UMSL Fifth Grade Astronomy Outreach Program
Emily Sudholt, Rosaura Salinas, Robert Dobynes
University of Missouri – St. Louis
The University of Missouri–St. Louis has directed a Fifth Grade Elementary School
Outreach Program since 1992 with funding from the NASA/Missouri Space Grant
Consortium. The program is designed to enhance the curriculum requirements of the
Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Students attend a variety
of presentations including: a slide show on stellar evolution and the planets, a
planetarium show, and comet and liquid nitrogen demonstrations. One hundred percent of
the teachers reported in the Program Evaluation that the planetarium program is worth the
time and effort necessary to arrange the field trip, and that they are inclined to request a
similar visit in the future. In addition, all teachers stated that the program increases
students’ interests in math, aerospace sciences, and engineering.
Introduction
The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Missouri – St. Louis (UMSL)
allocates part of the NASA/Missouri Space Grant Consortium funds for a fifth grade elementary
school astronomy outreach program. This program has been offered to fifth grade classes in the
Greater St. Louis area during the spring semesters since 1992 (excluding 1994 and 2003).
UMSL has a planetarium that seats 36 people and features a Spitz A4 Star Projector, which
projects 1,354 individual stars onto a 24-foot dome. The projector also models the motions of
the five naked-eye visible planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn) as well as the
Moon and Sun. Classes that exceed the seating capacity of the planetarium are divided into two
or three groups. One group attends the planetarium presentation, while the second group
participates in astronomy activities led by an UMSL undergraduate physics student. The third
group is supervised by one of the fifth grade teachers. The activity of the third group depends on
the schools expectations. After approximately one hour, the groups rotate.
Thanks to the Missouri Space Grant, there is no charge to the participating elementary schools
for the program; therefore, the only cost a school incurs is for transportation. Historical data
from 1997 – 2002 indicates that 60 schools have participated in the program, and 2,366 students
(including approximately 25% ethnic minority students) had attended the program. This
represents an average of nearly 400 students for each year the program was offered during this
time span. Data from the spring 2005 program revealed that 17 schools and 1,076 students
(including roughly 43% ethnic minority students) were exposed to the program (1). The 2006
program brought 13 schools and approximately 600 students (including roughly 36% minority or
underrepresented students) (2). This represents a 66% increase in student attendance over the
1997 – 2002 average, but a decrease in student attendance from 2005. The 2009 program
brought 433 students of which fewer than 50% were Caucasian. Seven schools, nearly 400
students, participated in the spring of 2010. Three schools, 75 students, attended during fall
2010, and at least five schools totaling 230 students are scheduled for the spring 2011 semester
Program Evaluation
A total of 42 Announcement Letters were sent to the elementary schools in the Greater St. Louis
Metropolitan Area. This included letters to the teachers that had participated in past years. No
Invitation Letters were sent to the St. Louis City schools due to the limited field trip funding
within that district.
Upon completion of the presentations, each elementary school teacher received a Program
Evaluation and an UMSL Observatory Open House schedule. The evaluations have not all been
collected for the seven schools that participated in the spring 2011 program, so an analysis of the
Outreach Program was conducted using data from the spring 2010 Program Evaluations. 100%
of teachers’ survey responses indicate that the format is well worth the time and effort necessary
to arrange the field trip, and that they would be inclined to request a similar visit in the future.
Other questions are rated on a scale of 0 to 10; completely disagree to completely agree,
respectively. Data from those questions can be seen in table 1 below.
Table 1: Teacher Evaluations of 2010 Planetarium Program
Statement
Mean
Response
Std.
Dev
Program topic was suitable for the class
9.6
0.5
Program content was suitable for the class
9.4
0.5
Level of presentation was suitable for the class
9.7
0.5
Style of presentation was suitable for the class
9.0
0.8
Length of presentation was suitable for the class
9.4
0.8
Supporting materials were suitable for the class
9.1
0.7
10.0
0.0
Program was interesting to the students
9.6
0.5
Program was understandable to the students
Program increased students' interest in aerospace
sciences or engineering
Program created or maintained a favorable
impression of a career in aerospace science or
engineering
9.3
0.5
8.4
0.8
9.0
0.6
Program content was understandable to you
Of particular significance are the questions dealing with generating interest and favorable career
impressions of aerospace sciences, mathematics and engineering due to the program. For these
questions, a score of ten indicates, “the program increased the interest,” a score of five
corresponds to “the program did not affect interest,” and a score of zero indicates that “the
program decreased the interest” of the students. This data indicates that the program generated
interest in the aforementioned fields.
