Space Science websites

There are certainly websites on tap today, but first, a musical interlude from my favorite kids' album "HERE COMES SCIENCE" by They Might Be Giants:



Isaac Asimov online. This is mostly a resource for looking at the body of work that Asimov completed, and as such should be used with older students and students interested in the life of Asimov and in tracking down certain bits of information that he wrote.

WORLDTIME. This shows a model of the earth and how and where sunlight is hitting it at the time of day that it is viewed. The “globe” can be manipulated and turned in all directions, so it is possible to see where it is daylight and where it is dark, and a child using the page could do some interesting extrapolation about what time means, why we have time zones, why calling a grandparent who lives in a different time zone at certain times of day might not be a great idea, etc.

StarChild, a Learning Center for Young Astronomers. Aside from the fact that the title of the website makes me think about George Clinton, this website was pretty helpful*. There are two “levels” to choose from, both of which have categories of Solar System, Universe, Space Stuff and Glossary. The “Level 1” links are aimed at grades 2-3 and have the added benefit of the option to have the website read to you (great for ELLs of those grades and higher!) The “Level 2” links are aimed at grades 4-6, with generally similar though more complex information compared to the “Level 1” links.

American Museum of Natural History “OLOGY” website: astronomy section. The OLOGY website in general is a great science resource, containing both online interactive games and quizzes, but also activities that are intended to be done offline, such as keeping a sky journal and how to do that, and creating a big dipper mobile. I would love to poke around more on this site when I have the chance. The age range seems pretty middle elementary-aimed to me, like in the range of 3rd to 4th grade.

Astronomy.com Astronomy for Kids. The content on this site is very similar to the content on the OLOGY website, with a few different activities and resources. It's also aimed at a slightly older age group, I'd say 4th – 5th. There is a list of interactive or do-it-yourself activities for learning about different parts of the solar system, constellations, position of earth and sun to determine cardinal points, etc. Pretty neat stuff.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Yeah, I know that the links each week are supposed to be limited to 5, but I could not in good conscience leave off this truly excellent resource. You may have heard of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in reference to the Mars Rovers (that are still more or less functional, which is amazing of itself,) they really do rather a lot more than that. On this website, you can find earth imaging, information about the Cassini probe (along with other missions to Saturn and simply gorgeous pictures,) and tons and tons and TONS more. This is not a website I would send a student to alone unless they had either a very specific idea about what they wanted to study, or no idea at all. There is so much information available! This is also not a site that younger children could navigate very well on their own, but would probably keep older children busy for quite a long time. There is a subsite that is specifically aimed at children, but I would suggest not limiting your students if they find the rest of the information available to be interesting.



*No, no, I love Parliament...It's just that now I want to turn up the funk instead of doing my homework. I've compromised, and am listening to them whilst doing said homework. It's very nearly a win-win.