Paper Plate Education
"Serving the Universe on a Paper Plate"

Activities: The Astronomy Series


Title	Description	Content
Alien Platecraft	Decorate and fly a saucer-like Platecraft.	Ref. Pix Text
Altitude Measurer	Make an astrolabe-like instrument to measure the altitude of celestial objects.	Refs.
Altitude of the Noon Sun	Demonstrate the relationships between the date, the altitude of the Sun at transit, the observer’s latitude, and the altitude of Polaris.	Ref. Pix
Apparent magnitude I	Demonstrate apparent magnitude using different sized plates at different distances.
Apparent magnitude II
As the World Turns	For young participants, make a rotating window that segues from day to night drawings.	Ref.
Binary Stars	Create a model of an eclipsing binary star system or of any two objects in orbit around a common point.
Binocular View	Mimic binocular viewing with two plates to teach navigation, backyard astronomy, bird watching, forestry, etc. Telescope View Imagine paper plate
Bode's Law
Cold Potato Crater	Model lunar features with potato salad and measure mountain heights from contrived shadow lengths.
Communicating With ISS	Demonstrate the basic principle behind communication systems between the International Space Station and ground control.
Connect-the-Dot Constellations	Connect dots (on pre-drilled stack) to make own constellations, with no particular side being “up.” Write story on back.
Core of the Matter	Illustrate sun, moon, or planet interiors by coloring and intersecting three plates.	Ref. Pix Text
Cosmic Hats	Cosmic Hats
Deep Field View	Create a telescopic view of a starfield using a tempera paint that reacts with a foam plate and compare a with Hubble Space Telescope image.	Ref. Pix Text
Defining the Zodiac	Make a model to demonstrate how the zodiac is defined by the stars seen in the plane of the sun.	Refs.
Drinking Gourd	Use a Platisphere to depict the seasonal variations of the Big Dipper's aspect as seen by slaves traveling north on the Underground Railroad.	Pix
Dynamic Solar System	Create a solar system model, with students pacing off distances to scale.	Ref. Pix Text
Eclipse Plate	With Earth’s shadow cast onto plate, view back side of plate from multiple holes (at different paper plate latitudes) to observe partial eclipse, total eclipse, and near- eclipse.
Expanding Universe	Mimic the expanding universe by making galaxy models that recede from each other.
Galaxy Models	Make models of galaxies.	Ref.
Gemini’s Signature	Model and predict the "signature photos" of the Gemini Observatories, both in Hawaii and in Chile.	Ref. Pix Text
Globular Clusters	Plot globular clusters or brightest stars and analyze the patterns to determine their galactic locations.	Ref.
Gno Problem Mon	Track the path of a shadow cast by a gnomon through the day.	Ref.
H/R Wall	Construct a large H-R diagram on a wall with colored plates of varying sizes.
Hemisphere Maps	Place two plates side by side—akin to old charts—and make map of world as individual perceives it.	Ref. Pix Text
How Far The Planets?	Measure the varying distances of the planets in orbit to reveal their proximity to earth.	Ref.
Impact Game	Play an asteroid impact game by flipping a rock on a string into planets orbiting the sun.	Text
Inverse Square Rule
Latitude by Polaris	Demonstrate how a navigator correlates the observed altitude of Polaris with her latitude.	Refs. Pix
Milky Way Galaxy		Ref.
Mirror diameter	Demonstrate the correlation between mirror diameter and its light gathering ability.
Mission Patch	Design a circular NASA mission patch.	Text
Moon Finder	Make a model to explain moon phases and create a moon dial akin to old volvelles to determine when and in which direction one can see any given phase.	Ref. Pix
Moon Masks	Decorate and wear Moon Masks, Sun Masks and Cosmic Hats.	Ref. Pix Text
Moon Meets the Football Field	Illustrate the concave tendency of the moon's orbit around the sun using a football field for scale.	Ref.
Moonthly Eclipse	Demonstrate why eclipses do not occur every month both at new moon and at full moon.	Pix
North and Scout	Use a scouting technique to determine cardinal (N, S, E, & W) directions.
Orbit by Elongation	Derive orbits of Mercury and Venus from elongation tables, with Earth’s orbit on perimeter of plate.	Ref. Pix
Oreo® Moon Phases	Halve and scrape Oreo® cookies to illustrate moon phases, then arrange on plate's perimeter around a central Earth.	Pix
Paper Moons I	Cut out portion of plates to depict moon phases.	Ref.
Paper Moons II	Cut out portion of plates to depict moon phases.
