Tag: astronomy

3-12, Education, Science, Teaching Tools, Websites

If The Moon Were Only One Pixel

Terri Eichholz

Moon One Pixel

This is an amazing site that will give you the sense of the depth and breadth of our solar system – with a tinge of humor added to it.  It begins by showing the size of the moon as one pixel.  Then, by scrolling horizontally, the user can take a trip through our solar system beginning from the sun.  You not only see the relative sizes of each of the objects compared to the moon, but also the massive distances covered in space between each one.  To keep you from getting too bored with the tremendous amounts of scrolling, Josh Worth interjects witty comments every once in awhile.  This is a great way to show students the enormity of space in a way that they can understand.

For more sites like this, check out “5 Resources to Help Students Understand the Size of the Universe” from Richard Byrne.

From "If the Moon Were Only One Pixel"
From “If the Moon Were Only One Pixel”

 

Careers, Education, K-12, Motivation, Parenting, Reading, Science, Teaching Tools, Videos, Websites

Eyes on the Stars

Terri Eichholz

Screen Shot 2013-01-29 at 5.02.25 PM

StoryCorps just posted a new short animated video that is incredibly inspirational and moving. “Eyes on the Stars” tells us about the perseverance and pioneering spirit of Ronald McNair, one of the seven astronauts killed in the Challenger explosion, as told by his brother.  There are so many lessons that your students can glean from this less-than-4-minutes video: the importance of reading, standing up against adversity, pursuing your dreams, civil rights, etc…

I had been thinking about writing a post about the StoryCorps animations for awhile, but hadn’t found one, yet, that I was ready to integrate into my classroom.  “Eyes on the Stars” was just published, and I’ve already seen it featured on two of my favorite blogs:  “It’s Okay to Be Smart” and “Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day.”  You can view more StoryCorps animations here.  As always, I recommend that you view the videos before showing them to your students and/or children.

You can also see more Inspirational Videos for Students on my Pinterest board.