Space Science Resources
Eclipse Resources
Dr. Mary Urquhart has compiled multiple Eclipse Resources for teachers. She presented multiple Eclipse workshops for local teachers leading up to the 2023 Annular Eclipse and the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse. She also created with Dr Marc Hairston the eclipse safety comic book for children featuring Ari the Armadillo Astronomer.
Below is some of the information from the workshops:
Eclipse Teacher Workshop Box Folder
Scale Model Lesson (adapted from Stars and Planets) and Lunar Phase Wheel are described and linked below.
UTD Science/Math Education – UTeach Dallas has partnered with UTD Geoscience Studio to create this helpful video
Additional Resources at the UTD Eclipse website.
Ari the Armadillo Astronomer
Ari the Astronomer’s Solar Eclipse Safety comic book explains eclipse safety for kids.
The comic book is available in ENGLISH or SPANISH versions. There are FOUR different styles of the comic in FULL COLOR and LINE ART (like a coloring book) that can be downloaded below that best fits your class.
Teachers/ School districts are welcome to download and use in your classrooms.
Download Ari the Armadillo’s comic
—- Choose your version and style below —–
Stars and Planets Astronomy Curriculum
Dr. Mary Urquhart, developed her “Stars and Planets” middle school curriculum, and with NASA funding managed by the Space Telescope Science Institute in the form of an IDEAS grant, provided kits and field-tested the lessons with 10 8th grade teachers in 8 junior high schools in Richardson ISD. These lessons can easily be adapted for High School by adjusting the questions.
Portions of Stars and Planets remain in regular use in local schools, in the MAT program, the UTD Women in Physics Camps, and in the UTeach Dallas Knowing and Learning course. Since its completion in 2007, the curriculum has been distributed on CD and by Web download at state, national and local teacher conferences, and statewide through the Texas Regional Collaborative.
The curriculum is also available for you to DOWNLOAD HERE
Scale Model for the Earth and Moon
A 3-D Scale Model of the Earth and Moon System pdf– A quick lesson adapted from Stars and Planets. A simple model of the Earth-Moon System is useful for a number of curriculum goals, associated with a variety of TEKS in science and mathematics. This activity is suitable for students in 4th grade and above. Younger children may need extra assistance.
Lunar Phase Wheel
Moon phase manipulative designed by Dr. Mary Urquhart to help students understand the lunar cycle.
- Lunar Phase Wheel Instructions pdf
- Parts of the wheel:
- lunar_phase_wheel pdf
- lunar_phase_wheel_blank pdf
- lunar_wheel_base pdf
Sun, Earth, Space: The Energy Balance Game
Manipulative designed by Dr. Mary Urquhart to help student understanding of thermal energy from the sun affecting the temperature of the Earth throughout the year.
Energy Balance Game PDF
CINDI Mission
Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) for NASA’s CINDI Mission: Launched in 2008, CINDI was selected for an extended mission and a 2011 NASA Group Achievement Award. The project had an active E/PO program in partnership between the Department of Science/Mathematics Education and the UTD William B. Hanson Center for Space Sciences.
Activities include curriculum development, video resources, teacher workshops at conferences and in partnership with SME programs and courses, and of course the multiple CINDI comic books.
For more details and the FREE downloads for the CINDI comic books visit the CINDI page. Be sure to peruse the multiple pages within the Education tab. Selected Teacher resources are found on our CINDI Mission Education page.
Mars by National Geographic
As part of the new Mars Education page, the Interactive Mars Globe and Teacher Guide and completely free for use with teachers. SME Dept Head & UTeach Dallas Co-Director Dr. Mary Urquhart served as the science content expert, as well as, education consultant and writer for these resources on National Geographic. MARS, a National Geographic Channel six-part event series, tells the story from the vantage point of a fictitious crewed mission to Mars in 2033. MARS aired November 14, 2016. Bring MARS into your classroom with materials on the solar system, space exploration, and research.
Reaching for the Red Planet
Dr Mary Urquhart continued her curriculum with a focus on Mars with “Reaching for the Red Planet: Founding a colony on Mars.” This curriculum was housed originally with University of Colorado at Boulder and will be updated and moved here shortly. If you would like more information on this curriculum, contact Dr. Mary Urquhart.