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Curriculum Resources for the Alaskan Environment
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Subject Areas:
astronomy
Timeline: open
Grade Levels:
1-12
Purpose: to familiarize
students with the night sky and the objects that
appear in it
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Achim
Brauser
Planetarium
Construction
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 Activities
- Acquire materials:
tin can about 6" in diameter
flashlight bulb
battery
wood for stand.
- Construct:
the stand's angle should be equal to the latitude
of the place of observation wires from the battery should be loose
to allow spindle to turn
punch and space holes to correspond to real
constellations, with brighter stars
having larger holes:
* about a sixth of an inch should suffice
for brightest stars
* figure the Pole Star to be the center of the tip of the tin
* figure the equator to be the center of the side of the tin
* it may be helpful to mark the sides of the tin to indicate meridians
* star positions should be marked prior to punching the holes;
also, they should be marked in reverse
to project properly
the bulb should be in the equatorial plane
200 to 300 holes are sufficient
some practice may be required to get the holes
situated, so be prepared to use more
than one tin
viewing is best in a small room (6' from the
source), but larger rooms will give satisfying results.
Resources
- Wilkins and Moore. (1956). How to Make and
Use a Telescope (pp.190-194)
- Moore. (1973). Color Star Atlas
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Variations
- Make different tins to use for
constellations not normally viewed at your latitude, or
for the sun, moon, or other planets.
- The planetarium can double as a
light show!
- Purchase a luminous star package
and assemble on ceiling of a dark room.
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