An Eye on the Sky

In Science Class, my students are learning about the solar system. The next lesson was to be about telescopes and how scientists use telescopes to learn more about space. I racked my brain to come up with an interesting way to present the idea of telescopes. Then it came to me: Dr. Ken Pierson. You may think - but he's a dentist, what does he know about telescopes? Well, let me tell you....

He knocked on the door at precisely 12:15, and I could feel the student's excitement as he walked into the classroom and greeted them. Most of the students already knew him, but I introduced him for those that didn't, and then I handed over the class to him. At first, he thought the material he had prepared was too hard for them as he used words like electromagnetic spectrum, refraction, and absorption. But I thought it was good for them - even if they didn't remember the words or if they didn't fully grasp the meaning, at least they would be exposed to it and in later years, they would be able to pull it out of the information stored away and be able to build on what they had first learned.

As the lesson progressed, Dr. Ken helped the students visualize what happens when someone looks through a telescope. He used the example of a funnel (which I thought was a genius idea) to explain it. Just as a funnel collects it's contents from a wide area and channels it to a smaller area, so it is with telescopes. The lenses take the images from a large area and shrink it down so the images can enter our eyes. Of course, in reality it's much more high-tech and complicated than that, but for 3rd & 4th graders, it's a perfect explanation.

To end the lesson, Dr. Ken took us outside so each student could have a look through a real telescope. They were able to see all the way to the top of Mt. Topachou. It was a great class and the kids enjoyed every minute of it! Thank you Dr. Ken for taking time to talk to my students and for doing such a great job!

Here are some pictures from that day. I just got them today (because I was using someone else's camera), so that's why this post is so late...... Enjoy the pics!