About This Article
The AAS Education Committee shares materials, programs, resources, and discussion forums for teaching and learning astronomy with the astronomy education community. The goal of the blog is to highlight education-related activities supported by the AAS and others that may be of interest to AAS members. Blog posts include deeper dives into topics of interest and connect readers with additional resources.
Recently, NASA's Universe of Learning was featured, sharing the newest Program Guide along with various new activities used in the guide. The free Program Facilitator Guides from Universe of Learning offers guides carefully crafted to empower facilitators, giving them the confidence to create STEM events to engage learners and their families in the wonders of NASA science.
Some of the newest NASA's Universe of Learning Activities were highlighted, including:
The Stellar Evolution Flipbook is a small visual booklet that gradually unfolds the birth, life, and demise of a star. In this activity, participants can color different pages depicting the evolution of a star while listening to its tales, and facilitators can focus on revealing the life of a Sun-like star or a massive one. Although aimed at 12+ year old participants, this activity includes an adaptation for younger audiences.
By using the Stellar Life Cycle Bookmark, participants will “mark” each phase in the incredible journey of a star’s life with colorful beads attached to a string on the bookmarks. Attendees will be guided by the information in the bookmarks, which are illustrated with stunning NASA images depicting the grand finale of Sun-like or massive stars. To reinforce that star stuff gets recycled in the universe, an adaptation is included to craft a dazzling bracelet instead. And for tech-savvy enthusiasts, there is an adaptation to create a cosmic phone charm.
During a Stellar Evolution Scavenger Hunt, event attendees embark on a cosmic mission. Geared up with astronomical images and illustrations taken from the Astropix database, another NASA’s Universe of Learning project, and their descriptions, participants explore different stages in the life of a star and solve the mystery of what type of object the life cycle we show belongs to.