Have you ever wondered how vast and diverse the universe is – even if we stay in the metaphorical cradle of our own solar system? We'll look at the origin of the Sun and its planets, distances between them, differences between the rocky and gaseous worlds, the whole zoo of small bodies like comets and asteroids, and what they can tell us about the evolution of our system that we still don't know.
Depending on the time scale (1 vs. 2 class periods), the lecture can be accompanied by art activities (planet making – can be used to decorate the classroom). It is also ideal to have a space in the classroom so that the pupils can practically mimic the relative distances between the solar system bodies and their movement (if you do not have a space, it is fine, but we will have to skip this interactive element).
The lecture is particularly suitable for primary and lower secondary schools.
The lecture will be given by Julie Nekola Nováková (evolutionary biology at the Faculty of Science, Charles University, science outreach at the Institute of Physics of the CAS).
