Make Astronomy More Exciting With These Hands On Ideas

Teaching astronomy can be a major challenge because some kids can often struggle with concepts that they can not truly connect to. One fantastic way to bridge the gap is to incorporate hands-on lessons into your Astronomy study.

Hands-on ideas for teaching astronomy.

Kids are fascinated with the stars and constellations. Teaching your children about the constellations can be a great opportunity to add art into your homeschool. Try making your own constellations using glow in the dark stars on the wall or using aluminum foil over a lampshade to make your own sky projector poking holes to create the constellations.

Build a model of the solar system. This can be done with a simple kit or you can go above and beyond and build a scale model. Having their own model of the solar system allows your child to build a personal connection that they can not get from a textbook or documentary. Take time to learn a little bit about each planet as you bring it to life.

Take your child to a planetarium or observatory. If you are lucky enough to live near a space station you can take your child there to observe everything up close and personal. Space camps are a great investment if you have the ability. Field trips are a great way to bring lessons to life and your child will benefit from it.

Get a telescope for a great opportunity to observe the skies and document what they see. Even without a telescope, you can have your child build a journal to track the stars they can see each night, the phase of the moon, sunrise and sunset times (you can find these on the weather channel.)

Explore physical science to help your child connect to what they can not see. Exploring gases is a great way to understand the gas giants and stars in the sky. Studying temperature changes is a great way to help your child understand how the closer a planet is to the fun the hotter it gets.

 

Check out our Solar System Unit Study Books & Journal Here!