Homeschoolers Guide to the Galaxy - lesson plans on the galaxy

Got kids who are curious about space and the galaxy? DON'T PANIC! I've gathered educational debris from the corners of space and time and squeezed it together here for you in the form of lesson plan links. I can also recommend several books with great information, including the Usborne First Encylopedia of Space which gives you access to over 40 great pre-selected websites. One of the links takes you to a kid site at the European Space Agency.

I think the Earth, space, the planets and all that stuff are amazing, but I've put off sharing on this because it's not an area of expertise for me. If you're an astronomer, or something similar, professional or amateur, and have some input I'd love to hear from you. I've focused on picking out legitimate sources.

• For elementary level or beginning astronomy try the kids site at Astronomy magazine where you can learn about the solar system, constellations, navigation using the stars, and the craters of the moon.
• The makers of Starlab portable planetarium systems have a free newsletter you can sign up for. You don't need to own a Starlab to learn from their newsletters.
• Astronomy is a pretty complex field with lots of jargon to learn. Read about Charles Messier, a leading early French astronomer who compiled a list of 100 astronomical objects. His Messier Catalog became well known as a collection of the most beautiful objects in the sky including nebulae, star clusters, and galaxies. Your little, or big, astronomer can read about spiral, lenticular and elliptical galaxies and see photos here.
• I'd recommend visiting your local planetarium (read the next sentence). Meet some enthusiastic experts or amateurs if you can. Sky and Telescope has a pretty nice site with pages on this week's sky, a place to search for local observatories and clubs, stargazing basics and projects which include building a sundial.
• Discovery School has a selection of teacher resources related to the galaxy for grades 6-12.
• Kids excited about space and want a longer study? I recommend you take a look at the Usborne Ten Terrific Weeks Upper Elementary Adventures in Space program. It comes with 4 books, including the Internet Linked Book of Astronomy and Space, and a guide. See an overview here.
  

If you've a teen at home who loves science fiction can you do an exploration of the galaxy without a copy of the Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy? It's the mostly harmless classic that inspired the title of my blog. I must admit to being inordinately fond of the original BBC series in preference to the more recent movie. The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) has many pages on the web that relate - see a list. I've picked out a few favorites - a summary of the story, memories from the original radio series, and Vogon poetry. Here's a pdf study guide to the book - handy for me because Game Boy just finished reading it! Check out this inordinately irritating quiz - get one question wrong and it sends you back to start over!

I'm done wandering the galaxy for now, though I'm sure I'll be traveling again later because there are so many places to go!