Is Anyone Out There?
TIME REQUIRED: 60 minutes
MATERIALS REQUIRED: Blindfold, construction paper, thumbtacks, crayons, cookies, punch, tape recorder, blank
cassette, and Map of Universe.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Children will learn the location of the Earth and the
sun in our solar system through several short fun
games. These games also help to develop creativity.
INTRODUCTION: Have you and your friends ever wondered if there's life on other planets? Since our Sun is really a star, do you suppose any of the stars you see at night might have their
own planets orbiting around them? If they did, do you think
they might have living beings on them? Let your imagination run wild with fun ideas about
what they might be like!
STEP 1: Plan a cosmic costume party for you and your friends! Pretend your guests are coming from different planets all over the galaxy. Make
up invitations that give directions to your home planet. Describe the earth, and how to get there if they were coming from all over the universe!
STEP 2: Make a game to play at your party by drawing a sun on a piece of
stiff paper and cutting it out. You can use the Sun on your map of the
universe. Put a thumbtack through it. Use another piece of paper or cloth and draw our solar system, leaving out
the sun. When your guest arrive, you can play "Pin the sun in the solar system!" To play, have each person try one at a time to pin the sun in
its correct place in your solar system. It's not as easy as it sounds, because before they try, you blindfold them! If it's still too easy, make
it more challenging by spinning them around after you blindfold them. The one who gets closest to the right spot wins!
STEP 3: Make some special cosmic treats for your alien friends to eat! Perhaps some interstellar cookies, and spaceship-punch!
STEP 4: Humans have spent probes out into the universe with messages for any
intelligent life forms to discover. The messages are in picture form and tell all about earth and earthlings. You and your fiends can
make picture messages of your own describing your home planet. If your guests are from another planet, have them tell about what people are
like there!
STEP 5: Together, you can all make a recording of the sights and sounds of earth. Include songs, greetings, spoken messages, animals sounds ...everything you can think of that would help an alien understand life on
earth and feel welcome visiting our planet!
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