SCHOOL TOURS
K-1 What's up in the sky?
All about objects in the sky during day or night, and how the Earth and Sun create days and years.
4-5 The Artemis Moon
Why do we call the Moon an Artemis Moon? We look into what our Moon is made of (hint: not green cheese!), its motions in the sky around our Earth, and how Canadian scientists and astronauts are preparing to travel to the moon within the next year.
8 Optics and Telescopes
We’ll look at how light travels through lenses and bounces off of mirrors to learn how telescopes work.
1-2 The Banana Moon
Let's look at all the Moon phases. What shapes do you see? Why does the Moon look different over the days of a month? Some people think that the shapes of the phases remind them of yummy food. Can you think of what phase a banana would represent? or an orange? Come and find out. (We might even have "Moon" food for you!)
5-8 Exploring the Solar System
Learn about each planet in our solar system. There is something weird and interesting about each one. This presentation includes actual photographs of planets, many of which are recent as of the year 2023.
9-12 How Telescopes Work
This presentation will explore how telescopes work, the different kinds of both ground-based and space telescopes and discover the information that they can give astronomers.
School Programs
can be scheduled for Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. There is a morning slot (9:30am) and an afternoon slot (12/12:30), which can be adjusted as necessary.
Programmes will include:
A guided tour of the historic Plaskett Telescope
A presentation that you can choose from the list of topics below
A planetarium show
Exploration of our gallery
other activities
School year 2024/5 cost: $80 per class
Transportation arranged by schools
Tours are 1 1/2 to 2 hours in length
Up to 2 classes per tour
Required Staff Ratio
Grades K-2: one adult per 6 students.
Grades 3-12: one adult per 12 students
3-4 Planets in Motion
The Earth is always in motion: spinning around to make day and night, orbiting around the Sun to make our seasons. The other planets have special motions too; everything in our Solar System and even our Galaxy is always in motion. Find out more about how planets move in Space and we'll get you up and moving too!
5-8 Beyond the Planets
Learn about things in the solar system other than planets. This presentation focuses on Dwarf Planets, Moons, asteroids, and comets.
10-12 Spectroscopy
We will introduce spectroscopy; what colour can tell us about the stars.
4-5 The Awesome Force of Gravity
What is gravity and how does it affect us here on Earth? Can you jump high enough to get to the moon? Why do we have tides? Why does the Earth stay in orbit around the Sun? Find out the answers to these questions and more!
6-8 Surviving in Space
Learn about what it takes to live in space, especially the International Space Station. We'll cover air, temperature, pressure, and more.
10-12 The Big Bang Theory
Observational evidence for the BBT, and the theory behind it.
Camps
6:30pm Dome Tour (2)
6:30pm Children's Program (1)
7:00pm Children's Dome Tour (2)
7:00pm Presentation (1)
8:00pm Presentation repeated (1)
8:00pm Dome Tour (2)
9:00pm Dome Tour and Live Observing with the Plaskett Telescope (weather permitting) (2)
Virtual Learning
Take a self-guided virtual tour of the Centre of the Universe and the Plaskett telescope by clicking the link below. We made this 360 degree virtual tour using the same software used by some realtors for showing houses. Here's some of the things you'll see:
An introductory video with a narration describing the facility and what the virtual tour contains. You can skip this video on your next virtual visit.
A clickable virtual tour of the Plaskett Telescope dome. Click on the circles to jump around to different vantage points and learn about the facility. It will even take you into areas you are not normally allowed to visit in-person.
A clickable virtual tour of the Centre of the Universe visitors centre. You can move around the exhibits and even go inside the 1915 telescope model. Note that you can click on the display panels to see high resolution photos that allow you to read the content in french or english.
Teacher Resources
ExoExplorations
Our new focus on exoplanets in 2020 - ExoExplorations - ties directly into school curricula on planets. We provide teachers, parents, and students with original lessons and activities material written by astronomers and educators told from a Canadian perspective.
Fun stuff for Students and Parents
Images from some of the telescopes Canada helped build and operate
CFHT Image Gallery (Canada France Hawaii 3.6 meter telescope). Hint: check out the astronomy images of the month.
Gemini Public Outreach (Gemini 8 meter telescopes)
Check out the Image Gallery
ALMA Multimedia (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array)
