Have you ever wondered how a mirror works? Explore the magic of lights reflection through this hands on activity.
Lesson Plans
Want to schedule a virtual visit for your classroom with a Great Basin National Park ranger, Great Basin Observatory scientist, or a Reach for the Stars Educator? Please complete at least three of our lessons with your students, and then reach out to request a visit.
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Students learn about animal adaptations through testing their human skills against Great Basin animals. Who will win the “Animal Olympics”? In this activity, your students will gain new insights...
Young children love the moon! But, why does it light up our night time sky? Explore how the moon uses the sun’s light to create the beautiful object we know and love.
Using simple materials students build a spectrograph and use it to analyze light sources. While doing so students will learn how and why astronomers use spectroscopy to gain understanding of what...
Did you know you can use electricity to make a magnet? Explore the magic and power of magnetism by building your very own electromagnet.
Constellations are fun to identify in the night sky, have helped humans navigate and chart the seasons for thousands of years, and are the stuff of great legends and myths. But what can these...
What exists way out in our solar system, beyond Pluto, in the Kuiper Belt - Comets! Made up of materials from the birth of our solar system, comets give us clues to the past. What better way to...
Make your own craters to understand how scientists decipher the ages of surfaces throughout the solar system and what this tells us about geological principles.
Did you know many animals need darkness to survive? In this fun activity students are introduced to the concept of light pollution and learn how artificial light at night affects wildlife.
You’ve heard about air and water pollution, what about light pollution? The consequences of light pollution are real, but so are the solutions. Learn to engineer a world without light pollution...