Educational Resources

For Teachers

Workshop Opportunities

Project ASTRO matches astronomers with 4th to 9th grade teachers and community educators in the Tucson area who want to enrich their astronomy and science teaching. We are also a pilot site for the new Family Astro program from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.
ASTRONOMY Research Based Science Education (formerly TLRBSE) is a program open to high school science teachers who wish to implement research based science education in their classroom.
Hands-On Optics (HOO) helps kids learn by doing, making discoveries, and thinking like scientists. It nurtures their spirit of adventure and increases their knowledge of science and technology.
Astronomy from the Ground Up is a National Science Foundation funded program developed to provide informal science educators at small- to medium-sized nature centers, science centers/museums and natural history museums with new and innovative ways to communicate the excitement of modern astronomy to their visitors.
AGU 2005 - Session Title: Teacher Professional Development Programs Promoting Authentic Scientific Research in the Classroom.

ASTEROIDS: Wilderness of Rocks

This website provides information and resources about an exciting new education project under development here at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in conjunction with the educational outreach program for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope currently under development.

Spanish Language Astronomy Materials Education Center

Where can you find the best advice on the most engaging astronomy-related books and teaching materials in Spanish? At the new NOAO web site: Spanish Language Astronomy Materials Education Center!

Resources for Astronomy Outreach Providers and Teachers of Native Americans

This website has been designed for individuals who are beginning outreach programs in astronomy to Native American children. Since these outreach providers may have little background in teaching in general, and because there are many misconceptions about Native Americans, this site offers links to organizations and information that may help the outreach provider get started.

Electronic Journal

The Astronomy Education Review is a refereed electronic journal hosted by NOAO and endorsed by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific and the American Astronomical Society.

Kitt Peak Field Trip Resources

The following PDF files have been created as lesson plans for teachers to use with their classes either before or after visiting Kitt Peak.

Classroom Resources

Sun

Solar Music - Helioseismology illustrates how to learn about an object by listening to it. Download the updated version in PDF format!
Resource List About the Sun, with links to web pages as well as lists of books and periodicals with articles about our nearest star.

Moon

From Project ASTRO Tucson:

Planets

Guy Ottewell's classic The Earth as a Peppercorn can be viewed on-line or ordered.

Comets

Bring Comet Hale-Bopp into your classroom with this eight page brochure (a PDF file).
Dennis Schatz shares his famous Comet Recipe for making a comet in the classroom.
Make Your Own Comet describes our experiences using the above recipe and includes science facts about comets from NOAO researchers.
This classroom activity uses NIH Image and data from Kitt Peak to measure the Motion of Comet Hyakutake.

Stars

Construct a color-magnitude diagram of the Jewelbox Cluster with Jewels of the Night, a hands-on activity for middle school and older students.
An Infrared slide set can be viewed on-line or ordered from the ASP.

Teaching Guides

The "Sharing Science with Children Guides" developed at the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science. You may choose from:

A Survival Guide for Scientists and Engineers
Linking Students with Scientists and Engineers, A Survival Guide for Teachers
A Guide for Parents
Ordering information and an order form you fill out and mail to the NCMLS.