Best suited for ages 5 to 10
Table of Contents
- Grapefruit Facts of the Universe
- Can you spell energy efficiency?
- Litter can be deadly
- Make a model comet
- Build a spacesuit
- Build a space helmet
Grapefruit Facts of the Universe
Canadian Space Agency
Here is a neat collection of facts about our Solar System to help you put things into perspective. The Atlantic Space Sciences Foundation Inc. provided this list.
- If the Sun were a cookie jar, it would take 1,000,000 Earth-sized cookies to fill the jar;
- It would take a row of 110 Earths to make a line across the diameter of the Sun (1.396 million km);
- If Jupiter were a cookie jar, it would take 1,000 Earth-sized cookies to fill the jar;
- If the Earth were a 12-inch globe, the Moon would be a baseball 40 feet away. Saturn and it rings would just barely fit in between the two;
- If the Sun were a basketball, the Earth would be a split pea located 150 feet away from the basketball Sun. The Moon would be a grain of sand located 4 inches away from the split pea Earth
- The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is a huge storm system that could swallow up 2-3 Earths without even burping;
- The average sunspot (a magnetically cooled region of the Sun’s surface) could also swallow Earth without a hiccough;
- If you could fly to the Sun in a 747 at a typical cruising speed of 900-1,000 km/hour, it would take 17 years to get there and another 17 years to get back.
"The night sky with its beautiful stars and its message of our place in the universe is a precious treasure of all humanity, on which we rely for our knowledge and understanding of our origins and destiny."
International Astronomical University on Space Research, 1992
Can you spell energy efficiency?
Natural Resources Canada
Read the text below and identify the spelling error in each sentence that relates to saving energy. Circle the words that are misspelled and then write them correctly in the space provided below.
1. Energy efficeincy means using less energy to get the results you want.
2. Put on a sweiter if you are cold instead of turning up the heat.
3. Use energy-saving compact floresent light bulbs at home.
4. Make use of soler energy by letting the Sun inside in winter and blocking it out in summer.
5. Take alternitive transportation to school - bus, bicycle, scooter, walk!
6. Play outdoors with a soccer ball rather than indoors on the computor.
7. Biofules are made from renewable plant sources like cereal crops or trees.
8. Use previosly owned stuff! It's good for the environment - and your piggy bank - to use and enjoy goods that are not brand new.
9. Recluse your use of energy by turning off lights when you leave the room.
10. Reuse and rescycle as much as you can.
Litter can be deadly
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Objective:
To investigate how harmful litter can be in a marine ecosystem and what we can do to prevent this harm.
Materials:
- litter collected from a marine ecosystem
- paper
- pencil
- material to make a litter collage
- glue
Activity:
Collect litter on a rocky shore. Divide the litter into two piles, biodegradable and non-biodegradable. Make a litter collage of the non-biodegradable items. Discuss the negative effects of litter in a marine ecosystem and what we can do to prevent litter and the damage it causes.
Background:
Litter in a marine ecosystem can be deadly.
Imagine being a dolphin who has curiously stuck its nose into a plastic bag full of a half-eaten sandwich. While eating the sandwich you also eat the plastic bag. Or imagine being a turtle which innocently eats a plastic bag, thinking it's a jelly fish. Plastic is not a normal part of your diet. It can block your digestive system and remain in your stomach, giving you that 'full' feeling, so that you don't eat enough to survive. It can also cause excess buoyancy, preventing you from diving under water in search of food. The result-litter can be deadly.
Litter causes many problems for marine animals. They can get caught and entangled on wires and fishing line. They can swim into glass bottles and get stuck. They can get cut on the jagged edges of metal cans. Litter can be deadly.
What can we do? We can start by recycling, reusing, and reducing waste. Considering alternatives to buying overly packaged goods. We can stop throwing our litter in the ocean or along the shore. And we can also inform others about the deadly effects of litter and how to prevent the damage it causes. Every little bit helps. We must all do our part to create a cleaner and safer marine environment.
Procedures:
- Take a walk in a coastal ecosystem. Collect the litter that you find.
- Divide the litter into two piles, biodegradable and non-biodegradable. What happens to non-biodegradable litter?
