Understanding the phases of the Moon - with lollipops, a tennis ball and a bright light

An idea for the holidays - 'Lollipop moon; modelling the phases of the moon with a ball, lollipops and a bright light'.

This model demonstrates what the phases of the moon look like when viewed from outside the Earth.Other activities in the series include:

Jaffa moon

Polystyrene moon 

More activities related to the Moon can be found in the Earthlearningidea Earth in Space category. 

Harnessing the power of tides

The new ELI today is part of our 'net zero emissions' series, 'Tidal energy; can the tides be harnessed to produce green energy?'

 

 

This activity involves a discussion of the reasons for and against tidal power, using three case studies of operational tidal power stations. Government ‘net-zero’ targets will affect many areas across the world. This Earthlearningidea explores what the impacts might be in a coastal area, while extra background information is provided in other ELIs in the series.

More activities related to climate change and 'net zero' emissions can be found on our website.

Sea level and melting sea ice

Continuing the theme of sea level change - 'Melting ice and sea level change 1 – sea ice; does sea level change when floating sea ice melts?'

This simple activity allows pupils to investigate the impact on water levels of allowing floating ice to melt.

Other activities related to sea level and climate change can be found on our  website.

Sea level change

 Today's new ELI is 'Sea level in a plastic cup; eight ways to change the water level in a plastic cup – and global sea level'

This activity uses classroom discussions about how the water level in a plastic cup can be changed to teach the processes of changing sea level on Earth.

Other activities related to sea level change and to climate change in general can be found on our website.

Volcanic eruptions with party poppers

Fun at the end of term - - 'Party time for volcanoes! How much force does it take to set off a party popper “volcano”?'

Measuring the force required to burst a party popper and relating the variable results obtained to the prediction of earthquakes, landslides and volcanic eruptions

This activity provides a quantifiable way of measuring a gradually increasing stress, akin to the build up of pressure beneath a volcano, or the increases in stress as rock masses begin to move relative to each other.

Many related activities can be found in the Natural Hazards category on the website.

Harnessing the power of the Sun

The third in our 'net zero' Earthlearningidea series is 'Harnessing the power of the Sun; could solar farms be used in your area?'

Government ‘net-zero’ targets will affect many areas across the world. This Earthlearningidea explores what the impacts of building solar farms might be in your local area. 

Other mitigation and adaptation measures are discussed in other Earthlearningideas which can be accessed here.

Earth's spin and Earth's orbit

'A screaming roller coaster; how fast am I travelling (due to Earth’s spin and Earth’s orbit)?'

 

This activity gives a good introduction to the speed of the spinning and orbiting Earth. Other activities related to day and night and the seasons can be found on our website in the Earth in Space category.