Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: Could Human Civilization Spread Across the Whole Galaxy?

For Students 9th - 10th
Could human civilization eventually spread across the whole Milky Way galaxy? Could we move beyond our small, blue planet to establish colonies in the multitude of star systems out there? These questions are pretty daunting, but their...
Website
California Institute of Technology

Cool Cosmos: Ask an Astronomer

For Students 3rd - 8th
Cool Cosmos and NASA help explore the world of galaxies! This site provides the answers to kid's most frequently asked questions.
Handout
Other

Sky Server: Galaxies

For Students 9th - 10th
SkyServer explains and presents images of spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies, irregular galaxies, galaxy clusters, galaxy collisions and the like.
Graphic
California Institute of Technology

Spitzer Space Telescope: Dissection of a Galaxy

For Students 9th - 10th
The Dissection of a Galaxy image offered here examines how a galaxy functions by taking it apart through an image. In addition, a detailed textual overview explains various specifics of the picture.
Graphic
California Institute of Technology

Spitzer Space Telescope: Our Galaxy's 'Twin'

For Students 9th - 10th
This image, titled "Morphology of Our Galaxy's 'Twin'" features three individual pictures of a nearby spiral galaxy that closely resembles our own. The text under the image details various specifics about the picture.
Graphic
California Institute of Technology

Spitzer Space Telescope: Big Galaxy in Baby Universe

For Students 9th - 10th
This image, titled "Big Galaxy in Baby Universe" features an infrared picture in four parts of a distant galaxy. The text under the image details various specifics about the picture.
Graphic
California Institute of Technology

Spitzer Space Telescope: Galaxies Gather

For Students 9th - 10th
Under the heading, "Galaxies Gather at Great Distances" this site examines (and discusses) an image featuring a group and cluster of galaxies. The text goes on to describe details specific to the image.
Graphic
California Institute of Technology

Spitzer Space Telescope: Finding Faint Galaxies

For Students 9th - 10th
The brief text that accompanies the image at this site (titled Finding Faint Galaxies) describes details of the picture which features faint images of galaxies enhanced by infrared.
Article
Mocomi & Anibrain Digital Technologies

Mocomi: What Is a Galaxy?

For Students 2nd - 8th
Explains what galaxies are and their different shapes. Includes details on the Milky Way.
Graphic
California Institute of Technology

Nasa: Great Observatories Present Rainbow of a Galaxy

For Students 9th - 10th
The Great Observatories Present Rainbow of a Galaxy image is part of a series of photographs taken from the Spitzer Space Telescope. The picture is accompanied by a brief textual overview outlining specific details in the picture.
Handout
Ducksters

Ducksters: Astronomy for Kids: Galaxies

For Students 1st - 9th
Kid's learn about the science of Galaxies. Large groups of stars such as the Milky Way throughout the universe are an interesting part of astronomy.
Website
Other

University of Leicester: Elliptical Galaxies

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides a general overview of elliptical galaxies, including a look at what defines an elliptical galaxy, what determines its shape, and it's physical nature.
Website
National Earth Science Teachers Association

Windows to the Universe the Milky Way Galaxy

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn what Milky Way galaxy is made of and what it looks like, as well as how it relates to other known galaxies. Read "Questions and answers about the Milky Way" for further information.
Website
American Museum of Natural History

American Museum of Natural History: Ology: Milky Way Galaxy

For Students 3rd - 8th
How big is a billion? Find out some interesting facts about our galaxy, the Milky Way, and its billion stars.
Lesson Plan
University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas Mc Donald Observatory: Stars and Galaxies

For Students 9th - 10th
Do galaxies collide? Apply concepts of scale to grasp the distances between stars and galaxies.
Lesson Plan
American Association of Physics Teachers

Com Padre Digital Library: Open Source Physics: Colliding Galaxies

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Examine colliding galaxies with this science simulation that demonstrates how galactic bridges are formed and how galactic cores are made up.
Graphic
NASA

Nasa: Dwarf Galaxies

For Students 9th - 10th
This space telescope image, "Dwarf Galaxies Swimming in Tidal Tails" features little galaxies forming in the midst of two colliding galaxies. In addition, a detailed textual overview explains various specifics of the picture.
Website
NASA

Nasa: Antennae Galaxies

For Students 9th - 10th
This image, titled "Fire Within the Antennae Galaxies" features three individual pictures of the antennae galaxies taken with different equipment (x-ray, infrared, etc). The text under the image details various specifics about the picture.
Graphic
NASA

Nasa: Spiral Galaxy

For Students 9th - 10th
This Spiral Galaxy image is part of a series of photographs taken from the Spitzer Space Telescope. The picture is accompanied by a textual overview of a spiral galaxy with specific attention given to the details of the picture.
Website
Space Telescope Science Institute

Hubble Site: Secret Lives of Galaxies

For Students 9th - 10th
This site is provided by HubbleSite from NASA. "Telescopes around the world are beginning to harvest new clues to the origin and evolution of the universe's largest building blocks, the galaxies." Site offers links to images, video,...
Handout
University of Cambridge

University of Cambridge: Cosmology: Galaxies

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from the Cambridge Relativity provides a brief description of the structure of the Milky Way galaxy. The parts described are the disc, bulge, and halo.
Handout
Cosmos 4 kids

Cosmos4 Kids: Galaxies

For Students 3rd - 8th
Learn the basic facts about galaxies. Brief, to the point text make this site most appropriate for younger students.
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: The Milky Way and Beyond: Globular Clusters

For Students 9th - 10th
Globular clusters, compact groups of about a million stars that move around together in galaxies, are among the oldest objects found in the universe. Since they are found most galaxies and since they've been around for so long, globular...
Website
PBS

Pbs: Nova Online: Galaxies, Clusters, and Superclusters

For Students 9th - 10th
PBS site explores these building blocks of the universe as well as their various types and clusters.

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