EYH Activity : Matching and Ordering Objects in the Universe
Topic/Concept: Matching Objects in the Universe with their Descriptions
Type of Activity: small group (works well with middle school kids)
Prerequisite knowledge required: none
Resources required: images of various objects like the sun, comets, planets, asteroids, supernova remnants, planetary nebulae, star clusters, galaxies, groups and clusters of galaxies, the earth from space. individual papers with a description of each image.
Learning Objectives: get excited about the universe, learn about size scales
Common misconceptions: if the images of a galaxy and a star cluster are the same size then so are the objects
Detailed description of activity: lay out the object images on the floor or a table top. we use something like 20 images. give a handful of descriptions to each group member and set them free to match the descriptions in their hand with the images they see. try to get the group members to work together and confirm or quibble with other group members’ choices. once all the descriptions are correctly matched you can go over each object. you can ask the kids why they chose that object to match the specific description. then have them order all the images by size, distance from the earth, galactic and extragalactic objects, etc.
Assessment: watch them as they are matching and ordering and see where they are having problems.
Associated files and images:
Comments: a group of female graduate students created this activity for Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) which is a day of science exploration for middle school girls. it works really well. i’ve even used it with undergraduates although it is almost too easy for most of them.