Access the full demonstrator in the Inspiring Science Education website. You can also download the PDF.
Students learn about the principle of operation of the telescope. Through a series of puzzles, they investigate fundamental optics behind the instrument using interactive apps and obtain a deeper understanding of it. We start with an introduction to modern observatories and then proceed to create a simple model of a telescope. Then we investigate: magnification, upside down images, focusing, the impact of the Earth’s rotation and telescope light gathering power.
14-16
4-13 school hours
(Within 4 hrs it is expected that 1 challenge can be fully iterated. Every extra challenge is expected to add 100 minutes in the implementation procedure. If the teacher has access to a telescope and decides to demonstrate the key points of the activity instead of having students investigate them, the full activity can be implemented in 4 hrs).
Cognitive Objectives
– To understand the principle of operation of a telescope.
– To identify the key components of a telescope.
– To realize the role of the key components of a telescope to the observation procedure.
– To understand key observational challenges encountered when we use a telescope.
Affective
– To notice how a simple instrument can open a new window to the Universe.
– To be able to communicate their interest in aspects of Astronomy.
Psychomotor
– To be able to follow instructions in order to investigate the use of a telescope.
– To be able to build a generic telescope model.
– To be able to formulate and investigate their own hypotheses.
Soon.
Soon.