Support MPTTell a friend about this page

October 2002: The Cosmos Check out these interdisciplinary activity ideas, TV programs and online resources for your classroom. Return in November for our theme, "Citizenship"!		Additional Thematic Resources This Month's Theme Medicine & Health Care February, 2003 Oceans December, 2002 Citizenship November, 2002 The Cosmos October, 2002 Civil Disobedience September, 2002 Using Archival and Multimedia Resources (August, 2002) Children's Health (July, 2002) Current Events (June, 2002) Memorial Day (May, 2002) The Western Frontier (April, 2002) World Religions (March, 2002) Poetry (February, 2002) Everyday Economics (January, 2002) Music, Dance and Theater (December, 2001) Native American Heritage (November, 2001) Hispanic Heritage (October 2001) PBS Archive
Search more than 3,000 free lessons and activities on PBS TeacherSource! Type in a keyword or words, then click go.

Teaching Ideas <Return to Menu>

1. Controversy in Science: Is There Life Elsewhere In the Universe?
Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12
Subjects: Language Arts, Science

Galileo's defense of the Copernican model of the universe, one in which Earth is not the center, caused great controversy during his lifetime. More recently, scientists began studying and classifying fossils from around the world; this empirical evidence led to the construction of a fossil record of Earth's history and to the theory of the evolution of man. Both ideas caused a great deal of controversy in the 20th Century.

What types of scientific ideas might cause a controversy in today? Does the belief by some scientists that we are not alone in the universe cause people concern? In this activity students research current scientific endeavors to determine the existence of intelligent life beyond Earth and brainstorm effects that such a discovery might have on society.

Students begin by viewing "NOVA: Galileo's Battle for the Heavens" (see below), which dramatizes the first great clash between science and religious authority. A more recent debate between science and religion can be found in the 1925 Scopes "Monkey Trial," a courtroom battle dramatized in the 1955 Broadway play, "Inherit the Wind."

After looking at historical examples, students explore current scientific efforts to determine if intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe. Students research Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) programs and the techniques involved in looking for life beyond Earth.

Have students brainstorm possible conflicts that might arise in society because of SETI. Then, have students break into groups according to which side of an issue they would like to defend. Possible questions to brainstorm and defend include:

• Should society spend money and resources looking for life beyond Earth?
• Would contacting an extraterrestrial civilization be helpful or harmful for Earth?
• If an extraterrestrial signal were detected, should we try to establish a dialogue?
• What effect would the discovery of life beyond Earth have on world religions?
• Would finding out that we are truly alone in the universe change world politics?

Students might defend their viewpoint with a brief presentation to the class, by debating students with an alternative viewpoint, or by constructing a poster summarizing their position.

Online Resources

SETI@home
http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/

2. Sports in the Cosmos
Grade Level: 6-8
Subjects: Language Arts, Science

The planets and moons of our solar system each have varying degrees of gravity compared that of Earth. Have students imagine that they are sports talent scouts traveling through the cosmos. Upon discovering that gravity affects people differently elsewhere in the cosmos, they realize that there is great potential for new types of sports.

Have students research what effects various degrees of gravity would have on the human body and the objects used in many popular sports. Then, students should invent a new sport to play on another planet. Be sure they tell the degree of gravity on their chosen planet or moon, explain how it will affect humans if they play this new sport there, and give all the rules and details on how to play the new sport.

Online Resources

NASA: The Body in Space
http://spaceresearch.nasa.gov/fun_learning/robot.html

Gravity Games
http://www.gravitygames.com/

NASA Explores
http://nasaexplores.com/cgi-bin/index.pl

PBS Online Resources: Sites to See <Return to Menu>

Faith and Reason
pbs.org/faithandreason/

Life Beyond Earth
pbs.org/lifebeyondearth/index.html

Mysteries of Deep Space
pbs.org/deepspace/index.html

NOVA: Death Star
pbs.org/wgbh/nova/gamma/

NOVA: Doomsday Asteroid
pbs.org/wgbh/nova/spacewatch/

NOVA: Einstein Revealed
pbs.org/wgbh/nova/einstein/

NOVA: Fall of the Leaning Tower
pbs.org/wgbh/nova/pisa/

NOVA: Galileo
pbs.org/wgbh/nova/galileo/

NOVA: Hunt for Alien Worlds
pbs.org/wgbh/nova/worlds/

NOVA: Runaway Universe
pbs.org/wgbh/nova/universe/

Online NewsHour: Measuring the Universe (8.19.1999)
pbs.org/newshour/gergen/july-dec99/ferguson_8-19.html

Space Station
pbs.org/spacestation/station.htm

Stephen Hawking's Universe
pbs.org/wnet/hawking/html/home.html

Voyage to the Milky Way
pbs.org/milkyway/

PBS Programs <Return to Menu>

Don't miss these programs airing in October! Check your local listings for the most accurate air date and time.

NOVA: "Galileo's Battle for the Heavens"
Web Site: pbs.org/wgbh/nova/galileo/

NOVA celebrates the story of the father of modern science, and his struggle to get Church authorities to accept the truth of his astonishing discoveries, in "Galileo's Battle for the Heavens," a two-hour special airing on PBS Tuesday, October 29, 2002, 8:00 p.m. ET (check local listings). The program is based on Dava Sobel's bestselling book, Galileo's Daughter, which showed a new side of the famously stubborn scientist — that his closest confidante was his illegitimate daughter, Sister Maria Celeste, a cloistered nun.