AstroPoetry
Goals
• To notice details in an astronomical image
• To creatively express what is known about objects in space
Materials
• Variety of astronomical images
• Index cards
• Markers
Procedure
1. Show an astronomical image
2. Ask participants what they know about the image and what words they would use to
describe it (e.g. bright, swirling) or what it reminds them of (e.g. marble, pancake,
hula hoop)
3. For each word suggested, write down one word per index card
4. Rearrange the cards to create a poem and read the poem aloud
5. Split into teams—each team is given or chooses an astronomical image about which
to create their poem, and a stack of index cards
6. Give participants five minutes to brainstorm words (make sure they include nouns,
verbs, and adjectives!)
7. Given participants five minutes to create poem (they can add in connecting words if
desired, or add prefixes or suffixes to existing words)
8. Spend at least five minutes sharing and reflecting on the poems created
Additional Notes
• Groups can compete to make the most descriptive poem about the same object, or
they can each work on a different object (chosen or assigned)
• Poems can include astronomical information if it is known
• It is probably best to start with a professional image, such as a Hubble Space
Telescope image, but this activity should eventually be done with all sorts of images,
including those taken by MicroObservatory and processed by participants
Some Examples of AstroPoetry
Our Sun
An AstroPoem by the McCormack Apprentices
Hot Face: Bubbling Volcano
Lava Spots
Burning Pain
Orange Tomato With Zits
Supernova Sun
Destroying Fire
Killing Flare
THE SUNNY SIDE UP GALAXY
Swirling sparklers sunny side up
Thick black hole dust
White gooey Vegas snake
Snakes fighting in a circular motion
Dueling dragons blow fire and ice
Cold planets on a whirlpool roller coaster
AstroPoem by Christian, Isaiah, Juan Diego, Raul, Scott, Shawn, and Tania
! text of poem below
Exploding stars deep in space
Jumping around, falling down
like snow
Dim and bright, exciting and
boring
Big balls of gas and darkness
Star cluster image by Carrie
Poem by Miguel, Drawing by Ashley
Visit http://heritage.stsci.edu/commonpages/art/literature/index.html to see poems
created by high school students for a live planetarium program called the “Hubble
Heritage: Poetic Pictures.” The program, run in partnership between the Space
Telescope Science Institute, the Davis Planetarium at the Maryland Science Center and
Baltimore City College High School, included blending the latest astronomical research
with creative writing.