Peek into space with Windows on the Universe
May 1, 2009
Back when Pluto was a planet, my middle school students spent a lot of time learning about the solar system. We used the usual sites — NASA, NinePlanets — but a site like Windows on the Universe would have been great to know about back then.
Windows on the Universe offers information on each planet, presented at three levels (hello, differentiated learning) consisting of beginner, intermediate, and advanced. It also offers other space-related information like star maps, mythology, weather, even art based on space.
In addition to all the great information for students, the site has an extensive collection of activities for teachers to employ in the classroom. While much of the site is great, you will find pockets of outdated information. The Mars tour, for instance, hasn’t been updated since 2000 — long before the Mars Rovers landed. Finally, of course, there are the requisite games for kids, mostly puzzles and word games that are not terribly scientific beyond the vocabulary words used to create them. -GRETCHEN SCHAEFER
