Daily STREAM Activity: Stargazing

Recreate the night sky in your bedroom!

Activity best for children age 5 and up

Have you ever wondered what a star is? Stars are huge, glowing balls of gases. The closest star to Earth is the sun. A constellation is a group of visible stars that form a pattern when viewed from Earth. The pattern they form may take the shape of an animal, a mythological creature, a man, or a woman. Constellations are useful because they help people recognize stars in the sky.  Using a flashlight and a piece of cardboard you can check out some of the constellations on your bedroom ceiling! To learn more about your area’s night sky contact your local planetarium.

Materials you’ll need:

Constellation template

A large piece of Cardboard 

Push Pin – have a grown-up help you.

Tape

Flashlight

Templates:

Constellation template

Questions to answer while experimenting:

How far away do you think the stars are?

Are stars all the same colors?

How many stars can we see in the night sky?

How large is our Sun?

Directions

STEP 1
 Print out the constellation template from this website.

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STEP 2
Place your large piece of cardboard on a table.

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STEP 3
Tape the template on the cardboard. Using a pushpin, press holes down into the cardboard so that the pushpin goes through the template and into the cardboard. Have a grown-up help as pushpins can be sharp.

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STEP 4
Make sure that the holes on the cardboard go all the way through.

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STEP 5
In a dark room hold up your cardboard constellations and shine your flashlight at the piece of cardboard. You should see the pinpricks of light on your ceiling. The constellations are now on your ceiling!

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Reading extension:

Stargazers
by Gail Gibbons
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