Motions of the Solar System

Grades 3-5: Live Q&A with an Astronomy Expert

Overview

After watching a recording of our Motions of the Solar System planetarium show at a time that fits your schedule, join us for a Q&A livestream where astronomy experts from the Morrison planetarium answer questions submitted in advance by students around the country.

In Motions of the Solar System, your students become virtual space explorers who examine what causes the predictable motions in the sky as observed from Earth. Then, they jet off to other objects in our solar system and try to apply their new understanding of Earth's cycles in order to discover some surprising patterns that other planets have.

How does it work?

This program is a live event on YouTube that lasts approximately 40 minutes. During the program, astronomy experts from the Morrison planetarium will answer a selection of student questions submitted ahead of time.

Have your students watch the Motions in the Solar System planetarium show via Edpuzzle. Then, submit 3 questions per class/group to be considered by the astronomy educators for the live broadcast.

Questions were due by 3:30pm Pacific time on Monday, April 4, in order to give our educators time to prepare responses!

Live Q&A Schedule

This program is designed for grades 3-5, but all are welcome. The presentation will be conducted entirely in English.

  • Thursday, April 7, 2022 at 10:30 am PT

Registration is now closed, but don't fret! We'll post the recording within 48 hours of the live event.

NGSS connections

This unit supports the following standards:

Disciplinary Core Ideas, Grade 5

  • ESS1.B: Earth and the Solar System: The orbits of Earth around the sun and of the moon around Earth, together with the rotation of Earth about an axis between its North and South poles, cause observable patterns. These include day and night; daily changes in the length and direction of shadows; and different positions of the sun, moon, and stars at different times of the day, month, and year. (5-ESS1-2)

Crosscutting Concepts, Grades 3 -5

  • Patterns: Similarities and differences in patterns can be used to sort, classify, communicate and analyze simple rates of change for natural phenomena. (5-ESS1-2)

  • Scale, Proportion, and Quantity: Natural objects exist from the very small to the immensely large. (5-ESS1-1)

Science and Engineering Practices, Grades 3 -5

  • Analyzing and Interpreting Data: Use observations (firsthand or from media) to describe patterns and/or relationships in the natural and designed world(s) in order to answer scientific questions and solve problems.

  • Developing and Using Models: Use models to describe and/or predict phenomena.

Notes about the program

The planetarium show will touch on the following topics:

  • predictable patterns and motions on Earth, including:

    • moon (and Earth) phases

    • yearly cycles of constellations as viewed from Earth

    • planet tilt

  • close-up views of some of our solar system's planets

    • the scientific variation in "days" and "year" motions

    • atmospheric models

  • View of a planetary system around another star

Connection & technology information

A week before the session, registered parties will receive an email containing the unique YouTube Live destination for the broadcast. If you registered on behalf of multiple classes, forward this along to your buddy teachers.

We highly recommend testing—in advance of the program date—whether the device you plan to use can access YouTube Live. If you can see our Live Penguin Cam, you should also be able to watch other Academy livestreams.

Sorry! The Academy cannot control your district’s security settings.

  • If you or your students cannot access the Student Activities tab above, you must contact your IT department to whitelist this website.

  • If you or your students’ district devices cannot access YouTube Live or YouTube videos, you can instead play the embedded Recording, which we will post within 48 hours of the broadcast.

  • Our programs are designed so that students can participate asynchronously.

If you have questions or need us to resend the email (check your junk folder first!), please contact us at distancelearning@calacademy.org. We recommend adding that email address to your contacts to help ensure our messages are accepted by your district's email domain.

Distance Learning is open to all K-8 students wherever they are set-up to engage in remote learning—be that in a classroom, at home, in a learning pod, or at a community learning hub. Interested in other livestreams for your class this year? Visit the Distance Learning website.