StarLab General Presentation – Our Night Sky

Students of all ages will enjoy this presentation! The fun of learning about astronomy, constellations, Greek mythology and Native American mythology all takes place within our portable planetarium which can accommodate up to 30 learners!

This general presentation focuses on the night sky in the Northern Hemisphere and can be geared to begin on the actual day of your visit! Students will be amazed at how easily they can begin to identify major constellations on their own after spending only 45 minutes in the StarLab. We walk students through a whole year’s rotation of the cosmos while bringing ancient myths to life. Students will be able to identify constellations such as Ursa Major and Minor, Orion, Cassiopeia, Draco, and Leo as well as identify solitary stars such as Polaris and Sirius. Overall this program is fun for children of any age (even adults)!

Specialized Programs:
We are able to adapt the general Starlab program to suit your needs. Teachers can work with the Education Programs Director to create a program that is perfect for your group. Ask for a focus on any of the following topics: our night sky, constellations, greek mythology, native American mythology, planets, and/or our place in the universe. Depending on the focus, program length can vary from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours. Ask about available worksheets for your group as well.

Curricular Links:
Grade 6: Topic C: Sky Science

Learner Outcomes:
SpacePort closely matches its programs to Alberta Learning’s Programs of Study for elementary and junior high grades. We are always happy to fax or email a detailed outline of how our programs match Specific Learner Expectations (SLEs) and General Learner Expectations (GLEs) as established by Alberta Learning. Please call or email our Educational Program Director for further information.

Cool and relevant space facts:
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Intrinsically, Sirius is over 20 times brighter than our Sun and over twice as massive. As Sirius is 8.7 light years distant, it is not the closest star system - the Alpha Centauri system holds this distinction. Sirius is called the Dog Star because of its prominence in the constellation of Canis Majoris (Big Dog). In 1862, Sirius was discovered to be a binary star system with a companion star, Sirius B, 10,000 times dimmer than the bright primary, Sirius A. Sirius B was the first white dwarf star discovered, a type of star first understood by Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar in 1930. While studying Sirius in 1718, Edmond Halley discovered that stars move with respect to each other. There is conflicting evidence that Sirius appeared more red only 2000 years ago. (From NASA: http://apod.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000611.html)

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