About Project STAR Hands-on Science Materials

The Project STAR materials and activities were developed by high school astronomy teachers and scientists at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. These materials were thoroughly tested and edited by teachers and students from around the country.

Project STAR (Science Teaching through its Astronomical Roots) began as a National Science Foundation-funded program to develop a curriculum to teach physical science using astronomy as the inducement. The Project STAR activities are based on the philosophy that students will better learn a concept when they first explore their preconception and then test their theories with hands-on, model-building exercises.

Although these activities are written at the high school level and some employ mathematical skills such as basic arithmetic, algebra, and geometry, they have been proven useful in a variety of science class levels from junior high to college. Many (such as the refracting telescopes) have even been used in workshops for elementary school teachers. Because the activities stress general scientific skills, they can also be easily adapted for science classes other than astronomy.

Each kit contains all or most of the materials required for the activity, activity sheets, and pages from a teacher's guide that relate to that activity. Many of the devices constructed for an activity are intended to be made, used, and kept by the student or workshop participant.

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