Project ASTRO San Diego Resources

Local Organizations

Classroom Activities

Free Stuff for Educators

• Project ASTRO San Diego: http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/projectastro/index.html
  Continually updated with FAQ, workshop information, application materials, links to sample activities and national program information.
• San Diego Astronomy Association (SDAA): www.sdaa.org
  One of the country's largest amateur astronomer groups. They have two programs of interest to educators:
  Stars in the Park - 7-9pm, first Wednesday of every month on the east end of the Prado (near the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center). SDAA members set up their telescopes to show the wonders of the night sky.
  Star Parties - Amateur astronomers will visit your school in the evening with some amazing telescopes to show moon, planets, and nebulae. Free of charge, although refreshments such as pizza and hot chocolate are appreciated! Contact SDAA early after working with your astronomer - the "best" nights fill up quickly!
• Mars Society - San Diego Chapter: http://chapters.marssociety.org/SanDiego/
  A very active local group committed to advancing the human exploration of Mars through mission simulations and public education. The San Diego chapter will visit your school with a spacesuit and remote Mars Rover demonstration.
• Planetaria:
  The following locations offer planetarium shows for schools:
  Southwestern College, Chula Vista. Contact Grant Miller at (619) 421-6700x5535.
  Palomar College, San Marcos. Contact Mark Lane (760) 471-9745
  Reuben H. Fleet Science Center, Balboa Park: http://www.rhfleet.org, which also has an extensive education program.
• San Diego Science Alliance (SDSA): http://www.sdsa.org.
  Maintains a directory of educational resources (yes, Project ASTRO is in there) and keeps a mailing list of interested teachers. Contact Pat Winter: pat.winter@gat.com.
• Planetarium and stargazing opportunities in San Diego County - this web page is for college students but lists all upcoming public star parties and planetarium shows.
• Palomar Observatory public information. You can also contact the Public Affairs Coordinator, Scott Kardell, at wsk@astro.caltech.edu.
• San Diego Science Festival 2009

Classroom activities:

• Project ASTRO and the CA Science Standards (by grade level) - listing the astronomy, Earth-science, and space science standards by grade. Note that many ASTRO activities are also great ways to address standards in math and literacy. Please give us your examples and we'll include them.
  California Curriculum Standards: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/ - listed by subject and grade in both printable (PDF) and online formats, these should give volunteers an idea of the proficiency levels and goals of their classroom students. It is often useful to look under both Math and Science standards guidance before you plan an activity. (Also remember that these standards are supposed to be met by the end of the school year).
• Universe at Your Fingertips (and More Universe...) - tables of contents and sample activities for download from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's Project ASTRO site.
• Project ASTRO San Diego 2008 Workshop Agenda, with activities listed and referenced to Universe at Your Fingertips, and a second page of "favorites" we did not have time to demonstrate.
• Current conditions of astronomical objects:
  Sky Tonight: http://www.skytonight.com: weekly guide to the night sky.
  Skywatching: http://www.earthsky.org/skywatching from Earth and Sky. Daily highlights of what's visible after dusk.
  Space Weather: www.spaceweather.com - daily updates on solar events, comets, meteors, and sky phenomena with some amazing user-submitted pictures.
  The Star Gazer: weekly TV/podcast segment about what's up in the night sky. Videos are downloadable.
  Stellarium: http://www.stellarium.org: full-featured freeware planetarium software, available for all platforms.
• How High Can You Jump on other Worlds? (Activity C-12) Java applet for "How High Can You Jump?" activity
• Solar System Sorting Activity: a new activity, and an excellent lead-in to the discussion of Pluto as a planet, and for introducing the various classes of objects in the solar system: instructions and key to pictures color pictures
• Lunar Crash Landing (I3/I4 and Family ASTRO): Elementary School version and Middle/High School/College version
• Galaxy Sorting Activity (upgraded from Activity H7): Instructions and key to pictures and galaxy cards (in color)
• Big Dipper Star Clock (Activity F3): Star Clock template and instructions
• Worlds in Comparison:
- using Playdoh or clay to model the sizes of planets. At the 2009 workshop we used Crayola Air-Dry Clay (5lb, available from Michaels) and cut it with round dental floss. Baby wipes are also handy for clay-covered hands at the end of this activity.
• Scale Models of the Solar System: (Activities D5-D7) http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/solar_system:
  - an online tool allowing you to quickly calculate distances for your customized scale model of the solar system. A simpler version of the same idea can be found at: http://patriot.net/~jlazio/scale_model.html, with the scale set by (1) the radius of the Earth's orbit (1 A.U.) and (2) the diameter of the Earth.
• "The Reasons for the Seasons" kinesthetic astronomy activity: http://www.spacescience.org/Education/ResourcesForEducators/CurriculumMaterials/Kin_Astro/1.html
  This site has detailed instructions and downloadable graphics. The activity enables kids to use their own body movements to understand: the rising and setting of the sun, the changing night sky throughout the year, and the reasons for the seasons - "length of days, angle of rays, nothing to do with how far aways"! (For accounting reasons, you will need to "register" with this site to download the activity, but they do not use the information for spam).
• Our place in the Universe:
  Powers of Ten: http://www.wordwizz.com/pwrsof10.htm
  My Cosmic Address (San Diego County version)
  Our Place in Space: http://ology.amnh.org/astronomy - a website designed for kids age 7-12 which introduces them to the whole field of astronomy, from the American Museum of natural History. Online information plus activities kids can try for themselves. (Similar in design and scope to NASA/JPL's Space Place listed below).

• Private Universe survey and video
• AIAA Educator Associate Program (look under "K-12 Educators")
  - offers small grants ($250) to school education programs promoting the use of science and math in the classroom. Certainly worth applying for!
• Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP): http://www.astrosociety.org
  The parent of Project ASTRO. Maintains and online educational catalog, lists of useful websites, and publishes The Universe in the Classroom newsletter specifically for teachers of astronomy.
• The Space Place: http://spaceplace.jpl.nasa.gov
  A one-stop child and teacher resource site at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena. Provides lesson guides online, and you may also order free NASA hardcopy materials (when available).
  If you are covering a specific topic (e.g. Sun, Mars, comets) and would like hardcopy materials (calendars, beautiful posters, activities, CD-ROMS etc), you may contact: Dr. Nancy Leon at (818) 354-1067 or email: nancy.j.leon@jpl.nasa.gov - and mention you are a Project ASTRO San Diego partner. (Be aware though that availability of specific NASA items changes rapidly).
• The Nine Planets: http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/billa/tnp
  Facts, figures, and downloadable pictures of our Solar System
  NASA also provides a comprehensive website for Solar System Exploration: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov, which has current news and information on NASA missions to the planets and their discoveries.
• Astronomy Picture of the Day: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod