Sep. 6, 2007 - How far is the nearest star?
How far is the nearest star?
Here's a fun little factoid that we had fun with today in science class. On a sheet of paper, draw a circle to represent the sun. Then measure from the center of the circle nine inches away and draw a smaller circle around that point to represent Earth. Using a key of 1 inch = 10 million miles, then you know that the Sun is 90 million miles from the Earth. But here's the fun..... ask the kids how far you'd have to go (using the same scale of 1 in= 10 million miles) to draw the next star, Alpha Centauri, and see what they guess. Then tell them they will need to get some bigger paper, because the using the same scale, the next star would be 40 miles away. This "picture is worth a thousand words" idea came from "It Couldn't Just Happen," an absolutely wonderful creation science book that every Christian home should have and read. Our elementary science curriculum "The Scientist's Apprentice" came with a suggested reading list which included this book and I am very thankful to have found it.
Comments
Sep. 7, 2007 - great book
Posted by Anonymous
It Couldn't Just Happen is the text I used for 4-6 grade science at the Christian school in Indianola, and I loved it! I agree, it's a fantastic resource! I really do love your blog. You have great ideas, and I feel like I already know you fairly well just by reading your posts. I'm so looking forward to working with you and getting better acquainted this year. Have a great day!