Photographic Plate	Model and predict photographic star trails of the circumpolar stars for a given exposure time.
Plate-a-tarium	Build the ultimate plate model that depicts features of celestial sphere, indicates real time position of planets and zodiac, and illustrates rising and setting position of sun for any date.	Pix
Plateful of Planets	Demonstrate the scale of the planets with nuts and seeds relative to a plate-sized sun.	Ref. Pix Text
Platisphere	Make an instrument akin to a planisphere that shows the position of the circumpolar stars for any given date and time.	Ref. Pix Text
Platisphere for Children	Construct a device to locate the Big and Little Dippers and Cassiopeia after sunset through the seasons.	Ref. Pix Text
Polynesian Practices	Demonstrate techniques used by Polynesian wayfinders to determine their position, such as sighting on zenithal stars and interpreting wave patterns.
Polynesian Star Pairs	Demonstrate how Polynesian wayfinders use star pairs to determine latitude and directions.
Portable Sundial	Create a functional, portable sundial.
Planet Pointer	Make a planet pointer akin to old volvelles to indicate the position of the planets in the sky for any given time.	Refs.
Ptolemaic Polemic	Make Ptolemaic model with equants, epicycles, and deferents to explain retrograde motion.	Ref.
Reflector Flex	Demonstrate how modern reflector telescopes use rapid actuators to compensate for gravity-induced distortions of the primary mirror.	Pix
Retrograde Motion		Ref
Revolving Star Chart	Make a simple plate to depict the circumpolar stars.	Ref.
Ricehenge	Model the Stonehenge site out of rice cereal treats--then eat it.	Ref. Pix Text
Salad Spinner Zoetrope	Make a zoetrope from a salad spinner to illustrate moon phases and persistence of vision.	Ref. Text
Satellite Tracking Bowl	Draw a local horizon and plot the paths and times of satellite passes inside a bowl prior to an observing session.	Ref. Pix Text
Saturn's Rings		Ref
Seasons		Ref
Solar System Mobile	Create planet mobile with appropriate colors, sizes, and drawn features.	Ref.
Star Life Models	Model the timeline of a star's existence.	Ref.
Stargazing Plates	Build collection of observing notes, diagrams, images, or other information and suspend from telescope during observing sessions.	Ref. Text
Stellar Bar Code	Show similarities between a bar code and spectroscopic lines.	Pix
Sub-Solar Cup	Track the sub-solar path of the sun across a globe in real time to highlight the boundaries of the tropics and to illustrate an analemma.	Ref. Pix Text
Sunrise/Sunset	Sunrise/Sunset
Syene Well	Reproduce Eratosthenes’ determination of the circumference of the earth with a Syene well simulation
Tactile Platisphere	Make a tactile model of circumpolar stars for visually impaired persons by drilling holes for stars on a stack of plates.	Ref. Pix Text
Telescope View	Imagine paper plate as a telescopic field of view. Draw what you see, or draw telescopic views of celestial objects as seen by Galileo or Hubble Space Telescope.
Nocturnal	Make and use a nocturnal, an antique instrument that determined time from the position of the northern Guardian Stars.
Tracking Sunspots	Project, trace, and track sunspots directly on a plate which defines the outline of the sun.	Ref. Pix
Transit of Venus
Variable Star Field	Compare a plate depicting a telescopic field of view containing variable stars with an AAVSO finder chart and estimate stellar magnitudes.
Viking Directions	Make a solar stone, or bearing dial, to simulate the direction-finding technique of Norsemen.
Voyager's Golden Record	Design a personal cover plate for the Voyager spacecraft’s mounted record and prioritize your own list of items for inclusion in the record.
Wayfinding	Demonstrate the direction system used by Polynesian wayfinders who navigated the Pacific.

[Note: As we build this site we will be uploading much information that has already been published. The far right column indicates what you will find if you click the links that are highlighted under the Title column. "Ref" indicates that the material was previously published in the respective Proceedings of the Annual Great Lakes Planetarium Association Conference and the reference is cited. As a membership benefit, GLPA members may order back issues from GLPA while supplies last. "Pix" indicates that a picture or image(s) can be found at the Title's linked page. "Text" indicates that you can find text or a write-up on the activity at the linked page, though some instructions are admittedly sparse for now.]

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