 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Celestial Sphere Kit • Sun Tracking Plastic Hemisphere Kit
• Refracting Telescope Kit • Holographic Diffraction Grating
• Cardboard Spectrometer Kit • Plastic Spectrometer
• College Astronomy Kit • plus more great Project STAR activities • Curriculum • Astronomy Products • Products from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific
|
Celestial Sphere Kit
With the celestial sphere, students are able to model the apparent daily motions of the stars and the sun for a variety of latitudes and for any day of the year. The activity includes data that the students can use to see that the seasons are not caused by the distance between the earth and the sun. The activities and sphere will help with using the sky for navigation and explaining the cause of seasons on the earth. They can experiment with the sky in the laboratory and at home. The kit includes (10 of each unless noted): 20 clear plastic hemispheres • star charts with the 500 brightest stars for north and south hemispheres • pens to mark stars on the inside surface of each hemisphere • earth space globes (1-inch diameter) • pins to represent the sun • Styrofoam bases • wooden dowels for the axis • plastic straws for support • 1 set of instructions & activities.
|
|
Sun Tracking Plastic Hemisphere Kit
Many students believe that the sun is at zenith at noon for every day of the year. By making this model, they will learn the true daily path of the sun. Repeating the same thing one month later, they will compare the daily paths of the sun for different seasons of the year and be active participants in long-duration observations. The kit includes: 10 hemispheres (7 inch diameter) • 1 pen • 1 set of instructions & activities.
|
|
Refracting Telescope Kit
Experiment with each element of a simple 16-power refracting telescope and see how the lenses work when put together without using an optical bench. Galileo’s first telescopes lacked precision and clarity. Nevertheless, he made astonishing discoveries with his crude instruments. This simple lab enables students to build a telescope that is similar to Galileo’s. Use the telescope and see how it is similar to a pinhole camera • view inverted astronomical images • estimate the magnification power • find the focal length of a lens • see how the moon looked to Galileo. The Kit includes (10 of each unless noted): inner and outer tubes • plastic lenses (43mm diameter, objective, 400mm focal length) • plastic lenses (17.5mm diameter, 25mm focal length) • foam holders, cardboard spacers and washers for the eyepiece lenses • red plastic caps • 1 set of instructions & activities.
|
|
Holographic Diffraction Grating
This specially developed, high-efficiency diffraction grating is 100 times more efficient than acetate gratings. It can produce a spectrum bright enough for vivid classroom discussions even in rooms that do not darken. The shape of the grating surface produces a dispersion angle of 23.5 degrees and a groove separation of 19,050 lines per inch (750 lines per mm) for a wavelength of 550 nm. The sinusoidal shape of the grating surface places most of the light in the first order image. This shape is embossed in a polyester plastic. It can be used to make a spectrometer, a spectrum projector, or used with an overhead projector to produce a projected spectrum for demonstration purposes. Some of the gratings come with four color filters: blue, red, green, and yellow. Used singly and in combination, you can demonstrate how light is affected by color filters, or how objects of a certain color appear when bathed in light of another color.
|
|
Cardboard Spectrometer Kit
Now your students can see the absorption lines in the sun’s spectrum, the spectra of energized elements in gaseous states and the double yellow line of Mercury vapor in the spectrum of a fluorescent lamp. Light pollution can be studied by checking yellow street lights to see if they are high- or low-pressure sodium lamps. The spectrometer comes with a strip of film and a scale from which a color may be identified by wavelength in nanometers or photon energy in electron volts. The activities include: Observing what diffraction grating does • calibrating the spectrometer • identifying various light sources and spectra of gaseous elements. The cardboard spectrometer kit comes unassembled and contains (10 of each unless noted): 1-inch plastic disks with diffraction grating • sets of cardboard top and bottom pieces • long and short Styrofoam pieces • cardboard support tubes • sets of 5 nuts and bolts • film strips (35mm) with slits and wavelength/photon energy scales • 1 set of instructions & activities.
