Educators

Discovery Check-Out Kits
Curriculum
Activities
Interactives
Weblinks

Please visit this page for materials and curriculum guides about subjects that relate to the VERITAS project. Each of the kits, activities and curricula presented below have been used and modified by teachers to meet the needs of their classes.

Discovery Check-Out Kits

Discovery Check-Out Kits from the Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum help Chicago-area teachers bring space science into the classroom. Each Discovery Kit is full of learning resources for teachers and students to explore. It also includes a free curriculum guide for teachers to keep. Each Discovery Kit may be checked out for two weeks at a time, and is available by reservation only. For more information on checking out a Discovery Kit, please visit the Adler Planetarium Web Site.

Gravity and Black Holes (For Grades 5-8 or 9-12)

Gamma-ray astronomers study black holes at the centers of active galaxies to understand how they produce gamma rays. "Examine the ultimate limits of gravity and Energy in the Universe" with the Gravity and Black Holes Discovery kit. This Kit provides materials for students to explore gravity and related physics concepts, such as mass and force, within the context of Earth, space, and black holes. Visit the Adler Planetarium Web Site to preview the curriculum guide.

Sun-Earth Connection (For Grades K-4 or 5-8)
Explore the Electromagnetic Spectrum, including gamma rays, with materials about the Sun-Earth connection. Begin an amazing journey from the Sun to the Earth with the Sun-Earth Connection Discovery Kit. This kit provides books, posters, CD-ROMS, video and other materials to use with our Sun-Earth Connection curriculum guide. Explore how the Sun affects our daily lives by investigating topics such as night and day, energy, and the reasons for the seasons. Visit the Adler Planetarium Web Site to preview the curriculum guide.

Curriculum Guides

Adler educators developed the following curriculum guides its teacher professional development programs. Each lesson and activity has been used by interdisciplinary teams of teachers in their classrooms, and have been adapted for Adler's education programs within the museum. Please use and modify these resources to fit the needs of your students.

Gravity and Black Holes (For Grades 5-8 or 9-12)

Gamma-ray astronomers study black holes at the centers of active galaxies to understand how they produce gamma rays. Gravity and Black Holes is a curriculum guide focused on the teaching of gravity and related physics concepts, such as mass and force, within the context of Earth, space, and black holes.

Light and Energy (For Grades K-4 or 5-8)

Sun-Earth Connection is a curriculum guide that focuses on studying the Sun's structure, light, energy, and its relationship with Earth.

Activities

Spaghettification

No person has ever been close enough to a black hole to actually fall into one, but if a person ever got close enough, their body would stretch out as they were pulled into the black hole. In this activity you will make a spaghettification flip book that will demonstrate how the strong gravitational pull of a black hole would stretch any astronaut unlucky enough to encounter one in space. Learn more.

Gravity

Have you ever wondered why astronauts can bounce around on the Moon? Or why would you weigh less on another planet? The answer is: The Force of Gravity. This lab allows you to play with gravity in a way that you normally cannot. Learn more.

Interactives

Spaghettification

AGN Taxonomy Interactive | Investigate a 3D AGN model!
Version 1.3 - April 23, 2007.