Family Space Day Overview - Constellations

Family Space Day is a three hour event. The activities are set up so that children
and parents can select the order in which they undertake activities. Parents and
children are encouraged to learn, play, and explore together.

Objectives of the Day

Children will:

  • learn what constellations are.
  • learn how different cultures have created stories about constellations.
  • learn to recognize several commonly known constellations.

Activities

Station 1: Storytelling – How Constellations Came to Be
Children listen to a legend about how the constellations came to be. They
learn what a constellation is.

Station 2: Pin the Star on the Sky
Children, with eyes closed or covered, place stars randomly on paper. Using
these fixed stars, they create their own constellation – and its story.

Station 3: Constellation Circle
Children discover which constellations can be seen during the different
months of the year.

Station 4: StarMaster Viewer
Children create pattern templates of constellations and view them through a
“StarMaster Viewer” to help them learn to recognize the arrangement of the
stars.

Station 5: Sky Wheel
Children will make a chart of the sky in order to find the different
constellations.

Station 6: Coloring Sheets and Games
Children can relax and color and play simple games related to constellations.

Station 7: Reading Room
Children and their parents can browse and read a selection of books about
constellations (refer to book list for suggested reading).

Other Materials

Facilitator Information – Constellations
Explore Constellations – Book and Website References
All About Constellations – A Constellation Fact Sheet
View the Night Sky – An invitation to families to look at the sky together

 

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