Last year, three science teachers—Maya Falck, Scott Godsen and Rebeca Waysek—worked with their Grade 8 Earth Science students on the redesign of their lesson about astrobiology and exoplanets. The lab focuses on the transit method of discovering exoplanets and what patterns scientists should look for in determining the size, speed of orbit, and distance an exoplanet is from its star. Their new lab experiment is featured in the Vernier website.

 

According to the article published by Vernier, they “were inspired by an activity developed through NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope site that demonstrates the technique of using planetary transits to identify new exoplanets.” For the experiment, a Light Sensor, which represents the Kepler spacecraft, is positioned facing a light source, which represents a star. Relative variations in light intensity and duration are measured as students move various-sized foam balls between the Light Sensor and the light source. Students then identify patterns in transit data to predict characteristics of an exoplanet.

 

“We introduced this experiment to last year's Grade 8 Earth Science class, and their ideas and feedback were incorporated into the final design of the experiment we submitted,” Head of Science Department Scott Godsen said. “What’s cool is that student ideas, and really notable improvements, were part of the process of creating it.”

 

Details of the published article and the experiment can be found on the Vernier website. Founded in 1981, Vernier pioneers award-winning interfaces, sensors, software, and curriculum to transform how educators teach science and how students collect, analyze, and interpret scientific data.