Morehead Planetarium

Located on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Morehead Planetarium is a fascinating place to visit to learn more about astronomy.

http://www.moreheadplanetarium.org/index.cfm

Learn more

• NASA's Observatorium Provides images of planets, stars, and other cool stuff.
• Lesson plan: Exploring the solar system The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to earth's moon and the eight other planets in our solar system. Students will learn about the geology, composition and orbits of other planets by planning a trip to another planet.
• Lesson plan: Big Bang cosmology This lesson is a description of the “Big Bang.” It comes complete with a glossary.
• Lesson plan: Tour of the solar system Students, in groups, will research, design, and create a PowerPoint presentation on the planets. The class will then take a “tour of the solar system.”

Related pages

• Horizons Unlimited: This wonderful education center and museum provides hands-on programs for students in the areas of history and the physical and biological sciences.
• Robeson Planetarium/Science and Technology Center: A part of the public schools of Robeson County, this planetarium and science center specializes in programs geared to 3rd through 8th grade science.
• The Science House: Through school demonstration programs, student science camps, teacher workshops and innovative laboratory training, and support projects, the NCSU Science House partners with K-12 teachers to emphasize the use of hands-on learning activities in mathematics and science.

Related topics

• Learn more about North Carolina, Orange County, astronomy, biology, chemistry, environmental science, life science, meteorology, physical science, physics, planetariums, planets, science, solar system, space, space exploration, stars, and weather.

Legal

"Located in the heart of Chapel Hill, Morehead Planetarium and Science Center transports visitors to distant galaxies and takes them deep into the cells of every living organism."

This is a great place to take students on a field trip. Not only does it have wonderful programs at the planetarium, it’s newest addition is the Digital Video Theater which shows original science programming. The exhibit area provides explanations of astronomical phenomena.

The website includes the show schedule, school show schedule, courses and classes, as well as:

• Science Resources (Lots of information on the solar systems, planets, asteroids, meteors, and so forth.)
• Astronomy Links
• List of Astronomy Clubs in North Carolina.
• (Get the latest for your science current event here).

For teachers there are lesson plans, and educator’s newsletter, and more.

Professional development offerings

The goal of the Planetarium’s workshops is improved science content, knowledge and improved confidence in planning and implementing science education activities. We use surveys, interviews, observations to measure outcomes.

• Workshops typically serve between 21-40 educators per session.
• Content is mostly aligned with North Carolina standards for professional development and is tailored to the needs of the requesting school system. Offerings are based on theory, classroom strategies, and subject matter content combined with classroom assignments about how to use the professional development in practice.
• Sessions offered are a combination of lecture and processing activities with time to process the learning with other participants.
• Follow-up activities include a required evaluation of the professional development session, electronic follow-up, and an in-person follow-up session.
• Materials may be included in the cost of the workshops while some sessions charge a materials fee.

View Larger Map