Galileo first noted this possibility when he timed a swinging chandelier by using his pulse. I module that debuts this month also takes advantage of shadows to show how Earth's position changes relative to the sun. A flashlight beam shown through a hole in the box simulates the sun. Even if the boxes must be re-used, children can still take them home and get their parents involved. In this program, kids do assignments with them at home and parents get involved.
Students punch holes in the box in patterns that represent star positions.
Grossman, who conceived the idea, calculates that students can punch as many as 300 stars into their personal projectors. For the Sunlight and Energy module, the team wanted a meter to measure the relative energies associated with different intensities of light. In 1989, Ward had lunch with Philip Sadler, now director of the Science Education Department. Ward received his Ed.D. from Harvard the year before, and Sadler suggested that he work on a project for teaching physical science to elementary students using astronomy as a hook. The teachers say that they are getting involved in their own learning.