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Create-A-Constellation
Activity 34 PDF
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AGE LEVEL = 9-12 (7-14)
DURATION = 45-60 min.
LEARNING STATION = Outdoors
WHEN =
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UNDERSTANDING: Throughout human
history, people have peered at the night sky and created stories
to explain the natural world.
SPECIAL NOTES: 1) This activity can
be done year-round and works best outdoors away from city lights
on moonless nights. 2) For the optimal learning experience, have
one leader per 6 to 8 children.
MATERIALS:
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A strong-beamed flashlight
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Luminescent star-finder
(optional)
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Plastic ground sheet (optional)
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Various props (optional)
PREPARATION: Choose a dry, open area
away from strong light sources. Place the plastic ground sheet
down. Make sure the children are dressed warmly. Review
CREATE-A-CONSTELLATION. Coach several children beforehand on developing a
brief story or skit on the legend.
LESSON:
Warm-up: Discuss how constellations
were first described, by whom and for what purpose. Use the
following paragraph as a guideline:
“Throughout history, people have
looked up at the stars and wondered what they were. The Greeks,
Romans, Norsemen, American Indians and others created fantasies
to explain what they saw. They noticed that by connecting stars
with imaginary lines, patterns emerged. With imagination, those
patterns looked like bears, dragons, people and even gods.
Today, we call these patterns constellations. The shapes became
central characters in legends whose story lines often explain
how a pattern came to be.”
Have the skit team perform using
props. (If you are ambitious, have several teams prepare skits
on several legends.) Explain that legends have been told for
thousands of years, and that the children will get a chance to
create their own.
Activity: At the learning site, have
the children lie down on their backs in a circle (save a space
for yourself), with their heads toward the center like the
spokes of a wheel. Take a few minutes for the children’s eyes to
adjust.
The create-a-constellation is created by each person adding a new
character to the story. Start it yourself, or call on a
volunteer to begin. Use the high-powered flashlight to beam up
towards the first character (constellation). (Remember to flash
the light only into the night sky. Otherwise night vision will
be ruined.) Begin the story based on the first character. Have
the next person pick up where you leave off. By the fantasy’s
end, all constellations should be reviewed. Conclude by
explaining the constellation’s origins.
Wrap-up: Look for constellations
identified by earlier civilizations. Begin with the Big Dipper.
From the last two stars in the dipper, draw an imaginary line up
into the sky until you reach the next visible star. This star is
the North Star. It is the last star in the handle of the Little
Dipper. Try to weave your flashlight between the Big and Little
Dippers to locate Draco the Dragon. Another popular
constellation is Cassiopeia. Use Star-Finders to locate other
constellations.
(Constellations Cards)
Finish your star search with the
following questions: Why have people looked to the stars? Why do
we continue to look to the stars today? What are astronomers
looking for? What do you feel when you look towards the night
sky? Where you live, is it easy for you to view the night sky?
Why or why not? Explain that all earthly things (including
humans), as well as objects in the universe, are made up of the
same star dust. What can we learn from this?
OPTIONS AND FURTHER EXPLORATIONS:
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On a cloudy night, have the
group lay under a clump of trees and create stories from
shapes made by leaves, branches and moving clouds.
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Focus on daytime cloud patterns.
Have the children repeat the exercise.
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Prepare constellation patterns
in case of bad weather. Punch out small holes on a sheet of
construction paper and place on an overhead projector. Turn
off the lights, block off the windows and show the star
patterns on the wall. Have the children work in small
groups, drawing constellation pictures or preparing
Create-A-Constellation for the group.
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Using constellation cards
(depict “true” constellations) instruct the children on
common constellations found in the night sky. Show these
with the overhead projector just prior to going outside to
review the actual constellations.
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URSA
MAJOR, The Great Bear
One of
the myths ancient Greeks loved to relate concerned
the plight of two mortals, beautiful Callisto and
her son Arcas, who incurred the wrath of jealous
Juno, goddess queen and wife of Jupiter, King of
Olympus. Callisto was changed into a bear and
separated from Arcas, who was left an orphan boy.
When he grew up, Arcas the Hunter came upon a docile
bear in the woods near his home. Callisto couldn’t
speak, and Arcas didn’t realize the tame bear was
his mother. He was about to shoot when Jupiter
changed Arcas into a bear, too. Then he changed them
into stars and placed in the northern sky, lifting
them by their tails. The weight of the bears
stretched their tails into long ones!
