How Can the Little Moon Hide the Giant Sun?

This website is a great hands-on exploration of how distance can affect the way we perceive the size of an object. The model represents the Sun's and Moon's sizes and distances from the Earth and the solar eclipses. Hands-on way for students to learn about relative distances and eclipses.

Weblink address (URL):

How Can the Little Moon Hide the Giant Sun?

Lesson Variations

Blooms taxonomy level:

Applying

Helpful Hints

What You’ll Need:

ping-pong balls, one for each participant
two larger balls in different sizes (e.g. a baseball and a basketball would work well) (optional) image of a total
solar eclipse (optional) scale model of Sun, Earth, and Moon

References

Contributors:

Virginia Cooter

Originator:

Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation

eduToolbox® is a resource-sharing portal developed by the Ayers Institute for Learning & Innovation with collaborative support and funding from the Tennessee Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Education's Math & Science Partnership program.