Activity ideas and resources
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel when there are a wide range of tried-and-tested activity resources available on the web. Here are links to access a variety of activities suitable for astronomical societies, which you may want to use or adapt.
If your astronomical society has a favourite activity that works well for you, get in touch - it would be great to share these with the community.
James Webb Space Telescope outreach activities are found here.
Activity resources:
Sign up for a free account to acess free resources including worksheets, colouring-in sheets, and activities. You can search by topic and activity type. Be sure to read the licensing terms (eg you can’t edit resources or share them via your own website).
Searchable collection of activity resources for ages 3 to adult, including plenty of shorter activities (15-30 minutes). The National Schools Observatory are a fantastic organisation which also provides access to remote telescopes - if you don’t know about them you should definitely check out all they offer!
A wide range of activity ideas are available from this network for US astronomical societies. Including black-hole buckets, props for showing eclipses and phases, comet recipes, games, crater-making, and much, much more.
A Touch of the Universe has produced .stl files for 3D-printing exaggerated-relief models of the rocky planets and Moon. Designed for the visually impaired, but great for everyone. There are video tutorials about using them with visual impaired audiences, and the website also show how to make cheap 3D constellation models.
Perkins School for the Blind have a searchable library of activities suitable for the blind and visually impaired. Including tactile resource ideas will be very popular with sighted audiences too. If you have members with fabrication skills, they could replicate this cut-open telescope model designed to explain how telescopes work.
The ASP sent activity resource packs to hundreds of US societies. Topics include dark skies, filters, and constellation stories. You can download the resources and replicate most using low-cost items. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find a nice video that overviews the available activities.
A great organisation supporting astronomy education. There is a section for amateur astronomers, but also check out the educational activities section which has many more activities for children of all ages.
A selection of tried-and-tested activites that don’t cost too much to set up.
A listing of astronomy resources that are accessible to groups who may otherwise experience barriers to participation, including the deaf and hard of hearing; people with motor impediments; with cognitive disabilities; and those who are illiterate and/or have reading disabilities.
Among the many other resources provided by STEM Learning, there is a library of activity ideas and lesson plans, some of which will be appropriate for astronomical society contexts. If you find one that works well for you, get in touch and it can be featured here.
A searchable collection with a large number of hands-on activities. You can search by activity type (eg classroom activity, or family activity) and age. To convert US grades to UK year groups, simply add 1 (eg US grade 6 is UK year 7). Activities include a printable Moon phases calculator and the classic ‘make a crater’ activity.
A collection of 88 peer-reviewed activities on various astronomical topics, for ages 4-19 years. You can search by keyword, or browse the collections. Activities have clear overviews including cost and time requirements, so you can quickly see if they’re right for you. Includes activities for evening skywatching, and making a pinhole Sun viewer.
A list of stars at different distances, which can be used for a family activity where people find their ‘birthday star’ (one where the light that we see left its surface around the time of their birth). Activity details not included. Ages 2, 3, 5 & 7 are not included for lack of appropriate stars, so have a plan to avoid disappointment.
High-quality resources created by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, funded by National Science Foundation (US). Includes a video introduction to working with this age group, and detailed information for nine, age-appropriate activities.
A set of make-and-take activities using paper tableware, produced by the Great Lakes Planetarium Association. There are videos about each activity, and if you scroll down you will also find written descriptions.
Print out the provided template and add a string, weight and a straw to create a simple astrolabe for measuring the angles of objects in the sky. Activity from the Center for Science Education @ Space Sciences Laboratory, UC Berkeley.
The classic activity where children count squares along a roll of toilet paper to create a scale model solar systeml. Planet images are provided for printing out. Activity from the Center for Science Education @ Space Sciences Laboratory, UC Berkeley. The Exploratorium offer a scale calculator you can use to work out different scales.
Other resources and special events
The Faulkes Telescope Project is an education partner of Las Cumbres Observatory, which has a worldwide network of 21 telescopes. They provide free access to robotic telescopes, with supported educational resources to run a variety of different activities and projects that could be useful for evening courses or science clubs.
Other resources, including for special events and less common contexts.
Short and well-written guidance from the Institute of Physics, aimed at physicists talking at careers events. Includes some information about running events too. There is more about careers events on their main page.
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) can post out batches of items including stickers, postcards, pens, posters and DVDs to you for free! This amazing offer is open to astronomy societies and other educational organisations within the ESO member states.
Heavens Above is simple to use and offers clear, printable star maps for any time or location - perfect for hand-outs. You can also check out Cartes de Ciel, which I haven’t used myself but I have seen recommended for this purpose by planetarium professionals.
Directory of different places you can find free* images for outreach purposes, collated by Andy Fraknoi of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. (*You will need to make sure you double check the licencing requirements for the specific images you want to use. )
If you know any other resources that should be here, please get in touch!
I’m especially interested to know of anything that your society has used in practice and that you have found worked for you.