Explore our free Downloadable Activity Sheets below for games, facts and activities to enjoy.
For more information about the stars and planets and our amazing Universe, check out the links on the Explore More page.
We hope you have fun using these resources and we’d love to hear how you get on.
With thanks to The Duke of Devonshire Charitable Trust, Georgia Litherland from In Heritage, Art & Soul Friendship Group and White Peak Astronomical Group for supporting this project.
Some activities can be done at StarDisc, home and in the classroom. For some though, you would need to find a sky map or online star chart to help you if you’re not at StarDisc.. You can also print activity sheets and bring them to StarDisc in good weather.
Please take care – We accept no liability for any accidents or injuries arising from having fun onsite.
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Explore more:
Free resource:
You can use telescopes with expert guidance. Try astrophotography. Make, do and learn in astronomy.
Child-friendly websites:
Nasa Kids Club has specialist child-friendly information, animations and activities. https://www.nasa.gov/kidsclub/index.html
National Schools Observatory http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/learn/astro is run by Liverpool John Moores university and has easy to navigate information for children and young people – including an interactive sky map so you can check out where the planets are at different times of night on a particular date.
Their http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/learn/astro/nightsky/ukstargazing page lists Dark Sky areas around the UK, ideal for stargazing.
Science Kids’ Astronomy for Kids web pages are full of activities and information. This is a New Zealand site, so some of the constellations information relates more to the Southern Hemisphere than Northern Hemisphere. But there’s so much on it that it’s well worth checking out.
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/astronomy.html
For a general audience, including adults:
European Space Agency website includes news, videos, photographs, articles and more. http://www.esa.int/ESA
NASA – is crammed with images and information. The NASA image galleries are chock full of amazing pictures of space. www.nasa.gov
Sky at Night online is created for adults and has facts, images, articles, podcasts and quizzes, suitable to interested amateurs of secondary age +
http://www.skyatnightmagazine.com
Jodrell Bank http://www.jodrellbank.net/
Jodrell Bank recommend the Sky Map and Stellarium apps on their learning resources pages: http://www.jodrellbank.net/learn/schools/resources/
Sky Map https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.stardroid&hl=en\
Stellarium http://www.stellarium.org/en_GB/
Secrets of the Star Disc The Nebra Star Disc
StarDisc Photographs Flicker
Apps:
Apps come and go all the time, so search around for online reviews of what’s current.
Some we’ve heard about include the following.
We’ve listed all of them with a review thread, so you can compare them before deciding whether to get one.
The Nasa app is FREE of charge and aimed at everyone from 7 years old up, although children will need adult help to navigate to content they’ll enjoy – e.g. image galleries of space photography. https://www.nasa.gov/nasaapp
For KS1+
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/star-walk-kids-astronomy-for-children
Point your device at the sky for app to map the sky above and give further information with friendly narrators and animations.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/skyview-explore-the-universe
Like many of the apps, this uses current location data, to explain what is in the sky about you right now. You can tap on objects within the frame to find out more about them.
https://www.bestappsforkids.com/2016/professor-astro-cats-solar-system/
The Professor Astro Cat app layers information, and includes games and activities as well as an opportunity to ‘unzip’ a planet to find out more about it.
For KS2+
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/star-walk-5-star-astronomy-guide Take this on a night walk to find out exactly what you’re seeing and then find out more about it.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/britannica-kids-solar-system
Interactive reference guide for our solar system, with information about famous astronomers and space travel.
https://www.bestappsforkids.com/2012/cosmographia/
Cosmographia is highly detailed, and allows users to see stars and planets from different points of view and at different periods of time. Young kids will like the visuals, older kids, teens and adults will find more and more facts and information to explore.
For secondary age+
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/mobile-observatory
‘Like putting a mobile observatory’ into your hands. For secondary age+, including dedicated amateur astronomers and even professionals. This app uses GPS, or users can manually enter coordinates to avoid GPS tracking. Lots of additional information about objects within view. A list of ‘future events’ flagging upcoming dates of special events – e.g. ‘Tomorrow is the most likely date for the best view of X this year.’
Citizen Science sites for keen explorers
Contribute to real scientific investigations by helping to process data and images in the search for galaxies, planets or stars.
Zooniverse www.zooniverse.org projects include The Milky Way project, planet and comet hunting and many more.
Time-lapse Milkyway Spion.com
Aidan Shingler’s book Psyche about the visionary potential of unusual states of consciousness Reality Tester
Mogan Barke, StarDisc’s lighting engineer Barkeng Mad
Links of interest related to Wirksworth:
Mount Cook Outdoor Adventure Centre
Ecclesbourne Valley Railway https://www.e-v-r.com/
Wirksworth Festival of visual and performance arts