LOOK:
The second star from the end of the Big Dipper
(housed within the constellation Ursa Major) is
actually a double star. It’s often called “Horse and
Rider.” These stars test our eyesight by being
difficult to detect. In ancient Egypt, warriors in
training were told to look at the two stars. If they
could see both stars, they were allowed to become
warriors. If not, they were rejected.
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CASSIOPEIA, The Queen
A queen, as everyone
knows, must always maintain dignity on the thrown,
so we cannot help feeling sorry for Queen
Cassiopeia, wife of Cepheus. Both she and her
daughter were beautiful, and the Queen Mother could
not resist the temptation to boast of their beauty.
Sea nymphs, the goddesses of the sea, were offended
when mortal Cassiopeia praised herself as more
beautiful than the nymphs. They appealed to the
heavenly council, which voted to punish Cassiopeia
by embarrassing her. The queen on the throne was
changed into stars in the northern sky. As she
revolved around Polaris, she would, for six months
of the year, sit on her throne head down, like a
tumbler. This position would remind her and other
mortals never to compare themselves to the gods. To
show the justice of the council, Queen Cassiopeia
was permitted to be upright on her throne, as a
dignified queen should be, for the other six months
of the year.
LOOK: The most
conspicuous figure in Cassiopeia is “W” or “M”
shaped. Cassiopeia is just across from the Big
Dipper. Both are circumpolar constellations; when
one is high in the sky, the other is low over the
north pole.
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ORION,
The Hunter
Orion was an
important hunter-warrior. In return for ridding the
kingdom of Chios of wicked beasts, Orion was
promised beautiful Merope for his bride by her
father, King Enopion. When the king refused to keep
his promise, Orion tried to take Merope by force.
Enopion became enraged and blinded Orion. Orion
wandered sightless over the Earth until the God
Vulcan sent Cedalion, his cyclops assistant, to turn
Orion toward the rising sun. This restored his
sight. Orion went back to his hunting and met Diana,
Goddess of the Hunt.
Diana’s brother,
Apollo, was alarmed that his sister might break her
vow never to marry and that a romance might develop
with Orion. To prevent this, he tricked Diana into a
target shooting test in which she was to hit a small
dark target far out in the sea. The target was
Orion’s head. Diana did not miss. Grieving at what
she’d done, Diana made Orion into a constellation
with his hunting dogs, Canis Major and Canis Minor,
close by.
LOOK: Orion is the
brightest of all the constellations. The three stars
forming Orion’s belt make a striking figure. The
North East star of the constellation is called
Betelgeuse (bet-el-gerz). The brightest star below
the belt is Rigel (ri-jel), which means “foot.” With
a pair of binoculars, one can see the Sword of the
Great Nebula M42, a great mass of glowing gas.
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POLARIS, The North Star
There is one great
star that does not travel with the rest. We call
this star Qui-am-i Wintook — the North Star. Once,
long ago there was a mountain sheep named Na-gah. He
was daring, brave, sure-footed and courageous.
Everywhere Na-gah went, he climbed, climbed and
climbed, because he did this best.
One day long ago, Na-gah
came upon a very high peak. The sides were smooth
and steep, so Na-gah began searching for a way to
scale the peak. Around and around he went looking
for a safe path up. Almost giving up hope, Na-gah
found a crack in the rock. Squeezing his body in the
crack he noticed it sloped up. Na-gah began to go up
and up, but the way was steep and dangerous.
Exhausted, Na-gah decided he would turn back and
find a new way to climb the mountain. However, Na-gah
had kicked loose so many rocks that they lodged
themselves in the crack. Na-gah had to continue
upward.
After much climbing,
Na-gah saw a little light. When at last he came out,
he had scarcely enough room to turn around, but he
was at the highest peak. He had no way to get down
and knew he would die at the top of the world, but
he had climbed the mountain.
When Shnob, the
Indian God, saw Na-gah’s plight he was saddened.
Shnob said, “I will turn him into poot-see, a star,
and he can stand there and shine where all can see
him. He shall be a guide mark for all the living
things upon the Earth or in the sky.”
Na-gah became a star seen by everyone and the only
star that can always be found in the same place.
Compass directions are set by him so that travelers
can always find their way. American Indians call him
“Qui-am-i Wintook Poot-see,” the North Star.
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