How to Make a Constellation Cup

Constellation cups are a great hands-on activity as part of an astronomy unit. They are easy to make, and they give your students practice in getting to know their constellations. Read on to learn how to make a constellation cup.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Star chart
• Styrofoam cups
• Flashlights
• Pencils
• Home planetarium

Instructions

1. Have each student or group choose a constellation. Start off with the principle, easily recognized constellations such as Orion, the Big Dipper and Draco.
2. Using the star chart, have each student sketch the constellation on the top of his cup. As an option, you can have him measure out the distance between the stars on the chart and use it to draw proportional distances onto his cup.
3. Instruct the students to use pencils to poke holes in the cups where the stars are.
4. Give each student a flashlight and have them place it inside the cup to project the constellation. Dim the lights but keep enough light on so that they can see the star chart.
5. Let the students play around for a few minutes, shining their constellations on the ceiling and walls. Particularly with young kids, it will help if you let them play games with their flashlights for a few minutes before getting back to business.
6. Have the students use the star chart to position their constellations. There are two ways to do this. You can either have the students stand in the center of the room and shine their flashlights in different directions, or move to different points in the room and shine their lights straight up.
7. Turn the lights all the way off, and have the students stand perfectly still, projecting an image of the night sky.
8. If you have a home planetarium, you can turn it on and have the students compare it to their version.
9. As an optional activity, you can challenge your students to put more constellations on their cups in the correct positions. It's harder than it looks.