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Students from Coarsegold Home School are shown with Dr. Mike at Challenger
Learning Center. The students visited the center in Atwater as part of
their study of the solar system. For more information about Home School,
call 658-7373.
Did
you know that Saturn isn't the only planet that has rings? Students in
Coarsegold Home School learned that and more as they spent the month of
March studying the solar system. In classes taught by teacher Denise Bausch,
students learned the names and order of the planets, their properties,
and the differences between planets, stars and moons.
They were exposed to
the vastness of the universe by taking part in the Thousand Yard Model.
This is a scaled model of the solar system, where objects are used to
represent the sun and the nine planets. For example, a soccer ball represented
the sun, and the East was a peppercorn. Once the sun was in place, Mrs.
Bausch and the students "walked" the solar system, placing planets
along the way. Each step represented 3.6 million miles and it took 1019
paces to reach Pluto from the soccer ball sun.
Following
their study of the solar system, they went to Atwater to the Challenger
Learning Center. Among the places to visit at the Center are the Starlab
Planetarium and the Science and Technology Center. Dr. Mike, as he like
to be called, a rocket scientist who works at the Center, talked about
the solar system. In a 13-foot high inflatable planetarium, he took them
on a guided tour of the galaxy and identified different constellations
including the signs of the zodiac.
The students also visited the Science and Technology Center, which features
hands-on science exhibits. They participated in Chem-Mystery, where students
were given clues at the scene of a crime and a list of possible suspects.
The students then used forensic techniques and skills of deduction to
narrow down a suspect. Students examined fingerprints under a black light,
tested the ph level of mineral water, and looked at handwriting samples.
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