These recommendations are tailored for organizations and clubs such as libraries, planetariums, science centers, astronomy clubs, and scout troops.
Children love playing with magnets, and magnetic fields are an excellent hook to connect older children to the exploration of the planets. Activities should allow the children to conduct open exploration, without a heavy reliance on detailed measurements that can make it difficult for children to focus on the point of the activity.
Consider holding a special event this month; resources for your event are available at Educator Resources.
In addition to the activities below, check out the featured activity, Radio Jove, and be sure to submit photographs, artwork, music, or words of your community enjoying your activities to Share Your Stories.
| Neato-Magneto Planets | In this 45-minute activity, teams of children have the opportunity to do their own planetary investigations. The teams study magnetic fields at four separate stations: examining magnetic fields generated by everyday items, mapping out a magnetic field using a compass, creating models of Earth's and Jupiter's magnetic fields, and observing aurora produced by magnetic fields on both planets. |
| Exploring the Earth's Magnetic Field | This is a workbook of 23 activities about Earth's magnetism. Chapter 1 contains 4 activities for elementary students. It includes web-based activities, and a variety of hands-on experiments with magnets and electromagnetism. |
| Space Weather Action Center | Imagine being able to monitor the progress of an entire solar storm from the time it erupts from our Sun until it sweeps past our small planet effecting enormous changes in our magnetic field. Now imagine being able to do all of this from your Space Weather Action Center (S.W.A.C.)! By following the basic steps in the Instructional Guide your children will soon be on its way to accessing, analyzing and recording NASA satellite and observatory data. |
