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Hi Deirdre,
to make working models that can be tested, I’d suggest giving each child a fizzy tablet tube and then use the “pop rocket” idea.
If children just create rocket shapes from junk art then it will be hard for them to launch.
Children could find out if warm water is better than cold, if two tablets are better than one. Caution – you won’t know when these are going to launch, so stand back!
Ashling,
you have outlined a lovely set of cross curricular activities that involve research and arts about Space as a theme.
To include science inquiry you might want to see what theories the children hold about why the solar system is the way it is – and perhaps help them find simple ways to explore some aspects of that.
So, if they find that the hottest planet is Venus, they might wonder if that is because it is close to the Sun – and how does being close to a heat source affect how warm you are? – simple inquiry.
or they might wonder if it is because it has a thick atmosphere — so how does wearing more clothes make you feel?
Áine,
Leo is great – I often show it inside our portable planetarium – and am told that it looks like a computer mouse.
You can review this video that one of my former colleagues created in 2020 – it outlines the difference between asterisms and constellations (using Stellarium).
Elaine,
there a few portable planetarium providers in the country.
In the Dublin area try Big Bear Planetarium, Armagh Planetarium also travel. In the west try Exploration Dome and we (BCO) cover the south with our StarDome.
You can replicate it to a certain degree by using Stellarium with a projector onto the biggest wall you can find in a room that you can make fully dark.
BCO have also recently been making D.O.M.E.s with schools – out of cardboard. You can see the details and how-to here.
Thanks for sharing these links Rebecca.
Is the Sun this one? https://wowscience.co.uk/resource/diy-sun-science/
This links to a free app from Lawrence Hall of Science (who are fab) for iPad.
https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/diy-sun-science/id836712493
I checked and you can also get it for iPhone and Android at
and that also has pdfs that you can download for some of the activities. I like that fact that they have ages on the activities, so some of the age 7 and up could be used.
Sharon,
the maths with the families of aliens is one my favourite parts of this.
Which aliens belong together? Make groupings based on colour of body, shape, height, number of eyes…
Find me an alien with more eyes than this one…
So many possibilities.
Lucy,
I like how you have planned to engage very young children with day and night and look at the observable features of day and night to start with.
You could add in Earth images that show the Earth during day and night – here is a lovely one from ESA
source: this tweet from ESA
You can get current images from Met Éireann here: https://www.met.ie/latest-reports/satellites/world-visible or direct from EUMETSAT here: https://www.eumetsat.int/real-time-imagery/earth-view
and a video from ESA is here:
https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2013/12/From_night_to_day_to_night_again
Thanks for the book suggestions – I know they are valuable to other teachers.
Asking the children to discuss what a shadow is and then letting them have time to explore shadows is essential.
For very young children this would be enough – older children can check how shadows vary in the day and link that to the direction to the Sun.
Aoife- I like the planning for buddying – and if 6th class can help, all the better.
Making simple parachutes is great- use tissue and string to tie a parachute to one of the maths proportional bears and you have an easy activity that shows air resistance slowing down the bear.
Hi Sharon,
I’m glad the rocket mice have another fan – I just love them. Start collecting your milk bottles so that you have a range of launchers ready for Space Week.
I like to ask children to work together and have one child hold up their arm to mark the highest the mouse goes. To make a record, they could then go to a nearby wall and put a post it note at that height. Measuring with a meter stick can come later.
Hi Sharon,
I was reading about Inuit hood ruffs – apparently they are designed to disrupt the air flow around your face so that you stay warmer! Different Inuit groups have different styles, so the ruff on the parka tells you where someone is from!
Not this article, which is if you really want the details.
We created an activity around designing clothing for Polar regions as part of Polar Star. You can find it here in English and Irish and other European languages too,
Hi Margaret,
I also love that fact about stars – and since stars last for billions of years, most of the nearby ones are still there.
With the volcano activity, asking
Ask the children what they think will happen when you mix the baking soda and vinegar together.
will only build on their science if they have some background in mixing and chemical reactions.
I’d be inclined to do the demonstration as an amazing prompt – and then ask the children how they think they could make the eruption bigger/ or quicker / or last longer… and let then apply their new understanding in a testable way.
I did this with my Brownie Guides last year- and many of these 8-10 year old girls had seen a similar eruption, either in school or from a book/video. It meant we could have fun building on their ideas – so we made a paper volcanoes and looked at the difference the volcano shape made to the eruption.
Rachel,
this is very much about forces and materials – the egg is strong, but if it hits the edge of something it will break. Nice twist and addition to the dropping materials activity from the module.
Anne,
I like that you have incorporated listening to the children to first gauge their knowledge. I do this when groups come to me at BCO, where classes might do a “Mars” workshop. I ask them to talk to each other and choose their favourite Martian fact, and to have one in reserve in case another group share that same fact. If they have no facts I ask them to identify something that they would like to know.
There are a good set of planet images that are card sized as part of this ESA resource, the images by themselves are here.
