  
    

                
               
               
         
     
               
                
          
              
                
               
               
               
         
              
            
               
              
               
                 
             
    
               
              
              
               
               
             

                
                
           
                    
          

   
                  
    
              
                 
               
      
               
                 
                     
                
                 
               
   
                
                
                 
                 
              
      
               
                
          
              
                   
                 

           
                    
              
                
      


                
                   
                  
               
                
    
             
                 
              
                
                 
                   
                 
          
            
                   
                  
             
       
     

    

             
          
               
 
             
            
   

   
                 
 
    
                 
              
                 
               
                   
              
      
   
                  
                  
                
   
  
               
                
             
  
              
                 
     
  
                 
     
  
               
                 
             

 
                 
        
 
                   
                 
                 
              
 
               
  
             
         
   
               
             
 
 
               
                 

              
             
              
               

                
    
                
             
        

This is the Cernan Center program that you made a reservation to see. Below is some basic information about the show that should help you prepare your class for their upcoming visit.
Show title: Our Place in Space
Grade Level: Preschool through 2nd grade
Length: 35 minutes
Summary of show:
Our Place in Space is a multimedia program that combines stars, panoramic scenes, pictures, and a variety of planetarium special effects to tell the delightful story of discovery and friendship between five animal characters
–
a macaw named Scarlett, a snake named Sheeba, an Indian elephant named Indy, a crocodile named Crusty, and a polar bear named Paula. With help from her fellow animals, Scarlet Macaw completes a crossword puzzle during the course of the show that draws its answers from the daytime and nighttime skies. The crossword puzzle clues and answers are as follows:
Puzzle clue
The opposite of night
What makes it daytime
The sun is one
Answer day sun star
The planet we live on
Goes around a star
A weighty subject
The opposite of day
Star picture
A milky way that
’ s not a candy bar
Fun place to learn about space earth planet gravity night constellation galaxy planetarium
In addition to providing these specific crossword puzzle answers, Our Place in Space also introduces the audience to the composition, size, and distance of our sun, explores why nighttime stars seem so small compared to the sun, demonstrates how the rotation of our earth causes day and night, shows how to connect stars to form imaginary pictures in the sky, briefly explores each of the nine planets of the solar system, and visits a beautiful gaseous nebula and galaxy in space. A brief question-and-answer period follows the presentation.

Pre-visit Preparation:
Like all the dome theater shows presented at the Cernan Center, no preparations are needed for students to enjoy and learn from their visit. If, however, you would like to conduct some previsit class discussions, you can start by using information contained in the
“
Summary of Show
” and/or the
“
Post-visit Activities
”
sections of this Teacher
’ s Guide.
Post-visit Activities:
After your visit to the Cernan Center, you may wish to discuss one or more of the following topics with your class, or perhaps have your students research the topics themselves and prepare a report or oral presentation.

Have your class make their own astronomy crossword puzzle. Like the characters in the program, have your class research each word they decide to use for the puzzle.

Ask your students to describe the many different kinds of night sky objects (e.g. stars, planets, moons, meteors, and comets). How are each of these objects different from one another? How are they similar?

Constellations are imaginary star pictures made by connecting stars. Have your class name some of the major constellations. Find and distribute a simple star map to help your students
(with the assistance of a parent or adult) locate constellations that are currently visible in the nighttime sky.

Ask your students to bring in a space picture (from a magazine or book) and have each student describe what their picture shows and why they like it. This project is meant to emphasize the beauty of the night sky, so don
’ t worry if the scientific content is minimal. Astronomy is not just about science
–
it is beautiful as well!

Have your class create another crossword puzzle for a different science or another subject in school.

The Cernan Center presents a weekly children
’ s show for the public on Sunday afternoons. For more information about this, please call the Cernan Center at (708) 583-3100 or visit our website at www.triton.edu/cernan.
For this Teacher
’ s Guide, the producer of the Our Place in Space planetarium show has supplied a series of handouts for each reserving group.

  
            
               
              
              
 
   
              
         
          
             
            
            
           
            
         
      
            
             
              
           
            
     
   
  
 

  
          
           
   



          
  
  
   
  
   
          

  
  
  
  
   
           
   
  
 
  
   
 
         
  
  
    
  
   
               
               
       


 
               
         

               
          

   
 
 

   
   
 
   
 
  
  
  
 
 
     
  
  
 

  
 
 
  
 
 
               
               
       