Classroom Activities

Build a solar viewing projector that fits right over the eyepiece of your telescope! This simple & inexpensive device makes it easy for many people to observe the Sun simultaneously — and safely!

Learn how to make your very own pinhole camera to safely see a solar eclipse in action!

Recreate the fantastic phenomena of solar eclipses with your child using just a flashlight, a quarter, and her very own face!

A plethora of educational resources to prepare for the total solar eclipse on August 21!

A useful activity sheet to check students knowledge of the three types of solar eclipses.

One of the biggest misconceptions that students have is that they believe that the Sun travels around the Earth. My students were no exception... That is why I created this model that allows students to manipulate the Earth and the moon in order to gain a better understanding. With this activity, your students will be able to orbit the Earth around the Sun as well as move the moon around the Earth. After this craftivity your students will no longer have the same misconception.

Don’t miss your opportunity to teach about solar eclipses with the first total eclipse in almost 40 years. On August 21, 2017 a total eclipse will pass right over the continental US and will be visible (either full or partial) from all areas of the US during the school day. This unit includes 2 hands on activities to learn how eclipses form, a diy pinhole eclipse viewer to safely observe the eclipse, a research assignment to learn the details about viewing the eclipse in your city, a classroom banner to decorate for the historic event, and a reflection page for all the wonderful memories.

The coast-to-coast total solar eclipse on Aug. 21 will be memorable for children and adults alike, and a new website will help kids get interested in the big event and view it safely.

Infographic total solar eclipse, including path and map of the US eclipse on August 21, 2017 aka Great American Eclipse. Why do eclipses happen?

Your children can hand paint sun and moon crafts on paper plates. They can put the plates together to create a total solar eclipse.

Gallery of Arvind Gupta's Fun Science Toys hosted by ArvindGuptaToys.com

This past week we started our unit on SPACE and have been having so much fun learning about the Sun, Earth, and the moon. (I will be posting pictures throughout our unit so check in often to see how we’re doing.) To begin our unit I decided to tackle one of the biggest MISCONCEPTIONS that children have…. believing that the Sun travels, or obits, around the Sun. Can you blame them? I mean I know that every morning on my drive to school I see the Sun rising in the sky. So, I can understand why children believe that. So I decided to tackle this task by creating our very own models which you can download for FREE here. First I introduced my kiddos to some wonders about the Sun, the Earth, and the moon and we discussed how the Earth and the moon really travel. We then began our project. We started by coloring a picture of the Sun, the Earth, and the moon. While coloring we looked at the different sizes of each and spoke about how LARGE the Sun really is. Next, we cut everything out, including the 2 rectangles that would be used to help us …

This super simple Montessori-inspired activity gives kids a hands-on and concrete way to understand how planets orbit the sun in a large circle.

Crafts and outdoor activities for kids and their family

A Resource Guide to Exploring Eclipses in General and the August 21, 2017 Total Eclipse of the Sun

WGBH produced this folder of materials for teachers considering the Solar Eclipse of Aug 21, 2017 for their students and instruction.

Here you'll find some of the best eclipse-related educational materials, as judged by members of the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force. To avoid overwhelming you with too much information, we've intentionally weighted our listings toward resources that are relatively new, up to date, and/or especially relevant to the August 21, 2017, solar eclipse across America. We've also considered quality, of course; if an educational resource is listed here, we think it's of high quality. If it's not listed here, that doesn't mean it's not of high quality — it just means we can't list everything. If you have, or know of, a resource that you think belongs here, please contact us; we can't guarantee that we'll add the item to our website, but we will consider it.

Even for the luckiest observers, the total solar eclipse on August 21 will last just under three minutes. Here are some things you might want to do that might increase your enjoyment of this rare and beautiful event!

Total Solar Eclipse 2017 - On Monday, August 21, 2017, all of North America will be treated to an eclipse of the sun. Anyone within the path of totality can see one of nature’s most awe inspiring sights - a total solar eclipse. This path, where the moon will completely cover the sun and the sun's tenuous atmosphere - the corona - can be seen, will stretch from Salem, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. Observers outside this path will still see a partial solar eclipse where the moon covers part of the sun's disk. NASA created this website to provide a guide to this amazing event. Here you will find activities, events, broadcasts, and resources from NASA and our partners across the nation.