Overall, the teachers are satisfied with every topic addressed in the survey. Previously, the ideal
response for most questions was ten, and in four cases the ideal response was five. For example,
a score of zero in the “level of presentation was suitable for the class” question corresponds to a
program level that was too difficult for the students. Conversely, a score of ten on the same
question indicates that the subject material presented was too easy. This mid survey format
change went unnoticed by many of the teachers, and ratings for those four questions were
consistently close to 10. Those questions were adjusted for 2010 so that as score of 10 was ideal
for all questions. However, teachers were asked to elaborate on any rating of 7 or less.
One of the evaluation questions asks teachers to appraise the purposes of the program by ranking
the choices beginning with “one” for the most important, and “seven” for the least important.
Topic seven was “other,” and is omitted from this analysis. These findings are summarized in
Table 2. Table 2 also includes an “Overall Ranking” category. This value is the ranking for
each purpose category, and therefore represents the average ranking for each topic. A low
overall ranking indicates a high priority.
Table 2: Purpose of 2010 Planetarium Program as Ranked by Teachers
1st
priority
2nd
priority
Overall
Rank
Present current information
30%
0%
4
Increase students’ interest in math and science
30%
20%
3
Allow students to interact with a scientist
10%
50%
3
Allow students to ask questions
0%
0%
4
Supplement classroom materials
30%
10%
3
0%
20%
5
Purpose of Program
Present topics that are not part of the standard curriculum
2010 - 2011 Program Design
The goal of the Outreach Program is to increase student interest in math, science and engineering
through enhancement of the fifth grade elementary school curriculum. The following is a
summary of the curriculum requirements based on the Missouri Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education for the composition and structure of the universe and the motion of the
objects within it (3):
Recognize the Earth rotates once every 24 hours and the moon orbits the Earth.
Relate the apparent motion of the Sun, moon, and stars in the sky to the rotation
of the Earth.
Describe physical features of the planet Earth that allows life to exist and compare
these to the physical features of the Sun, the moon, and other planets.
Recognize the Earth is one of several planets within a solar system that orbits the
Sun.
Recognize planets look like stars and appear to move across the sky among the
stars.
The 2011 Program followed the format that was used in 2010. The Planetarium Presentation
included a slide show of various objects both within and outside of the solar system. The
classroom portion begins with a presentation about comets whose last slide is a recipe for a
comet. This leads to a discussion, with several demonstrations, of the physical states of matter.
The students learned that different chemicals exist as liquids, solids, or gases depending on the
temperature.
All groups are given the option to participate in both the Planetarium Program and the Classroom
Activities. In a two hour session one hour is devoted to the slide show and Planetarium and the
other hour is devoted to the classroom activities performed in the same room. The planetarium
seats 36, and larger groups are split accordingly. Thus, there was a need for two assistants.
2010 - 2011 Planetarium Presentation
The Planetarium Presentation is designed to last one hour and includes a slide show, and the
Planetarium Demonstration. The program is designed to accommodate the relatively short
attention span of fifth grade students. Students are encouraged to ask questions at any time and
the teachers have been informed that they can have the content tailored to their class’s specific
needs. Table 3 summarizes the topics covered in the planetarium presentation as well as the
approximate time dedicated to each topic.
Spring 2010 Classroom Activities
As previously mentioned, groups larger than the seating capacity of the planetarium (36) are
divided into two separate sections, and an UMSL student leads the group in demonstrations and
activites. The classroom activities are designed to last an hour and reinforce astronomy
concepts, both in the classroom, and the planetarium. Throughout the activities, students and
teachers are encouraged to ask questions. The Classroom Activities and approximate time for
each topic are summarized in Table 4.