(See also the Plastic Spectrometer below.) |
|
Plastic Spectrometer
Hailed as “one of the very best, affordable scientific instruments” by the Astronomical Society Pacific, the Project STAR spectrometer is made of high-impact plastic for years of classroom service and comes completely assembled. The spectrometer uses high-dispersion, high-efficiency diffraction grating that produces an easily-read bright spectrum. Includes a reference label for bright spectral lines and a scale labeled in both electron volts and nanometers for chemistry and physics instruction. Also includes a 10-page activity booklet. The activities include:
(See also the Cardboard Spectrometer above.) |
|
College Astronomy Kit
The three most popular activities — a celestial sphere, a refracting telescope, and a spectrometer — are packaged in a kit designed to aid students at the college/university level as a supplement to laboratory work or lecture, or as a home lab. Included is the 18-page Astronomical Instrument Kit for College Astronomy Manual with instructions for assembling and using each device and optional questions that can be assigned as homework or presented in class. The kit includes one of each of the following:
PS-13: College Astronomy Kit $25.00 |
|
Solar System Scale Model Kit
Now your students can hold the solar system in their hands and get a real sense of how far away the planets are and how big they are in relation to one another. Using multiple combinations of these spheres, students can simulate the relationship of the planets to the sun, the moon to the planets, and planets to planets. One to four students can work simultaneously using different combinations of spheres with one lab. The kit includes: 10 marbles and balloons (small and large), beads, Styrofoam balls • 3 plastic spheres • map pins • 1 earth globe • physical data about the planets and moons • 1 set of instructions & activities PS-05: Solar System Scale Model Kit (for 1 to 4 students) $25.00 |
|
3-D Constellation Kit
Explore the stars of the Big Dipper and Orion! These photographic plates — six different views of the celestial sphere — were taken with a telescope that has a focal length of 22 inches so they should be viewed from 22 inches away to appear the same size as they look in the sky. Fluorescent orange beads are strung to the plates at their proper distance to simulate the stars, demonstrating to students that not all of the stars in a constellation are the same distance from earth. Constellations include Orion, Ursa Major, Taurus, Cassiopeia, Gemini, and Sagittarius. One to six students can simultaneously complete one portion of the sky (each using one plate). The kit includes: 250 beads (1/8”) • 1 spool of black thread • 6 photo plates of constellations • 10 washers • 1 set of instructions & activities. PS-06: 3-D Constellation Kit (for up to 6 students) $25.00 |
|
Light Measurement and Stellar Distance Kit
Your students can now determine the luminosity of the sun using a 200-watt light bulb. They can explore the relationship between the apparent brightness of a luminous object and the distance to the object. Using a null photometer constructed from paraffin and aluminum foil, a student can compare two light sources to determine the luminosity of — or the distance to — one of the sources. The photometer is then used to compare a 200-watt light bulb with the sun to estimate the sun’s luminosity. The kit also contains a 1-foot length of .01-inch optical fiber that, when taped to a flashlight, becomes an “artificial star.” With an output of one-millionth of a watt, this small source of light is compared to a star in the sky and the distance to the star can be estimated. The kit contains: 10 paraffin blocks • 10 foot-long pieces of optical fiber • 1 200-watt lamp • 1 lampholder • 20 rubber bands • 1 flashlight with batteries • 1 25’ roll of aluminium foil • 1 set of instructions & activities. PS-07A: 10 labs with one lamp and lamp holder $58.00 |
|
Project STAR Teacher’s Sampler
