Lesson Plans
We have developed the following lesson plans for the high school classroom:
- Science in the Media
- Grades 9-12
This curriculum module addresses the question: How does the world find out about new scientific discoveries? Students learn about black holes and active galaxies, explore language used for different audiences, and ultimately become reporters to share a new astronomy discovery.
- Heat Transfer in a Mixture
- Grades 9-12
This lab investigates heat flow when mixing liquids of different temperatures, offering students the opportunity to think about how the XRS gets down to 0.06 K.
- Another Way to Solve a Chilling Problem
- Grades 9-12
This lab illustrates creative methods for cooling by presenting a technique for creating supercooled water. This may be done as a demonstration, but can be easily integrated into a chemistry or physics class as a lab exercise.
- Grazing Incidence Angle
- Grades 9-12
This activity illustrates the law of reflection with a twist! It shows how grazing incidence is necessary for x-rays to reflect off a mirror in order to be focused.
- X-ray Spectroscopy and Supernova Remnants
- Grades 9-12
The objective of this series of lessons is to have high school students read and write about the chemistry and spectroscopy of stars and supernova remnants, as well as understand their relevance and impact on human life. The students will also learn about cutting edge technology that will help us to build better instruments with which to study the Universe. This lesson features simulated XRS data.

Teacher's Corner