The Classroom Activities includes demonstrations using dry ice (frozen CO2 @ -80 C), and
liquid nitrogen (-200 C). Water, ammonium hydroxide, potting soil and crushed dry ice are
combined to make a realistic replica of a comet nucleus (4). The “comet nucleus” includes jets
and a gas tail resulting from sublimation of the dry ice, and the properties of chilled atmospheric
water vapor.
The properties of dry ice liquid and nitrogen are used to demonstrate the temperatures in the
solar system, as well as phase changes of gases, liquids and solids on the Earth’s surface.
Although the children do not interact physically with the dry ice or liquid nitrogen, the dangers
and proper methods of handling cryogenic and volatile materials are discussed. The third group
participates in an activity provided by the fifth grade teacher.
Table 3: Topics Covered During the Spring 2010 Planetarium Show
Topic
Introduction
Acknowledgement of NASA/ Missouri Space Grant funding
The mathematical and astronomical education background of the
student leaders.
Explanation of the Spitz A4 Star Projector
Slide show
planets and moon
galaxies, nebulae
The importance of the Hubble telescope
3-D exploration of Mars Lander and rover
Rotation vs. Revolution: The orbit of our moon (light side vs. dark side)
Planetarium show
Sunset in St. Louis: direction of the rising and setting of celestial
bodies
Light pollution of the city
Daily motion of the sky
Polaris (North Star) and circumpolar stars
Constellations: Little and Big Dipper, Orion, Canis Major (Sirius) and
minor, Cassiopeia, Leo, winter constellations vs. summer
constellations
Star field and motion at the North Pole and Equator (northern vs.
southern sky)
Meridian: AM, noon and PM
Mapping of the stars using compos of the Meridian and coordinate grid
Introduce the Ecliptic: yearly motion of the sun, planets and moon
(seasons)
Retrograde motion of the visible planets
The Milky Way
Approximate
time (min)
3
3
20
4
25
Table 4: Topics Covered During the Spring 2011 Classroom Activities
Topic
Introduction
Acknowledgement of NASA/ Missouri Space Grant funding
Discussion about comets and comet demonstration
Temperature ranges in space with a dry ice and liquid nitrogen demonstration
Discussion of phases of matter
Approximate
time (min)
2
25
20
8
Conclusion
The 2010 UMSL 5th Grade Astronomy Outreach Program has proven to be successful. The
teacher’s responses have shown that the program is being used to increase the students’ interest
in math, science and engineering, and supplement classroom materials. The second most
important purpose of the program (as ranked by the teachers’ response) is to allow the students to
interact with a scientist. Since the program is still being conducted, adjustments are made to the
content and style for every class that participates.
A preliminary review of the Teacher Evaluation forms for the Outreach Program suggests that
this year the program will achieve the NASA and Missouri state curriculum goals as well. Final
results will not be available until May 2011 since the program is offered through the end of April
2011.
The UMSL Department of Physics and Astronomy is fortunate to have a planetarium as well as
funding from the NASA / Missouri Space Grant Consortium to offer such a program, and is
committed to providing the outreach program as long as funding is available.
References
1. Schuler, R., and Holy, D., “UMSL Fifth Grade Astronomy Outreach Program,” Presented
at the NASA/MO Space Grant Consortium Meeting, April 22-3, 2005.
2. Peaslee, D., and Brockschmidt, M., “UMSL Fifth Grade Astronomy Outreach Program,”
Presented at the NASA/MO Space Grant Consortium Meeting, April 2006.
3. Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE),
http://dese.mo.gov/divimprove/curriculum/GLE/SciGLE_FINAL-4.2005.pdf.
4. The Astronomical Society of the Pacific, “The Universe at Your Fingertips: An
Astronomy Activity and Resource Notebook,” The Astronomical Society of the Pacific,
1995, ISBN 1-886733-00-7.
5. Lake Afton Public Observatory, “Solar System Bingo,” Lake Afton Public Observatory,
1990, 1845 Fairmont, Wichita, KS, 67208, http://webs.wichita.edu/lapo/.