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Public engagement resources for the Monday April 8, 2024 Solar Eclipse
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Exploring the Universe: Star Formation

In this activity, learners model a star-formation process by adding energy (via a hairdryer) to matter floating in space (ping pong balls) to see how much of it they can get to "clump" in an empty container.

DESCRIPTION

In this activity, participants will learn how stars form from the dust and gas that exists in space clumping together. They'll model the star-formation process by adding energy (via a hairdryer) to matter floating in space (ping pong balls) to see how much of it they can get to "clump" in an empty container. The more matter they can accumulate, the larger their model star will be. This activity can be adjusted to make it easier for younger participants.

JUMP TO BROWSE RELATED RESOURCES
  • Learners and a Facilitator look into the Star Formation basket
  • Learners move a hairdryer around the bottom of a basket to direct foam balls into an empty container
  • Large family move a hairdryer around the bottom of a basket to direct foam balls into an empty container
  • Facilitator and Learners measure how many Styrofoam balls were collected
  • A young learner pours his collected styrofoam balls into a measuring container
  • two learners fill their star measuring container
  • Learners and a Facilitator look into the Star Formation basket
  • Learners move a hairdryer around the bottom of a basket to direct foam balls into an empty container
  • Large family move a hairdryer around the bottom of a basket to direct foam balls into an empty container
  • Facilitator and Learners measure how many Styrofoam balls were collected
  • A young learner pours his collected styrofoam balls into a measuring container
  • two learners fill their star measuring container

DESCRIPTION

In this activity, participants will learn how stars form from the dust and gas that exists in space clumping together. They'll model the star-formation process by adding energy (via a hairdryer) to matter floating in space (ping pong balls) to see how much of it they can get to "clump" in an empty container. The more matter they can accumulate, the larger their model star will be. This activity can be adjusted to make it easier for younger participants.

JUMP TO BROWSE RELATED RESOURCES

TRAINING VIDEOS

OBJECTIVES

LEARNING GOALS

    1. The space between stars, planets, and other large objects is not empty—it contains gas and dust.

    2. Stars are born when huge amounts of gas and dust clump together.

    3. The more gas and dust that clump together, the higher the new star’s mass.

    4. NASA scientists use telescopes to learn more about how stars form.

Credits

YEAR CREATED
2019
OWNING INSTITUTION

Sciencenter, Ithaca, NY

FUNDING

This material is based on work supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award numbers NNX16AC67A and 80NSSC18M0061. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

PERMISSIONS

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike 3.0 United States (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US).
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DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

NISE Network products are developed through an iterative collaborative process that includes scientific review, peer review, and visitor evaluation in accordance with an inclusive audiences approach. Products are designed to be easily edited and adapted for different audiences under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike license. To learn more, visit our Development Process page.