Earth, Moon & Sun Incursion (Levels 3/4)

In this exciting 90-minute incursion, students explore the relationships between the Earth, Moon and Sun; including relative sizes and their orbits. Students model the positions of Earth, Moon and Sun during solar and lunar eclipses to understand how they occur. Through a variety of hands-on activities, students gain an understanding of gravity, day and night and Earth’s seasons. Our passionate science educators carefully guide students through each step, prompting students to predict, observe and reflect on each activity.

• Students explore relationships between the Earth, Moon, and Sun.
• Students use models to investigate changes caused by the movement of the Earth and Moon including seasons and eclipses.

• Discussing prior knowledge of Earth, Moon and Sun.
• Exploring the physical pressure of air on Earth.
• Investigate the forces that hold the Earth and Moon in their orbits;
• Exploring how the Earth’s rotation creates day and night.
• Exploring the changes in shadows as the Earth rotates.
• Investigating the phases of the Moon and understanding why we only ever see one side of the Moon from Earth.
• Investigating the changes that create Earth’s seasons.
• Modelling the reflection of light from the Moon.
• Modelling the positions of Earth, Moon and Sun during solar and lunar eclipses.

• Earth’s rotation on its axis causes regular changes, including night and day (VCSSU061).
• Earth’s surface changes over time as a result of natural processes and human activity (VCSSU062)
• Compare results with predictions, suggesting possible reasons for findings (VCSIS070).
• Reflect on an investigation, including whether a test was fair or not (VCSIS071).
• Represent and communicate observations, ideas and findings to show patterns and relationships using formal and informal scientific language (VCSIS072).