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: