Comet Mystery Boxes

This is an activity about comet composition. Learners will explore the physical characteristics of comets by reaching into a series of boxes and feeling the materials and structures within. They will describe what they observe and speculate on comet characteristics being modeled in each box, opening the discussion about the nature of these icy bodies and begin to compare them to other members of our solar system.

Keywords: Stardust-NeXT

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Source

Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL)Last modified 2010

Audience

Education Level: Elementary school, Middle school, Informal education:Elementary school programming, Informal education:Middle school programming, Informal education:General public, Informal education:Youth public, Informal education:Families

Topics

Earth and space science:Solar system:Asteroids and comets Earth and space science:Solar system:Comparative planetology Earth and space science:Solar system:Planetary science

Resource Type

Activity, Instructor guide/manual, Lesson or lesson plan

Learning Time

5 to 10 minutes