How to Teach Astronomy to Children

Kids love to hear about outer space and watch science fiction based movies and TV shows. That's why teaching astronomy to children ranks as one of the easier subjects for elementary school teachers to impart to their students. From the Milky Way and constellations, to tales of the moon landing, children will listen with interest about astronomy and related subjects.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Teach your students about our solar system and each of the planets. Discuss the physical look and weather conditions of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Saturn and other planets. Play fun games like finding out how much each child would weigh on a particular planet. Have kids draw pictures or make models of the planet with clay or paper mache.
2. Talk about the universe and phenomenon like black holes and nebula. Demonstrate this with photographs and videos when you teach the subject matter. Assign homework projects where kids look for stars and constellations at night, if it's not past their bedtime.
3. Discuss the temperature on the sun's surface, and its proximity to earth. Go over details of the moon missions of the 1960s and 1970s, and teach the kids about NASA and space shuttles. Have them write about what they would do if they were an astronaut.
4. Show students pictures of asteroids and comets. Discuss how they form and how often they can be seen in the skies. Go over details of eclipses of the sun and moon. If one occurs, have them view the eclipse (in a safe manner) with their parents.
5. Take your class to the planetarium in your area, and have them look through telescopes and learn about space travel through simulated spaceship rides and other exhibits.