Teacher's Guide for:
Skies of Galileo
Objectives:
- To challenge concepts of the Solar System and the Earth that many take for
granted.
- To persuade students to hypothesize, given images depicting actual
observations through a telescope.
- To help students realize the specific implications of Galileo's
observations and how they shaped our ideas of the universe.
This show conforms to the following state science standards: 11.A.1a,
11.A.3a, 11.A.3d, 11.A.4e, 12.F.1b, 12.F.2b, 12.F.2c, 12.F.4a, 13.B.2b
Brief Show Summary:
The audience is asked to 'forget' what they have been taught about the universe
and act on information they can assimilate through observation only.
Simulated views through Galileo's telescope are introduced and the students are
asked to interpret what they are seeing. The phases of Venus, satellites
of Jupiter, face of Mars, the 'ears' of Saturn, Sunspots, and the Milky Way are
discussed as time permits.
Pre-visit Discussions & Activities:
- Discuss what we know about the motions of the Earth and, more importantly,
how we know these items. How could you prove the Earth rotates?
Could there be other explanations?
- Discuss the appearance of the sky at night. What do we see?
Discuss models of the night sky, possibly even constructing a 'celestial
sphere.' The rounded bottom of a two liter soda pop bottle can give
you a clear plastic hemisphere to plot stars.
- If you desire, time can be made for each student to create drawings of
what they are seeing. If so, please Xerox or mimeograph the attached
sheet for each student and be sure they are equipped with a pencil prior to
your visit. Be sure to contact the staff ahead of time to advise them
of this option. This allows students to record observations as Galileo
did. It also provides a permanent record that you can use in class
discussions after you visit.
- Obtain some simple refracting telescope kits from Project S.T.A.R. (http://www.starlab.com)
and have the class build the small telescope and measure the focal lengths
of the lenses.
Post-visit Discussion & Activities:
- Discuss the phases of Venus. How are they alike/different than the
phases of the Moon? Using a light source in the front of the room you
can use a baseball and an Earth globe to model the phases. Show how
the Moon is always half illuminated, though we do not always see all of it's
face. What does this imply about Venus's orbit?
- Further discuss the implications of Galileo's observations. What did
they prove? What problems, both physically and philosophically,
develop if the Earth is 'moved' from the center of the universe to just one
of the planets?
- Contact the Champaign-Urbana Astronomical Society concerning a tour of
their rural observatory to actually see through a large telescope.
There is a program for school groups. Call the planetarium at
217/351-2568 for more information or check out http://www.prairienet.org/cuas
for the next open house date.
Internet Resources: