scale solar granulation). A hands-on activity is suggested for younger students and introductory information about helioseismology for older students.	Grades 4-12
18. Quick Quizzes a. Understanding the Solar Scale b. Galileo Challenge c. Solar Granulation Quiz d. Sunspot Quiz Self-guided quizzes designed to assess current knowledge and intrigue students about the Sun.	Grades 6-8
19. Earth-based Solar Phenomena Suggested questions and topics for research on ways the Sun affects our Earth. Touches on auroras, rainbows, sun pillars, the green flash, sun pillars, etc. Gives pointers for more detailed information. Primarily designed for individual exploration.	Grades 4-12
20. Make Your Own Sundial An activity where students determine their latitute and construct a sundial.	Grades 4-8
21. Art Based on Science Selection of images used to visualize or process scientific data. Images were chosen because of their visual appeal. However, class discussion could focus on techniques of data visualization and/or the physical properties described by the imagery. Have students develop imagery to describe their own (not necesssarily solar) data.	Grades 6-12
22. Solar Art, Literature, Poetry Students are invited to generate and submit images, poetry, or literature inspired by the Sun or solar science. Submissions from students are displayed.	Grades K-5+
23. Multicultural Solar Interpretations A selection of information about folklore, ancient astronomy, rock art, and other interpretations of the Sun's connection with Earth. Designed to introduce the notion of various cultural approaches to interpreting the Sun.	Grades K-12
24. Global Warming To what extent does the Sun's variability contribute to global warming? Students are given guidelines and places to start for independent research projects on the causes and effects of global warming.	Grades 10-12
25. Magnetism Students will learn the basic principles of magnetism and how they apply to the Sun.	Grades 11-12
26. Walking an Analemma This activity describes how you can plot the position of a shadow cast by the top of a pole (called a gnomon) at noon over the course of a year, to form a figure-8 called an Analemma. This is useful for teaching about how the Earth and Sun interact to make seasons.
27. Our Sun - Is it a Steady Performer? Video webcast of a lecture given at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, by Dr. Alan Title. Direct Link (If the movie frequently hangs with a "Buffering" message, it means the data transfer rate is slow. Try to Pause the movie, wait 20-30 minutes for data to transfer, then un-pause it. Or, try watching at a later time. (Or, possibly your internet connection is too slow).
Visit From Now On for information and resources on integrating technology into learning environments.

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