Walking on Sunshine

This is an urgent message from Mrs. Wiseman, the teacher of the class that travelled to outer-space by catching a sunbeam.

I desperately need your help, as the children have gone again!

This time they didn't take their hats and they haven't come back.  I need to take a party to rescue them.  Firstly we will need to turn the classroom into a space ship and because safety is so important, we need to ensure that everyone is safe for the lift off.  But before we even do that we need to make a list of things that we might need.  Most importantly we first will need a map and some food.

While you are learning all about space, ask your teacher to put a balloon inside a paper bag to show you how a rocket works and you will see why one of our most important jobs will be to make suitable seat belts for the class to wear.

What kind do you think would be best?

Good luck!

With sincere thanks from

Mrs. Wiseman

PS... I will write again soon to find out how you are going.

Begin you training by working in groups to come up with a list of things that we might need to travel to outer-space.  You may need to make a helmet as one of your first activities.

Try to learn all that you can about the planets so that you know where you are when you are travelling in space. There are some great internet websites that you can research for help.  One of these is

http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/uncgi/Solar/

Use the internet to find out more information.  Try visiting

http://www.kidzone.ws/planets/index.htm

or

    Asteroid--one of the small planets occupying orbits mainly between Mars and
Jupiter.

Astronaut--a space traveller
astronomer--someone who studies the heavenly bodies

Black hole - An object whose gravity is so strong that the escape velocity exceeds the speed of light.

Comet--A small body of ice and dust in orbit around the Sun. While passing near the sun, a comet's vaporized ice becomes its "tail".

Constellation - A group of stars that make a shape, often named after mythological characters, people, animals, and things.

Core - The innermost layer of a planet or star.

Corona - The Sun's outer atmosphere.

Crater- A hole caused by a meteorite crashing into the moon's surface or by a volcano exploding.

Earth--The fifth largest planet of the solar system. It is the third planet from the sun.

Galaxy--one of the vast number of systems containing stars, star clusters

Jupiter--It is the fifth planet from the sun. Jupiter has a Great Red Spot.  It is the first of the outer planets, and is the largest of all the planets.

Lunar eclipse--A darkening of the moon caused by the passing of the earth between the sun and the moon.

Mars-- Mars is the inner planet farthest from the sun.  It is called the Red Planet because its soil is red.

Mercury-- Mercury is the planet closest to the sun.  It is the smallest of the inner planets.

Meteor--It falls across the dark sky, leaving a silvery trail behind.  It may look like a shooting star, but really this is a meteor.  Meteors are the junk of the Solar system.

Meteorite--A part of a meteoroid that survives through the Earth's atmosphere.

Meteoroid--A small rock in space.

Moon--The moon is Earth's natural satellite.  It takes the moon 27 days and 8 hours to circle the Earth.

Neptune--It takes 165 years to go around the sun.  It is the eighth planet. Of the four giant planets, it is farthest away from the sun.  Neptune has 3 known satellites.

orbit--The path of an object that is moving around a second object or point.

phases- The different shapes we see as the moon moves around the sun.

Pluto--Pluto still remains a mystery to scientists.  It is the ninth planet/

satellite--A body that revolves around a larger body

Saturn--Saturn isn't the only planet with rings.  It is the sixth planet from the sun. Saturn is the second largest planet in our solar system.

solar eclipse--A darkening of the sun caused by the passing of the moon between the sun and the earth.

sun--The central controlling body of the solar system, lying at the principal focus of all planetary orbits.  It is also a star.

Uranus--This planet was discovered 200 years ago.  It is our seventh planet.

Uranus is the third of the four big outer planets.  It is a small giant-only four times bigger than Earth.  It has rings.

Venus--When you look up at the sky, the brightest objects are the sun and the moon.  The next brightest is Venus. It is called the Evening Star.

When you have made a map and organised food and appropriate seat belts you will need to test these and then start looking at other needs for space travel.

Have a go at making a list of all the things you will need.

Draw what you think would be a good design for a helmet.

What colour do you think the Earth looks from a distance?

Can you find the sun?

Which planet is the earth?

Which planet is the furtherest away from the earth?