If you had half an hour to teach one space principle to kids, what would it be?

[KvickFlygarn87]

I, too, think that a quick KSP session would teach kids that it is not: "Straight up and you're in orbit!", and that rocket science isn't as hard as is perceived.

This. I'm 13 and I can go to other planets (in a game, duh), it's not that hard!

[Streetwind]

I'd explain the formation of the solar system, in the process impressing on the children that: 1.) yes, the earth is a sphere; 2.) yes, it really is that old; 3.) it orbits around the sun and not the other way around.

This addresses a number of misconceptions that a certain type of parent loves to spoonfeed to their offspring. Without moving those out of the way, teaching astronomy becomes quite hard.

After that is established, the 1000 yard/meter thing is a great way to continue in a second lesson. It's probably a bit much if you have just half an hour, though.

[Linear]

Gravity. That is all.

[Whirligig Girl]

If only I had a choice. I've got to teach 4 3rd grade classes about Earth's Place in the Solar System.

[How2FoldSoup]

Somewhat related because in a month or so I'll be teaching a group of 5th graders and have them look through a solar telescope at the Sun

I'll probably give them the basics of the sun, how far away it is and what the sunspots they see are. I'll try to give them a sense of scale and just how cool the universe is and well whatever else comes to mind.

[Kilmeister]

I think the 1000 yard walk would be something most Adults should go through. Seriously though, I agree with that idea. Before I read that article my idea would've been to show them scale too, but my method would be lame compared to walking it out.

[Amaroq]

I have a two-year-old, and so far, she is fascinated by laying back on our backs and looking at stars. She loves that she can identify a couple planets (Mars, by hue, Venus on brightness), and has "visited" those planets in KSP. (Well, watching Daddy play KSP, but still.) Last night we saw a meteor, which introduced the idea of how far away the atmosphere ends -- how we could breathe when we went up in the mountains, so the meteor must have been much higher than that .. how it was going faster than anything she could throw, and yes, faster than a car, in fact so fast that it go too hot and blew up. (It was a strange one, almost a direct-down impact rather than a typical streak-across-the-sky).

She's doin' pretty good for two, I'd say!

[Dispatcher]

Without wanting to start the whole discussion again, I would suggest making that a 1000 meter walk (or kilometer ).

Living in the US, I have some friends who are not really well versed in the metric system. However, when I tell them that a meter is just a little longer than a yard, they can relate to that. So that is one way to introduce a metric length (if not the system) to little kids in the US too. Back more on topic, I do like the idea of the 1000 meter solar system scale walk. I would have liked that very much when I was a kid.

[vger]

I think the 1000 yard walk would be something most Adults should go through. Seriously though, I agree with that idea. Before I read that article my idea would've been to show them scale too, but my method would be lame compared to walking it out.

Alternatively, there's the "universe zoomout" videos. A couple of them. One was done in the film, Contact. There was another I saw in an IMAX documentary (pretty sure

is it). And I'm sure there are others that might be more well done. It's a really freaky thing to see when it's presented right, especially if the screen encompasses your entire field of view.

I've had a couple of quasi-nightmares about things like this. I say quasi, because even though the experience of getting so far from home was incredibly scary, it was also exciting at the same time. Very bizarre dual-emotional anxiety.

[Bacterius]

An explanation of gravity using the bed sheet system...

+1, Newton's law of gravitational attraction (and the curvature of space time) didn't really click "intuitively" for me (it was just numbers) until it was demonstrated like this. Don't forget to mention that in real life, space is frictionless so the planets don't instantly fall into their sun, and that it is just a 2D simulation so that we can understand it better, but the same principle applies to 3D. It can be done in under 20 minutes as an interactive workshop, and if the kids are old enough you can get them to do math to do some derivations as well. It's up there with Feynman's informal explanation of quantum electrodynamics as the most educational physics experiments ever, IMHO.

[Mr. Entropy]

Funny enough, last weekend I was asked to teach a group of Cub Scouts some basics of astronomy for one of their activity pins (kind of like merit badges). Things like identifying bright stars and constellations, what a planet is and where to find them in the night sky, and how a telescope works. Then had them look at Jupiter and its moons Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.

It's one thing for them to hear about what Galileo saw in his crude telescope. Another thing entirely to see it for themselves.

[KvickFlygarn87]

IT'S HUGE.

....THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID! *turns into a potato and rolls away into the sunset*

[Z-Man]

She's doin' pretty good for two, I'd say!

I'd say. Despite my best efforts, mine thinks the moon is glued to the sky, and she confused Venus for Earth more than once. (I'm to blame for that one. I refuse to tell her outright that Earth is where we live.)

[John Crichton]

Size of the universe!

Teaching kids how big the universe is can have a profound effect on their thinking. Here's a handy link that might help: LINK

[KASASpace]

The fact that we have a destiny.

The fact that we must choose to accomplish that destiny.

And the fact that that destiny, is that we will ascend up into the stars...........

Basically human exploration.

But in an interesting way.

Would probably show them some pics of cool nebulae. Like Orion, OH yeah!

[DaveofDefeat]

Trick question, no elementary school kid is going to listen to you for 30 minutes.

[Camacha]

I'd say. Despite my best efforts, mine thinks the moon is glued to the sky, and she confused Venus for Earth more than once. (I'm to blame for that one. I refuse to tell her outright that Earth is where we live.)

That sounds like a pretty acceptable level of confusion for a two year old

[TheScareCake!]

Well, it would be easy if it would be at night, so i could bring a telescope. Kids of that age likes interactive lessons.

[WetJet]

3 seconds is all it takes me to open a child's mind to the universe when I bring my 26" dobsonian telescope out to star parties and point it to the moon or mars. Their eyes get huge and their mouth drops open. It's pretty amazing to watch. They'll look up, at the moon, then back in the eyepiece in disbelief that the little moon really looks like that.

[Souper]

Tell them about the possibility of Venusian life

[Nibb31]

Tell them about the possibility of Venusian life

Current science doesn't consider any possibility of Venusian life.

[Dispatcher]

Space is BIG.

[Armchair Rocket Scientist]

Current science doesn't consider any possibility of Venusian life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmosphere_of_Venus#Possibility_of_life

Then again, where would such life forms get their water? Venus's atmosphere is pretty dry.

[luizopiloto]

teach about gravity... just need a book and a plume...

[YourEverydayWaffle]

Although not totally science-related, I would say that it should be anything to encourage creativity and diversity form others. It's so sad how little of those things I see in kids today.