hands-on experimentation and observation.
• It is principally a modern descendant of the Celestial Globes and Armillary Spheres used for hundreds of years in Europe and Asia as a teaching device.
• The activities are sequenced to help students build up an understanding of how daily and seasonal changes occur in the sky.
• With a tiny Earth globe in the center, a transparent shell for the Sun and other stars, plus a flat ring for the local horizon, the ESS models what we see in the sky by day and night.
• Its key feature is the way you – the observer – imagine yourself in the middle of the celestial sphere,and model accurately what happens in the real sky.
• The ESS adjusts to your location at any latitude.
• Activities using the ESS introduce essential concepts gradually, each building on the one before.
• The ESS can be used during the day to provide easy explanations of things in the night sky.
• A teacher may re-sequence the activities to suit their students abilities.
• It can be used for the simplest demonstrations at elementary school or for complex mathematical modeling at college level
model with your ESS:
• Sunrise and sunset positions.
• Using the Sun to track time.
• Longest and shortest days.
• Identifying solar noon and true north/south.
• Time and daylight differences around the world.
• Earth’s orbit and the reason for the seasons.
• The ecliptic (path of the Sun during the year).
• Star trails in the night sky.
• The Zodiac calendar.
• Mapping the stars.
ESS and your Science Curriculum.
The Pipehenge program is a unique way of learning Earth and Space Science because it:
• Develops skills and interconnections in Mathematics,Science,Technology and Social Studies.
• Meets relevant core curriculum requirements for each year or grade level.
The Pipehenge program can be used to help achieve objectives in Project 2061 and National Science Education Standards.
