Instructor Resources

Star Labs - Coming to a School Near You

Star LabThe STARLAB Portable Planetarium can be used with students from preschool through college and with all ability levels, including mentally challenged and gifted.  The STARLAB is interdisciplinary and can be used in every academic subject.  Only in the STARLAB, can you go to view constellation figures from ancient China or Africa one moment, the inside of a biological cell the next moment, and then watch a movie without even moving from your seat.  In any educational program, the usefulness of the STARLAB is limited only by the user's creativity and imagination.

http://www.cesa9.k12.wi.us/starlab.cfm

Introductory Activity

To introduce students to the posibilities that are out there, we will use the Scale of the Universe 2 created by Cary and Michael Huang. After watching the brief video showing the basics of the interacitve site, the LMS will then project the website onto an interactive whiteboard where students can actively click and navigate the site under the direction of the instructor.  Students will be guided to write questions that come to mind as they navigate the universe.

After playing with the scale of possibilities, students will be given a balloon and two straws to construct a balloon rocket.  These rockets will be used to metaphorically "blast them into a world of imagination."

Workshop Background

Students are inescapably curious about space, but the range of their curiosity is as great as space itself.  This workshop gives students the opportunity to explore the vastness of space, yet dig deeper about specific areas that may be fascinating to them.  Each area allows for open ended discovery, and gives them a creative, and sometimes very challenging outlet for their discoveries.  

After the introduction, students will be given time to explore the different tabs with the activities and resources.  Some activities can be quickly completed in a short period of time, and some activities will be long term projects requiring outside support in the form of the librarian, teachers, or community volunteers.  

Students will be encourged to work in small groups based on interest, and will have the opportunity to share their learning on the Google Site.  Students can use the Google Site as a digital portfolio as they navigate through time and space.

Students are not required to complete each actiivty and they may find themselves digging deeper into one area.  This is the joy of the workshop.  We encourage curiosity and exploration!

Image Credits

All images come from NASA.  Click on the images to take you to the NASA Image of the Day.  

The NASA website has phenomenal resouces available for all age levels.