If you have never seen any of these materials and are curious about them, this sampler of Project STAR materials and activities was created for you. The sampler includes (one of each): Do-It-Yourself Star Finder Kit • Celestial Sphere Kit • Sun Tracking Hemisphere Kit • 3-D Constellation Kit • Spectrometer Kit (cardboard or plastic) • Refracting Telescope Kit (with tubes) • Light Measurement and Stellar Distance Kit • Holographic Diffraction Grating — mounted, 35mm glass slide • Where We Are in Space and Time Activity Book. PS-11: Teacher’s Sampler/Cardboard Spectrometer $85.00 PS-11/Plastic: Teacher’s Sampler/Plastic Spectrometer $99.00 |
No photo available. |
Project STAR Class Set
The Project STAR Class Set is designed to accommodate 10 students with numerous activities that can be used throughout the year, in class or at home. The set includes (10 of each unless noted): Where We Are in Space and Time Activity Books • Do-It-Yourself Star Finder Kits • Celestial Sphere Kits • Sun Tracking Hemisphere Kits • Refracting Telescope Kits (with tubes) • Solar System Scale Model Kits • 3-D Constellation Kits • Light Measurement and Stellar Distance Kits • Spectrometer Kits • 1 Teacher’s Guide. PS-10: Project STAR Class Set $440.00 |
|
Do-It-Yourself Star Finder Kit
Let your students make their own inexpensive, adjustable star chart that can be set for any time of night on any day of the year using only a pair of scissors and tape. They can compare the evening sky in all seasons. Students can also determine the signs of the zodiac by comparing the constellations visible after sunset and those visible before sunrise. The chart shows 41 constellations with lines to indicate the more obvious shapes and patterns. The star images are black on a white sky. See also the Heifetz Planisphere. The kit includes: 2 cardboard sheets to make one 8.5-inch diameter star finder. PS-19: Do-It-Yourself Star Finder Kit (set of 10) $13.50 |
|
Spectrum Projector
Experience a clear and bright projected spectrum in a room that cannot be completely darkened and demonstrate the changing color of an incandescent object as its temperature changes with simple equipment. The spectrum projector includes all of the materials necessary to build a device that will produce a diffracted beam of light in two directions (two lab setups in one). A dimmer allows students to vary the temperature and brightness of an incandescent light bulb to study how the spectrum changes. A paraffin spectrum analyzer will show the students a bar graph of the projected spectrum. They can experiment with how objects of different colors appear in different colors of light. The kit contains: 2 squares of diffraction grating • 2 cardboard tubes • 2 collimated lenses (53mm diameter) • 1 200-watt clear light bulb • 1 socket with dimmer, lampholder cage, and power cord (assembly required) • 1 set of paraffin blocks • 1 set of small mirrors • 6 bottles • red, blue, and green felt (2 sheets of each) • 4 filter sheets (6” x 6”) • 1 set of instructions PS-20: Spectrum Projector $120.00 |
|
14 Plate Set with Key
These photographs from the Harvard College Observatory plate stacks, the Lick Observatory Sky Survey, and the Palomar Sky Survey (1950) are high-quality reproductions of regions of the sky with stars, nebulae, and galaxies. A complete key is included for identification. Activities include the effect of the focal length of a telescope on image size, and estimating the distances to two galaxies by comparing images taken by the same telescope and the identification of deep sky objects. One set could be ordered for each student to accompany the activity book, Where We Are in Space and Time, or a few sets could be ordered by the teacher for use in the classroom. PS-21: 14 Plate Set with Key $9.00 |
| Activity Book: Where We Are in Space and Time
Twenty-one hands-on activities are included in this 176-page spiral-bound book. Students can write answers or do calculations right in the book. Some pages can be cut out. Each activity has a list of required materials, most of which are available in this catalog. Includes a glossary and a key to identifying objects on the photographic plates (see 14 Plate Set with Key above). The activities are divided into 3 units:
PS-01: Activity Book $16.00 |
|
No photo available. |
Teacher’s Guide
This 48-page addendum to Where We Are in Space and Time, gives answers to the homework questions and problems, and offers suggestions on how to approach each activity. Black and white prints are included to be used as masters. PS-12: Teacher's Guide $7.50 |
