Solar Oven

Materials

• A large sheet of black construction paper or poster board 
• Cotton Balls 
• Markers or paint 
• Small yellow pom-poms 
• Large red pom-poms 
• Small white sequin 

Activity Directions 

1. Watch the video on stars linked below. 
2. Test your understanding of stars by playing a fun Quizizz game!
3. Perform the Life Cycle of a Star activity 
   1. Take your cotton ball and lightly pull away at it until it creates a wispy cloud of cotton. Then, using your markers, color the pulled out cotton brown and grey. 
      1. This will represent a stellar nebula, where stars are made
   2. Glue your stellar nebula to the top left of the poster and make sure to label it. 
   3. Next, glue a small yellow pom-pom next to the stellar nebula, making sure to draw an arrow between the two structures. 
      1. The yellow pom-pom represents an average star. Make sure to label it on your poster. 
   4. Then, glue a large red pom-pom after the average star (yellow pom-pom) and draw an arrow pointing to the right. 
      1. The red pom-pom represents a Red Giant, the structure many average stars turn into. Label the structure on your poster.
   5. Next, take another cotton ball and pull away at it until it creates another wispy cloud of cotton. Using your markers or paint, color the cotton purple, orange, and blue. 
      1. This will represent a planetary nebula, a structure of gas and dust that Red Giants turn into. Label the structure on your poster and draw an arrow pointing to the right. 
   6. Finally, glue a small white sequin. 
      1. This sequin represents a white dwarf, a dense, hot, final structure that average stars like the Sun turn into. Label this structure on your poster. 
   7. You are done! Go back and decorate your poster however you would like. Additionally, research more about the life cycle of stars. Do all stars follow this cycle? How does a star change into a planetary nebula and then into a white dwarf? Have fun exploring the world of stars!

Quizizz Link: https://quizizz.com/join/quiz/5f5c449b34f7aa001b3cdfa2/start?studentShare=true

Suggested Videos: 
Stars Video: https://youtu.be/ld75W1dz-h0

Published 9.12.2020

Author: Rupali Venkatesan