Navigating the Night Sky:
Planetarium show for Middle School Children
Pre-Show Activity 1
Constellations

• Students will recognize patterns of constellations.
• Students will graph the constellations on graph paper.
• Students will draw their own version of the constellations using star patterns.

• Christmas lights or fluorescent markers or paint
• Chalk or string
• Drawing paper and materials

1. Using Christmas lights, fluorescent markers or paint, mark the stars of Ursa Major on a bulletin board. Use string or chalk to draw the lines to connect the stars to form the constellation figure as you tell the story of the constellation (classical and Native American versions are available through your librarian). Repeat this procedure for Ursa Minor, Draco, Cepheus, and Cassiopeia.
2. se the following web site to familiarize you and your students to the features, star brightness, and location in the sky of the North Polar Constellations: "http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellationjavalist.html".
3. After familiarizing students with the North Polar Constellations, use graph paper and coordinates to make the star patterns of each constellation.
   • Ursa Major: (M,37); (Q,34); (R,34); (U,33); (W,35); (Z,32); (X,30).
   • Ursa Minor: (R,17); (O,18); (N,20); (M,22); (K,22); (L,25); (N,25).
   • Draco: (B,33); (C,30); (E,32); (D,34); (B,24); (C,22); (F,24); (G,22); (G,28); (G,30); (I,31); (N,30); (R,27); (U,27).
   • Cepheus: (G,6); (E,10); (I,12); (J,8); (O,11).
   • Cassiopeia: (L,1); (K,4); (O,4); (S,5); (R,2).
4. Have students transfer the star patterns onto white drawing paper and draw their own versions of the North Polar Constellations.
5. Dot size can represent light intensity on the drawing paper.