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ConnectingPeople to Science
ASPConference Series,Vol. 457
Joseph B.Jensen,JamesG.Manning,MichaelG.Gibbs,and Doris Daou,eds.
c
2012 AstronomicalSociety ofthePacific
TheUniverseatYourFingertips2.0DVD-ROM: A Collectionof
Hands-onActivities,Resource Guides,InformationalArticles,and
VideosforTeachingAstronomy
AndrewFraknoi,1BrianKruse,1SuzanneGurton,1AnnaHurstSchmitt,1
Leslie Proudfit,1and Dennis Schatz2
1AstronomicalSociety ofthePacific,390AshtonAve., San Francisco,
California 94112,USA
2PacificScience Center,200 Second Ave., N.Seattle,Washington 98109,USA
Abstract.Anewedition oftheASP’skeyeducationalpublication TheUniverse
atYourFingertipshasbeenissuedinDVD-ROMformat,containing 133 classroom-
tested,hands-on activities(organized by subject),43 articleswith background informa-
tion about topicsinastronomy,9articleson teaching and learning space science inthe
21stcentury,17 guidestothebestpublishedand webresourceson keytopics,12 short
instructionalvideos,and ahostofimages.
1.History ofProject
Startingin the early 1990’s,theAstronomicalSociety ofthePacific(ASP)produced
aresource notebook ofastronomy activitiesand guidesforteachers.First, this loose-
leafnotebook accompaniedtheSociety’snationalworkshopson teachingastronomy
in grades3–12,butultimately anexpanded version became partofProjectASTRO,
theSociety’sflagship programthattrainsand pairsvolunteeramateurand professional
astronomerswith 4th–9thgradeteachersin year-long classroom partnerships.
Startingin 1995,TheUniverseatYourFingertipsbecame theSociety’sbest-
sellingitem—ultimately tensofthousands ofcopiesweredistributedto schools,col-
leges,planetaria,museums,and informalscience groups.Asecond volume,More
UniverseatYourFingertips,followedafewyearslater,and the two volumesultimately
added up to almost1,200 pages—somassive,it became affectionately knownasthe
“ASP doorstop.”
AstheASP developed newactivitiesforits variousprograms and astheinforma-
tionand resource guidesbecame dated,it washightime to putoutanewedition.But
with all the activitieswehadin mind,it would havebeen over2,000 pages—expensive
to print, hard on trees,and impossible to carrywithoutseriousweighttraining.But
moderntechnology came to therescue,and the whole packagenowfits on asingle
DVD-ROM,with everythingready to printasneededatthe user’sconvenience.
The133 activitiescome fromProjectASTRO,Astronomy fromtheGround Up,
Family ASTRO,NightSky Network,AstroAdventures,NASAmissions,and many
otherastronomy education programs around the country.We arevery gratefulto the
many dozensofprojects and individuals who gaveuspermissionto usethesematerials
and to themany hundredsofeducatorswho helped ustestthemin classroomsituations.
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2.Contentsof theDVD-ROM
•133 classroom-tested,hands-on activities(organized by subject)
•43 articles setting outbackground informationabouttopicsin astronomy
•9articleson teachingand learningspace science in the21stcentury
•17 guidesto thebestpublishedand webresourceson keytopics
•12 shortinstructionalvideosforsome ofthekeyactivitiesand ideas
•some ofthebestmodernastronomicalimagesand aguide on howto find many
more
3.Someof theActivitiesontheDisk
•Observing&ModelingtheMoon’sPhases
•TheReasonsfortheSeasons
•Sky Time:Kinesthetic Astronomy
•PocketSun Clock
•TheEarth’sShape and Gravity
•RevolutionaryVenus
•MarsOppositionDance
•IntheFootstepsofGalileo:Jupiter’sMoons
•Should Pluto be a Planet: StudentSymposium
•Makingand MappingaVolcano
•ImpactCratering
•DoFishBelievein Water?DoStudents Believein Air?
•TheToiletPaperSolarSystemScale Model
•BikeYearsVersusLightYears
•ThePocketSolarSystem
•MakingaCometin theClassroom
•Vegetable LightCurvesand Asteroids
•StarFindingwith aStarFinder
•Three-DConstellations
TheUniverse atYourFingertips2.0 DVD-ROM
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•TheEarth’sRevolutionand theZodiac
•Convectionand MisoSoup
•MaunderMystery:MissingSunspots
•SoMany Stars,How DoYou CountThem?
•Transit Tracks:SearchingforPlanets Around OtherStars
•YourGalactic Address
•HowMany Objects in theHubble DeepField?
•ModelingtheExpandingUniverse
•InventanAlien
•RedHot, BlueHot: MappingtheInvisible Universe
•DigitalImages
•LightPollution&Sky Brightness
•Did WeReally Land on theMoon?
•SchoolyardMedicineWheel
•TheToadin theMoon
•TheTop 10 TouristSights in theSolarSystem
•Astronomy in theMarketplace
•FindingYourWayto Mars,Pennsylvania
4.Organizationof theDisk
4.1.ArrangementsthroughMenus
Wehaveusedmenuson theDVD-ROMto help arrangethe materials in avariety of
ways:
Organized byTopic in Astronomy
Organized byPrimarySetting orSkill Emphasized
OrganizedInto Sequences
4.2.SequencesofActivities
Wehaveputtogethertensequencesofactivitieswhichanswerthesorts ofstandards-
based questionsthatreflectthe curriculumin many classrooms across theU.S.:
•Howdoesthe appearance oftheMoon changewith time?
•HowdoestheSun movethrough thesky each dayand each year?
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Fraknoietal.
•Whatarethereasonsfortheseasons?
•Howdid welearnthesize and shapeofplanetEarth?
•Howcanwegetasenseofthescale (ofsizesand distances)in oursolarsystem?
•Whatdo wefind whenwe exploretheotherplanets in oursolarsystem?
•Howcanwefind ourwayaround the nightsky?
•Howcanweunderstand thevastness oftheuniverse(numbersofobjects and
distances)?
•Howdo astronomersknowthemotionand ageof theuniverse?
•Howdo wesearchforsignsofintelligentlife elsewherein the cosmos?
4.3.Multimedia Types
Thediskalsoincludeshigher-resolutionimagesthatgo with anumberofthe articles
and activities,asetofsound filesforthe activity on thesearchforextra-terrestrial
intelligence,and 12 shortvideosthatexplain some ofthe projects and modelhowto do
some ofthe activities.
5.WhoCanMakeUseof theDisk:
•Teachersin grades3–12
•CollegeinstructorsofAstro 101 courses(many have adaptedthe activitiesinto
labsorsmall-group collaborativeprojects)
•Thosewho do teachertrainingworkshops
•Family Science leaders
•Planetariumand museumeducators
•Amateurastronomerswho do outreach
•Nature centereducatorsand parkrangers
•Astronomerswho volunteerin a classroomin alocalschool
6.HowtoObtain aCopy
TheDVD-ROMis made available through theASP’snon-profitAstroShop on-line.1
Diskscost$29.95individually and specialbulk ratesare available forlargerorders.
Aspecialpassword protectedwebsite hasbeensetup for registered users,with up-
dates,corrections,and information on newdevelopments in astronomy and education.
Instructionsforaccessingthesite and gettingthe passwordareon thedisk.
The authorcan be contactedatafraknoi@astrosociety.org.
1www.astrosociety.org/uayf