- Of all the non-biodegradable products that you collected, are there any alternatives? Can these products berecycled, reduced, or reused? What other things would make a good substitute for these products? Think of ways to cut down on litter.
- Make a litter collage of the things you found.
- Create a list of ideas about how to prevent the creation of the litter that you found by reducing, recycling, and reusing.
- Tell others the news that litter can be deadly in a marine ecosystem by sharing your litter collage and list of prevention ideas.
Extensions:
- Interestingly enough, plastics have only been around since 1936. Make a list of all the things we have that are made from this generally non-biodegradable material. Research the history of plastic development and some of the pollution problems. Collect and display some samples of plastic litter. Trace the litter to its source. Write a letter to a company that produces plastic, stating your concern about plastic litter. Offer solutions concerning alternative biodegradable products that can be used. Ask for a response to your concerns.
- Investigate some of the solutions to plastic litter, such as using biodegradable parts on nets and lobster traps, and using beepers in nets to warn whales. Contact your local Fisheries and Oceans office for more information.
Make a model comet
Canadian Space Agency
In this activity, you will make a model Comet Hale-Bopp to understand its immensity.
1 cm = 100,000 km
Remember that the main part of the comet, the nucleus, is still embedded inside the coma. The nucleus is not shown in our model because it is only 10 km or so across. This would make it smaller than the tiniest pinpoint!
Procedure:
- Glue a cotton ball that is about 5 cm onto the middle of a sheet of paper. This represents the coma of the comet.
- Cut 10-15 strips of crepe paper 4-5 metres long.
- Tape the paper sheet with the coma on it at one end of a wall. Gather one end of all the crepe paper strips. Tape or glue them next to the coma so that they can easily be stretched along a wall.
- Stretch the crepe paper along the wall and tape it so that the tail fans out slightly.
- Add labels to identify the comet and its different parts.
Build a spacesuit
Canadian Space Agency
In this creative activity, your students will design and build their own, wearable space spacesuits.
Materials:
- A wearable paper suit from a paint store
- Photos of astronauts in their EVA suits
- Variety of duct tapes/hockey tapes (all colours)
- Dryer hose tubing
- Cereal or other flat boxes
- Odds and ends
- Glue/tape/scissors/felts
Procedures:
- Obtain some kind of wearable “paper suit” from a local paint store or hardware store;
- Obtain photos of astronauts wearing their Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) Suits and note all the details;
- Have students decorate their suits using various coloured tapes, dryer hose tubing, and other kinds of tubes and felts;
- Using the cereal box, have students create a control box for their suit;
- Add lots of pockets and tethers for your suit, so your space tools won’t float away!
- Through the Canadian Space Agency, you can obtain stickers of the various Canadian mission patches and logos for students to add to their spacesuits;
- Divide students into “crews”, and have them create their own mission patches to add to their suits;
- Your spacesuits are now ready to wear; good luck on your mission!
Build a space helmet
Canadian Space Agency
In this creative activity, students will build an accompanying space helmet, to go with their Spacesuits.
Materials:
- A 16 inch balloon
- Paper maché
- Newspaper
- White paint
- White duct tape
- A knife
- A few pots
Procedures:
- Have each student blow up one 16-inch balloon and tie it off;
- The balloon needs to “sit” in something hard and stable in order for you to work on it. A bowl or pot works great for this.
- Tear the newspaper into dozens of long, narrow strips.
- Mix the papier maché and have it near you in another bowl.
- Papier maché the entire balloon twice over. Let it stay in its bowl or pot to dry overnight.
- Repeat step 2 to 5, and again, let the balloon dry overnight (the balloon has now been covered four times).
- Using a sharp knife carefully cut out a generous hole at the bottom, big enough to be able to fit your head through comfortably. You may want to do this for your students.
- Cut out an area for your face (called a visor) so you can see through. Put the cut-out piece aside;
- Using white duct tape (easily obtainable at a hardware store) tape over all the edges to keep the papier maché from wearing away.
- Paint the entire helmet white, and allow overnight drying.
NOTE: Allow at least 5 days for this activity.