SMART Board Activities for the Moon and Solar System

Venus and Mercury

• Venus and Mercury are two of the four planets in our solar system that astronomers consider to be terrestrial planets. (Earth and Mars are the other two terrestrial planets.) Terrestrial planets feature a solid, more or less rocky surface. By bringing Stellarium up from the computer on the interactive whiteboard, teachers and students can determine the current positions of Mercury and Venus in the sky. They can then discuss, compare and contrast features of these two planets.

Earth's Moon

• Students and teachers have a rich array of resources from which to draw in studying the Earth's moon. One potentially fun and informative activity would be to bring up footage of the 1969 Apollo moon landing on the SMART Board. There are many other possibilities, including examining the current moon phase and the Moon's position in the sky using Stellarium.

Mars

• At approximately half the size of the Earth and with two moons, Mars -- the other terrestrial planet besides Earth -- presents many possibilities for study and activities. The interactive whiteboard can aid greatly in exploring images and other details from the Viking Mars project, just as one example, in studying Mars. Using Stellarium, students can show Mars' current position in the sky on the interactive whiteboard. Time and circumstances permitting, teachers and students can follow up with an actual viewing of Mars in the night sky.

Gas Planets

• The SMART Board can be instrumental in a virtual exploration of our solar system's gas planets. Unlike the terrestrial planets, the gas planets in our solar system have no solid surface. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune are the gas planets in our solar system. Using Stellarium and a variety of rich resources -- like images from the Hubble telescope -- students and teachers can use the interactive whiteboard to explore many facets of the gas planets.

Dwarf Planets

• Without status as a true planet, Ceres -- a small planet-like body in the asteroid belt in our solar system -- is what astronomers consider a dwarf planet. Ceres and Pluto, another solar system object that previously had planet status but that astronomers have since demoted, are objects that can generate considerable debate about what constitutes a planet. Students and teachers can use the interactive whiteboard to bring up images of Ceres and Pluto and have their own debates.

Earth

• Earth itself is, of course, fair game for any study of the solar system. Needless to say, Earth is the planet most familiar to us, but it is, at the same time, far from being completely understood. Perhaps a SMART Board activity on Earth, our home planet, could stimulate students and teachers alike to launch an inspiring and enlightening study right here at home.