Educational Resources
A Sampling of Hands-On Astronomy Activities from the ASP Jump into hands-on astronomy with these classroom tested activities from a variety of ASP programs
Surfing the Solar System Surf the web to find the answers to a fun solar system puzzle for the whole family
K-12 Online Astronomy Activities Navigate the tangled web of activities on the internet with this annotated list, organized by subject
Night Sky Network Astronomy Activities & Resources
The Universe in the Classroom, a newsletter for teachers.
Articles on Education from Mercury Magazine Hunt down some good ideas and resources in these archived articles from the “Education Newswire” and “Black Holes to Blackboards” departments of our membership magazine, Mercury.
Other Articles on Education
- Astronomy Education in the U.S.: An Overview
- How to Succeed in College
- Astronomy Education and Public Outreach: Steps and Missteps Toward an Emerging Profession (pdf)
- An Astronomer Looks at Astrology
- Amateur Astronomers as Informal Science Ambassadors: Results of an Online Survey Executive Summary (PDF) or Full Report (PDF). If you want to work with Amateur Astronomers doing outreach, find out in this report what they say they need.
Selected Resource Guides
Gather some great background reading from these annotated astronomical resource guides:
- Astronomical Pseudo-Science: A Skeptic’s Bibliography
- Best Sources of Astronomical Images on the Web – NEW
- Black Holes: An Introductory Resource List
- Cosmology Resource Guide
- Dark Night Skies: Dealing with Light Pollution (pdf)
- Eclipse Resource Guide
- Exoplanets Resource Guide for Astro 101 Instructors
- Galileo: The Man and His Science
- Monthly Universe Discovery Guides
- Multicultural Astronomy Resource Guide
- Resources for the Higher Education Audience
- Science Fiction with Good Astronomy & Physics: A Topical Index – UPDATED
- SETI Messages Bibliography
- The Moon: A Resource Guide
- Women in Astronomy: An Introductory Bibliography
Selected “Astronomy Beat” Columns Available to the Public
- The Discovery of Pluto
by Clyde Tombaugh - The Discovery of the First Gravitational Lenses
by Ray Weymann - Origins of the Drake Equation
by Frank Drake and Dava Sobel - Stargazing Centaurs: The Astronomy of Harry Potter
by Kristine Larsen - And the Sun Stood Still: Dramatizing Copernicus
by Dava Sobel - How to Catch a Moon or Two of Pluto
by Mark R. Showalter
Astronomy Education Review Looking for research in astronomy education? This on-line journal and magazine is a good place to start.
Cosmic Clearinghouse serves as an educational clearing house for the best astronomy outreach resources, activities, images, materials, guides, facilities and events for a variety of target audiences from the casual enthusiast to the professional educator.
Websites for Teaching Introductory Astronomy to College Non-science Majors Get out of the lecture mode, even in large classes, with some of these ideas from colleagues.
A Catalog of Astronomy Apps for Smartphones and Tablets An annotated guide to about 100 astronomical apps that help you get to know the sky, organize your observing, see magnificent image, keep track of news from astronomical projects, do calculations, etc.
Space Science Education Resource Directory Jump into a universe of NASA developed products.