Lessons in this Chapter:
23.1 Telescopes
23.2 Early Space Exploration
23.3 Recent Space Exploration
Notes
This chapter covers telescopes and space exploration. This can be a fascinating subject, so don’t be afraid to spend more time on it.
The suggested activity for this chapter is to build a balloon rocket. It’s a simple experiment that will illustrate the science of thrust. If you purchase the T&K Rocket kit, shown below, you’ll have more than enough experiments to do. If you want to do a full unit study on rocketry, combine the T&K kit with the NASA Adventures in Rocket Science under the Hands-On Activities tab. You would have enough experiments and materials to last two weeks.
If your child is really interested in telescopes, I would strongly urge you to resist the temptation to go out and buy a toy one. They are usually more frustrating than useful. If you want to invest in a good starter telescope, this one comes highly recommended. There are also some ideas on building your own telescope under the Hands-On Activities tab.
If you want to add some more rocket activities, Thames and Kosmos has a great set on rocket science:
How to Make a Bottle Rocket – If you want something a little flashier.
Adventures in Rocket Science – for a full unit study on rockets.
If your child is interested in the history of astronomy, Make a Paper Model of a Moving Copernican and Ptolemaic System
Make a Paper Model of the Subaru Telescope
Make a Paper Model of the H-2A Rocket
If you have a model enthusiast, here are some model kits that contain many of the space craft discussed in the chapter. Please make sure that the difficulty of the model matches your child’s ability.
If you are looking for a good fiction read for your child as you start the Space section, try this series of books written by Stephen Hawking and his daughter, Lucy. They are full of adventure and science. They are more suited to younger middle schoolers and are available at most libraries.
For an older student with a keen interest in astrophysics, Stephen Hawking’s book A Brief History of Time is written for adults, but is very readable.
If your child is really interested in space exploration, we highly recommend the series When We Left Earth:
Check for these at your library or on any streaming services you have.
Check for these at your library or on any streaming services you have.