THIS IS A ONE-SEMESTER COURSE.

Our solar system is made up of our sun, eight planets, more than 200 moons, and countless smaller bodies, such as dwarf planets, asteroids, and comets. Through hundreds of robotic spacecraft missions, we have learned so much about all of them.

In this course, students will study the sun’s behavior and gravitational pull. They’ll learn about each planet in depth, including Venus, with its 900-degree, carbon dioxide-filled, toxic atmosphere; our neighbor Mars, where two current NASA rovers are exploring the surface and delivering stunning images; and the glorious rings of Saturn. They will learn about comets, asteroids, and some of the planets’ moons, including lunar eclipses and the hundreds of volcanoes on Jupiter’s Io. This will be an endlessly fascinating journey of discovering space!

Class Meetings: Thursdays, 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Dates: September 3 – December 10, 2026

Student Expectations: Students will participate in hands-on activities, pursue opportunities for research, collaborate with other students, and engage in class discussions. The amount of time spent on each topic will be determined by the students’ interests and prior knowledge.

Student Support: The instructor is available via email.

Feedback/Assessment: The instructor will provide a letter grade or written or verbal commentary on the homework and all completed classwork.

Materials/Supplies: Students will need a variety of materials in order to complete the hands-on projects, including:

– Pencils, pens, colored pencils, markers, or crayons
– Lined paper, copy paper, and construction paper
– Scissors, tape, glue
– A few straight pins
– At least six marbles
– A ball of white string
– At least one yard or one meter of register paper (or strips of copy paper 3″ or 7 cm taped end to end to make a one yard- or one meter-length strip)
– Four canisters of the same color of Play-Doh or something equivalent
– A ruler
– A yardstick or meter stick or tape measure

More items may be added during the course, but they will be easy to obtain.