Printed Guides and Lesson Plans
Interactive Web Features
Presentations for Informal Educators
Presentations for Scientists and Engineers

In order to view some of the files presented on this page, you may need to download new or updated multimedia software for your computer. Download multimedia viewers here.

 

Printed Guides and Lesson Plans

The Incredible Two-inch Universe –(pdf)
Explore the vast distances in the universe in just four steps!
2-inch Universe activity booklet
Cut-out images only

Beyond the Solar System (professional development DVD)
How can teachers and students explore some of the biggest questions about our place in space and time? This DVD draws upon the latest scientific and educational research to create exciting new video, print, and web resources for "expanding the universe in the classroom." Explore some of these activities at the ‘Modeling the Universe’ workshop web site or request a copy of the final DVD from the Beyond the Solar System home page.
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/seuforum/mtu/
Request a copy of the DVD

How big is our universe? (website with downloadable pdf)
When Einstein’s papers were published, the universe was commonly thought to be a single galaxy. We now know that our own Milky Way is one of billions of galaxies that populate the universe. Using this web site and downloadable booklet, find your place in the universe, beginning on planet Earth in our very own Solar System, and travel outward to the realm of stars, the galaxies, and finally, the vast panorama of the observable universe. Recommended for Grades 5-12 and general audiences.
http://www.universeforum.org/howfar/index.html

Cosmic Questions Educators’ Guide (pdf)
This 74-page booklet, developed to accompany the Cosmic Questions exhibition, includes explorations of black holes and the expanding universe, as well as activities for placing our understanding of Einstein’s universe in an everyday context. Recommended for teachers of Grades 7-12.
http://www.universeforum.org/download/CQEdGuide.pdf

Cosmic Survey: What are your ideas about the universe? (pdf)
As Einstein developed his ideas about space and time, he explored humanity’s place in the cosmos. This image-sorting activity lays the groundwork for discussions about the size, scale and history of the universe. How do we fit in? Recommended for Grades 6-12 and informal educators.
http://www.universeforum.org/download/CosmicSurvey2003.pdf

back to top

 

Interactive Web Features

MicroObservatory Online Telescope Center
You be the astronomer as you explore the universe with online telescopes. Pictures of your choosing will be taken that very night and emailed to you within 48 hours of your request.
http://www.MicroObservatory.org/

Gamma Ray Bursts
About twice a day, there is a sudden flash of gamma rays in the sky. These flashes, called gamma ray bursts, are thought to be the telltale signal of black holes being born. Telescopes in space are detecting these flashes of light and relaying their coordinates to this real-time sky map, allowing observers here on Earth to follow up and learn more about these enigmatic bursts.
http://grb.sonoma.edu

How Fast Do Galaxies Move? (interactive applet)
Einstein’s ideas about the expansion of the universe are at the forefront of modern cosmology. Edwin Hubble’s observations of galactic motion offered concrete evidence to support Einstein’s work. This interactive laboratory offers a hands-on exploration of spectra and galactic motion in the expanding universe. Recommended for teachers and students, Grades 8-12.
http://www.universeforum.org/galSpeed/

Spacetime Laboratory (interactive applet)
The modern story of black holes began with Einstein’s revolutionary theory of gravity. Now, almost a century later, we have actual evidence to support these ideas. What really happens at the edge of a black hole?  Explore the effect black holes have on space and time in this interactive laboratory. Recommended for general audiences.
http://www.universeforum.org/bh_popup_spacetimelab.htm

back to top

 

Presentations For Informal Educators
The Universe Forum has created a collection of interactive demonstrations especially for museums and planetariums. Each demonstration contains a core script and accompanying visual resources to supplement the hands-on activities.

Journey to the Beginning of Time
Einstein imagined what it would be like to ride on a beam of light. If we could travel through space at the cosmic speed limit, what would we find? This interactive presentation uses a series of hands-on demonstrations to model the size and scale of the universe using everyday objects and travel through time with volunteer “human photons” to discover what the universe looked like in its infancy. Recommended for informal educators for use with general audiences.
Journey to the Beginning of Time

Journey through the Expanding Universe
The idea of an unchanging universe was well established at the turn of the 20th century. When Einstein introduced his revolutionary ideas, the thought of an expanding universe was preposterous. Now, nearly one hundred years later, we have actual evidence to support the story of an accelerating, expanding universe. This hands-on demonstration offers interactive explorations modeling the ways in which we explore distance and motion in the universe.
Journey through the Expanding Universe

Journey to a Black Hole
What is a black hole? How are they made? Where can you find them? How do they influence the space and time around them? Created using hands-on activities and stunning visual resources from NASA's exploration of the universe, this demonstration takes audiences on a mind-bending adventure through our universe.
Journey to a Black Hole

Black Hole Explorer
What evidence do we have to understand Einstein’s predictions about the strange creatures known as ‘black holes’? Expect the unexpected in this board game and learn how black holes affect the space and time around them. Recommended for ages 10 and up. Includes recommendations and materials for playing in large groups.
Black Hole Explorer

Girl Meets Boy: A Comedy About the Universe (pdf)
Einstein’s legacy is more than just his scientific publications. A true citizen of the universe, Einstein valued non-scientific pursuits as well. This twenty minute play, developed in conjunction with the Cosmic Questions exhibition, follows a poet and an astronomer on their journey to discover the nature of love, life, and the universe. Recommended for all ages.
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/seuforum/exhibit/resources/GMB_CUESCRIPT.pdf

back to top

 

Presentations For Scientists and Engineers
The Universe Forum has created a collection of prepared presentations for scientists and engineers that offer a graphics-rich context for introducing today's scientific investigations to general audiences. These presentations are designed to be supplemented by scientists' own research.

Space Time Telescopes
In 1905, Einstein’s ideas about the universe were considered improbable and unbelievable. Over the last century, new technology has provided new evidence for the some of his most astonishing predictions. This presentation and the accompanying hands-on demonstrations describe the revolutionary spacecraft that are helping NASA explore the limits of space and time, and offer scientists an opportunity to put their own research into a technological context.
Space Time Telescopes

Hunting for Black Holes
Einstein himself never predicted that we would one day be able to explore actual black holes. However, using new technology and techniques, scientists have discovered black holes are everywhere – in our galaxy and others! With the help of computer simulations, we can actually model what happens to space and time around a black hole and compare that with observations. This presentation provides background and graphics for putting these black holes into context with the rest of the universe.
Hunting for Black Holes

Our Expanding Universe
Albert Einstein is often called the father of modern cosmology. How did his ideas fit into the existing cosmological model of 1905? What did we know about the universe then? What have we learned over the last century? Discover how Einstein’s Universe created a new paradigm for thinking about the cosmos and how space science research in the 21st century is poised to explore “Beyond Einstein.”
Our Expanding Universe (ppt)
Cosmology FAQ

Einstein's Lens
Gravitational lensing provided the first proof of Einstein's new theory of gravity and handed astronomers an incredible tool in their quest to uncover the deepest mysteries of our universe. This presentation explains how gravity behaves like a lens, distorting and magnifying our view of the cosmos, and tells the story of the scientific discoveries confirming this idea and how astronomers currently use lensing to explore the early universe, the nature of dark matter, and extra-solar planets.
Einstein's Lens

back to top