Exploring the Solar System with a Human Orrery Peter Newbury 1,2 , Melanie A. Gendre 1 , Brett Gladman 1 , Laura E. Kasian 1 , Nicole Meger 1 , Harvey Richer 1 1 Department of Physics and Astronomy 2 CWSEI It’s not what the instructor does that matters; rather it’s what the students do. Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team Astronomy and physics education research shows, again and again, that interactive instruction increases student learning. ASTR 310 (Exploring the Solar System) is a survey course in astronomy offered to 250–300 non-Science undergraduates each Term. Students attend three 1-hour lectures each week and, in smaller groups of 40, participate in a 50-minute, hands-on tutorial every 2 nd week. We designed an interactive, engaging tutorial activity in which the students build and explore a working, scale model of the Solar System. Part 1: Construction Part 2: Planets in Motion Part 3: Beyond Saturn Part 4: Exploration Using string, a protractor and blueprints, students stick Post-it notes to the floor marking the positions of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars at 16-day intervals and Jupiter and Saturn at 160- day intervals. An orrery is a mechanical model of the Solar System which shows the motion of the planets and moons around the Sun. In the human orrery, students play the roles of the planets. Once complete, volunteers play the roles of the planets and take their places in the model. The rest of the class watches from the asteroid belt. The Teaching Assistant starts counting out loud: “One! Two! Three!.... ” The inner planets step from marker to marker along their orbits. Jupiter and Saturn shift on every 10 th count. Because the markers are spaced at equal intervals of time, the speeds of the orbiting students correctly mimic the speeds of the planets – both distance and motion are properly scaled in the human orrery. There’s a lot more Solar System beyond Saturn. As they unwind a 100-metre tape, students travel past Uranus and Neptune. Just outside the doors of the IKBLC, we find Pluto. Next to the fountain, another dwarf planet, Eris. One hundred metres from the Sun and halfway to the Koerner Library, the Voyager spacecraft is the most distant man-made object. Back in the inner Solar System, students answer a series of questions which require them to explore, measure and discover the Solar System for themselves. Question: How many times farther from Earth is Mars when the two planets are on opposite sides of the Sun compared to when they line up on the same side? Question: Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our Solar System, is 267 800 AU away (An astronomical unit, AU, is the Earth–Sun distance.) If we want to include it in our model where 1 AU = 1 metre, where would we put it: bus loop? downtown Vancouver? Kelowna? Toronto? To support the “learning commons” mission of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre and to celebrate the 2009 International Year of Astronomy, the activity was held in the IKBLC Foyer. Nearly 150 “passers-by” stopped to watch and ask questions about the activity and astronomy. To see the human orrery in action, search for “human orrery” on YouTube.
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Exploring the Solar System with a Human OrreryPeter Newbury1,2, Melanie A. Gendre1, Brett Gladman1, Laura E. Kasian1, Nicole Meger1, Harvey Richer1
1Department of Physics and Astronomy 2CWSEI
It’s not what the instructor does that matters; rather it’s what the students do.Conceptual Astronomy and Physics Education Research (CAPER) Team
Astronomy and physics education research shows, again and again, that interactive instruction increases studentlearning. ASTR 310 (Exploring the Solar System) is a survey course in astronomy offered to 250–300 non-Scienceundergraduates each Term. Students attend three 1-hour lectures each week and, in smaller groups of 40, participatein a 50-minute, hands-on tutorial every 2nd week. We designed an interactive, engaging tutorial activity in which thestudents build and explore a working, scale model of the Solar System.
Part 1: Construction Part 2: Planets in Motion Part 3: Beyond Saturn Part 4: Exploration
Using string, a protractorand blueprints, studentsstick Post-it notes to thefloor marking the positionsof Mercury, Venus, Earth andMars at 16-day intervals andJupiter and Saturn at 160-day intervals.
An orrery is a mechanicalmodel of the Solar Systemwhich shows the motion ofthe planets and moonsaround the Sun. In thehuman orrery, students playthe roles of the planets.
Once complete, volunteersplay the roles of the planetsand take their places in themodel.
The rest of the class watchesfrom the asteroid belt.
The Teaching Assistant startscounting out loud: “One!Two! Three!....” The innerplanets step from marker tomarker along their orbits.Jupiter and Saturn shift onevery 10th count.
Because the markers arespaced at equal intervals oftime, the speeds of theorbiting students correctlymimic the speeds of theplanets – both distance andmotion are properly scaledin the human orrery.
There’s a lot more SolarSystem beyond Saturn. Asthey unwind a 100-metretape, students travel pastUranus and Neptune.
Just outside the doors of theIKBLC, we find Pluto. Next tothe fountain, another dwarfplanet, Eris.
One hundred metres fromthe Sun and halfway to theKoerner Library, the Voyagerspacecraft is the mostdistant man-made object.
Back in the inner SolarSystem, students answer aseries of questions whichrequire them to explore,measure and discover theSolar System for themselves.
Question: How many timesfarther from Earth is Marswhen the two planets are onopposite sides of the Suncompared to when they lineup on the same side?
Question: Proxima Centauri,the nearest star to our SolarSystem, is 267 800 AU away(An astronomical unit, AU, isthe Earth–Sun distance.) Ifwe want to include it in ourmodel where 1 AU = 1 metre,where would we put it: busloop? downtown Vancouver?Kelowna? Toronto?
To support the “learning commons” mission of the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre and to celebrate the 2009International Year of Astronomy, the activity was held in the IKBLC Foyer. Nearly 150 “passers-by” stopped towatch and ask questions about the activity and astronomy.
To see the human orrery inaction, search for “humanorrery” on YouTube.
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