A set of 8 activities for Grades 7-12 developed for the Cosmic Questions exhibit. The activities can be used as stand-alone without seeing the exhibit.

1. Cosmic Survey - How Big, How Far, How Old? sorting images
2. Modeling the Universe - Building a model of the universe
3. Exploring the Spectrum - Introduce students to the visible spectrum and demonstrate what happens when certain wavelengths are blocked by filters
4. Multi-Wavelength Exploration of the Universe - Introduce images taken with telescopes sensitive to different wavelengths and demonstrate that light of different wavelengths comes from different physical features
5. Modeling the Expanding Universe -
a. Elastic band model - one-dimensional model
b. Galaxy Fields - two-dimensional model
c. Measuring the relative motion of galaxies
6. Evidence for the Expanding Universe - using emission spectra as source of information and using galactic spectra to determine galactic speed
7. Is There Life On Other Worlds? The Drake Equation - estimate the number of worlds in the Milky Way that have life; think about size and composition of the galaxy and how it affects the possibility of life; understand and estimate the terms of the Drake Equation
8. Is There Life Out There? Community Survey - to survey other people to find out their thoughts about life beyond Earth and compare their ideas with visitors to the exhibit