As we all figure out what to do while hunkering down, I thought I’d share a few websites that I recommend adults and children visit.
Spaceplace.org provides links to STEM-related activities, games, and space resources. These are organized into three broad categories: crafts, games and videos. You can literally spend days looking at all of these links and trying some of the activities.
Zooniverse.org offers citizen science activities that allow you to discover planets orbiting other stars. I’ve written a whole article about the usefulness of doing this particular citizen-science project. Since the TESS telescope is in space, it is still collecting data about planets going around nearby stars, so spending time reading these graphs will take your mind off other things happening right now, and help the science team in its mission to identify transiting planets.
Www.nasa.gov is the granddaddy of all science-related websites for you to lose yourself in for a while. You could theoretically spend the rest of your life looking at all the sites nested under this URL. One example of good reading for those of us cooped up at home is “An Astronaut’s Tips For Living in Space – Or Anywhere,” an article by Anna McClain. Astronauts spend a significant amount of time cooped up in relatively tight quarters, so she can offer good advice for the rest of us.
Interested in a virtual tour of a world-class institution? Calacademy.org has many self-guided tours of this world-class institution, the California Academy of Sciences. Hover over the “Learn & Explore” tab and click “For Educators” for learning resources for students at home.
If science videos are more your speed, try this collection from National Public Radio at https://unctv.pbslearningmedia.org/collection/universe from NPR and WWGBH in Boston. This collection of video resources and related activities is sorted by grade level.
And finally, there is a virtual planetarium program happening today at noon. This program, available on zoom, https://zoom.us/j/4601844271, will focus on our efforts to explore Mars, and feature a tour of tonight’s sky. It is free, and all are welcome. There will be a Q&A period at the end if anyone has questions.
