The Austin Planetarium will be a facility focused on all facets of science education. It is not only a place for children, but also for adults and educators. The Austin Planetarium will be the logical place to go or call to get any and all of your Astronomy, Space & General Science questions answered. As a matter of fact, if you have a space or science related question, you can already contact us on the “Contact Us” page or the “Astro News” page of this website and a professional answer will be forthcoming!

Educational support & depository

The Austin Planetarium have developed several educational documents which you can download and use for free. These can be used by parents at home or by professional educators in the classroom. In the future, we will expand these documents in number and variety of topics. For now, to give you an idea of what the Austin Planetarium can do for the Central Texas area science education; these documents are available for download below, completely free of charge. The Austin Planetarium would have a vast depository of these documents available. In addition, the Austin Planetarium would have a large database of exciting science projects for use in the classroom. Clearly, the result is a better and higher quality of education for our children.

Zodiac Constellations (for grades K - 5)

This document introduces the constellations of the Zodiac. It actively involves students while explaining the significance of constellations. Students create their own constellation as well. Also, subjects such as light pollution are addressed. In addition, the document contains many suggestions to enhance the lesson. Download the Zodiac Constellations in PDF format or MS Word.

Sailing to Mars (for advanced high school science or early university)

In Sailing to Mars, students are introduced to some concepts used in space flight. Students are asked to calculate travel times for various scenarios as well as solve other space flight problems. The last part of the document details Solar Sail technology. Depending on the level of the students, this document can be done individually or as a class project under guidance of the teacher. Solutions to the problems are available upon request. Download Sailing to Mars MS Word format or PDF and the data sheet in MS Word format or PDF.

Links

The following links will take you to some of our favorite astronomy-themed online resources and games...enjoy!

Stellarium

Stellarium is a free, open source program that turns your computer into a virtual planetarium. Set the location, year and time of day, and you can see what the sky looks like past, present and future.

Download Stellarium here...

Celestia

Celestia is a free space simulator that allows you to explore the universe in three dimensions.

Download Celestia here...

Games

Here are some educational games produced by our friends at the Texas Space Grant Consortium...