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

Activity: Revolving Star Chart

The following text was written by Jeanne Bishop as part of a series of in-planetarium lesson plans. Used with permission.

3. REVOLVlNG STAR CHART: Foam plate, scissors, north circumpolar map that fits inside tape, short nail, plastic straw. Cut out the map. Tape it into the plate. Punch holes for the stars (especially prominent ones for the Big Dipper). Wiggle the nail to make the North Star hole just large enough to hold a straw snugly. Hold the plate-star chart up to see the stars of the Big Dipper, the North Star, and Cassiopeia as we first saw them on the autumn evening. (Paper plates will be held in a slanted orientation in the north. Now turn the plate on the straw to make the stars of the Big Dipper move to the other locations we observed. (The teacher holds one at the north side of the planetarium and leads the simulation.)

4. GLOW-IN-THE DARK STAR CHART: (At this point we moved across the hall from the planetarium to a room with large lab tables.) Foam plate, scissors, north circumpolar map, tape, glow paint in applicator bottle, newspaper and paper towel. Cut out the map. Tape it into the plate. With tiny squeezes cover each star with dots of glow paint. (It takes about 24 hours for the paint to dry completely. I noted, "While your parents are driving home, you young people hold your glow-maps carefully on your laps."

Contributed by Jeanne Bishop.

GLPA Proceedings, 1993, p. 34-35.

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