Jump to content

Banner.jpg.b83b14cd4142fe10848741bb2a14c66b.jpg

School talk, help appreciated.

leelee970

By leelee970
in The Astro Lounge

Recommended Posts

leelee970

leelee970

Posted
Posted

Morning all,

I've been invited to do a little talk about astronomy and space (solar system only) in my local primary school.

The age group is 5 yrs to 11 yrs with about twenty children in four classes.

the duration is only going to be 30 - 45 mins in each class.

I'll be bringing in one or two of my scopes for the children to play with along with photos of planets.

Does anyone have or seen decent links or ideas for such a school talk.

Any help appreciated. 

Lee

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 43
  • Created
  • Last Reply
pete_l

pete_l

Posted
Posted

This comes up from time to time. There is a good thread about giving talks to children here:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/213477-giving-a-talk-on-lunar-imaging-any-tips-please/

For primary school children, you may find that what interests 5 y/o's is not the same as what interests 11 y/os.

If you're taking equipment into the school, will you need to carry out a risk-assessment?

Also, 4 talks of 45 mins is three hours. I hope your voice is up to that - mine certainly would be shot to pieces

after a couple of hours solid talking. :lipsrsealed:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
leelee970

leelee970

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Many thanks Pete. I've done it before but it's been a while.

As you say the interests in age groups will be different and it's no good asking my two girls as they already have a more in-depth knowledge and interest in astronomy due to daddy.

Lee

Link to comment
Share on other sites
steppenwolf

steppenwolf

Posted
Posted

Funnily enough, I have just been asked to do the same thing. I am in a quandary about how much solar system v deep sky to do because my interest/knowledge is in deep sky! I have a plan 1 which is more deep sky based as the teacher has asked me to tell the children about what I actually do but I may remove some DS and put Saturn and Jupiter in the earlier part. My main thrust at the beginning is to show our place in the universe starting with the school itself but I will also be interested in reading in the link above as I am used to talking to an older audience!

post-1029-0-25228800-1422263653_thumb.pn

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Owmuchonomy

Owmuchonomy

Posted
Posted

Interesting as I think this request may be coming my way soon. I'd like to hear how it goes. My wife works in the school and she is a qualified teaching assistant. I think the general consensus is that attention span is directly proportional to age. I think I will be tempted to take plenty of fruit, a torch or two and scrounge a couple of footballs and do the distance approximation and orbital drill. If it's dark enough maybe do a moons phases demo. Another activity is to get them to make asterisms in bits of card for use in the dark. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Double Star

Double Star

Posted
Posted

TES: Professor Brian Cox, The Big Bang Live Lesson:

I watched Brian Cox on YouTube yesterday, speaking to school kids. Not exactly your age group or set up here, but I think there's something to take from how he gets them thinking and tells them about some of the stuff we don't yet know; questions for some of their generation to answer.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tinker1947

Tinker1947

Posted
Posted

While i can't advise on what to say to the kids, if you know your subject once you start talking the words will flow and it becomes enjoyable, answers to question will just flow and your be surprised what you really know about  Astronomy 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
leelee970

leelee970

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks Tinker1947, I've not a problem talking about astronomy - but I need to make it exciting and not bore them to death.

I also need to make sure the subject is not over their heads.

There is a big difference from a 5 year old and a 11 year old.

In fact I know one question that will come up ( it has twice before) - did God create the universe? I do have a good answer that satisfied the teacher of the C of E school.

Lee

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Tinker1947

Tinker1947

Posted
Posted

I'm curious as to your answer Lee. Would you mind divulging? I've actually just had a 'what would I say?' moment. So it would be interesting to compare.

I doubt the " Mods" will like a thread changing to a God type of thing, best to PM...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
leelee970

leelee970

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Sorry Ryan, I'm afraid I'll not change the subject to a religious one. If you want you can send me a private message with your email address and I'll contact you that way.

One thing is for sure make sure you get advise from the school before hand.

As Tinker1947 has pointed out the Mods will not be happy with type of subject and I truly don't want this thread to be removed as I genuinely would like some help with my forthcoming school visit.

Lee 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bingevader

bingevader

Posted
Posted

Steve's pictures are fab.

It needs to be as visual and practical as possible! :D

Especially with the little ones.

A planet hunt, with them dotted around the school or grounds? Then ordering them in terms of size and their order from the sun? Have them all orbiting the sun around the yard/hall?

If you can make the hall (or classroom) dark enough then night and day is always a good one, or the up coming solar eclipse!

I wouldn't worry too much about trying to cover every thing with each class, especially if it's likely to become an annual event!

That way if you did go back you'd have something different to show.

The older ones will enjoy some of the mind boggling stats, like how many earths will fit in the sun.

I'm sure Star Gazing Live did a different sized fruit comparison for the solar system?

I'm also sure there was a nice practical demonstration of impact craters on the moon by dropping marbles in to trays with  different coloured powder paint in layers, I'll see if I can find it! :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.