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LEADER INSTRUCTIONS
Making and Using
A Family Starfinder
by Dennis Schatz
(Pacific Science Center)
An Activity for the Whole Family from Project ASTRO™
© Copyright 2001, Project ASTRO, Astronomical Society of the Pacific,
390 Ashton Ave., San Francisco, CA 94112 ■ www.astrosociety.org/education.html
Starfinder Holder
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■ Type of Activity: Group
■ Time to Do: 30 minutes
8 PM
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■ Set up Time: 10 minutes
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What’s This About?
Family members build a Starfinder, learn the basic technique for finding constellations in the night sky, practice
using the Starfinder indoors, and get prepared to do the Celestial Treasure Hunt (a booklet in their family kits).
Materials Included
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Large format Starfinder template on cardstock (4 pieces) — one set for each family in their family kit
Smaller format Starfinder template masters (4 pieces)
Cards with cardinal directions on them (from leader kit)
Magnetic Compass (from leader kit)
Materials You’ll Need to Get
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Scissors (one pair per person)
Stapler (one per family or table)
A box of extra staples
Masking tape to tape items to wall (painter’s tape is gentler on painted surfaces)
Poster or flip chart paper
Markers
Special Note
If you want each family member to have a Starfinder of his or her own or if you have more families than kits, 8 1/2 x 11
size Starfinder masters (4 pages) have been provided that you can either copy onto card stock, or onto plain paper and
then have families glue them onto manila file folders. Instructions for building these smaller Starfinders are almost
identical to the larger format.
Setting up the Activity
1. Place scissors and staplers on tables where families will build the Starfinders.
2. Have Starfinder templates ready to distribute, but do not distribute until the group is ready to work on them.
3. Have cards with cardinal directions ready to use as needed.
4. See instructions at end of this section for how to make constellations on poster paper for use with this activity.
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Suggestions for
Introducing the Activity
Ask family members which constellations they can find in the
night sky. Encourage all comments, asking them to elaborate as
necessary about how they know they have located the constellation in the night sky. Encourage statements about what the pattern of stars look like and what direction one has to look in the
night sky.
If you can, steer the discussion to the idea that the pattern of the
stars is not the same hour by hour (since the Earth turns) and
month by month (since we go around Sun). A star dial (or
Starfinder) can help show the sky at any time of year. Now tell
them that the main activity for today is to build such a
Starfinder — one that gives the constellations you can see in the
night sky for any date and time. They will also gain practice at
using the Starfinder and will be ready to do Treasure Hunt as a
family.
Doing the Activity
Start by asking the audience to help you identify the cardinal directions. Ask for suggestions of how to determine which direction is North, West, East, and South. You may want to remind the audience that the Sun sets
roughly in the West and rises roughly in the East. Or get one of the participating kids to use the compass from
your leader’s kit in the family event room. Once you have determined the directions, tape cards or sheets of
paper with cardinal directions to the walls of the room.
Before distributing materials for families to build their own Starfinder, build one while talking them through
the instructions, so that they can see exactly what they need to do.
Then have family members follow the instructions on the Starfinder template to construct the Starfinder.
While they are being built, move around the room to ensure they are assembled properly.
Use the simple star field to begin with, and be sure everyone has it facing the right direction.
After all the Starfinders are assembled, use the following steps to give family members practice using the
Starfinder before going outside:
■ Have them align the current date on the wheel with the time on the holder for when they will go
out to observe (don’t forget to have them correct for Daylight Savings Time, if needed, by subtracting one hour from the time on their watches).
■ Have them hold the Starfinder over their heads so that the “North” designation on the Starfinder
points North in the room. Point out that the stars showing in the oval opening are those that can be
seen overhead at the time and date set on the Starfinder. The edge of the oval represents the horizon.
The center of the oval is the point directly overhead when they look up in the night sky. This point is
called the zenith. Stars near the center of the oval will be high overhead when they observe.
■ Have them identify a constellation that is near the horizon and one that will be high overhead
when they go outside at the time set on the Starfinder.
■ Have them find Ursa Major (Big Dipper) on the Starfinder and then determine the following three
things:
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1) What direction along the horizon is the constellation above (e.g.
east, southwest, north-northeast, etc.)?
2) How far above the horizon it is? (e.g. one half, one third, etc.)
3) How many stars in Ursa Major are visible on the Starfinder and
what is its shape?
Use this information to have them point at the direction they
should look to see the constellation when they go outside. If possible, tape the poster paper showing Ursa Major to the wall in the
proper location for where you would see it from the center of the
room if you were outside at night. See instructions at the end of this
section for how to make constellations on poster paper for use with
this activity. Be sure to point out that the constellation patterns look
bigger in the night sky than on our little Starfinder.
■ Repeat this process for the key constellation(s) for the current
season from the Celestial Treasure Hunt activity, so that they will
have a mental idea of where to look when they go outside to do the
Celestial Treasure Hunt. If Ursa Major is the key constellation, then
use the Cassiopeia outline to have families find a second constellation.
■ If time permits have them locate on their Starfinders the other
constellations featured in the Treasure Hunt for the current season and determine what direction they
will need to look when they go out at night. You may want to make poster paper patterns for these
constellations ahead of time to place on the wall.
■ Point out that the simple star field shows the bright stars visible in the major constellations. These
stars are easily found, especially when viewing from a city where the many lights make it difficult to
see faint stars. Once they are experienced at finding the bright stars on this side of the star wheel, they
can insert the complex star wheel and attempt to find the fainter stars and constellations. Note that
some of these will not be visible until observed from a location well away from city lights.
■ You may also want to note that once they become familiar with some of the brighter constellations,
they can use them as guides to find their way across the sky. For example, they can use the two outer
stars of the Big Dipper’s cup to help find the North Star. The “A Celestial Treasure Hunt” booklet has
additional suggestions for using one constellation to find others.
Now they are ready for constellation finding in the night sky and ready to embark on the Celestial Treasure
Hunt. Remind them to have a flashlight with appropriate red covering and warm enough clothing before going
outside to use the Starfinder. This would be a good time to review the observing tips found in the front of
their “A Celestial Treasure Hunt” booklets.
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Making Poster Paper Constellations:
It helps to put poster paper with the constellation outline on it up on the wall or ceiling to show what
direction a person standing in the middle of the room must look at the time and date indicated on the
Starfinder. Use the following patterns and markers to transfer each of the key constellations to poster
paper sheets for use in this activity.
Pegasus
The Big Dipper
in the constellation
URSA MAJOR
(The Great Bear)
Cassiopeia
Orion
Leo
(The Lion)
Gemini
(The Twins)
Cygnus
(The Swan)
Taurus
(The Bull)
Canis Major
(The Great Dog)
Aquila
(The Eagle)
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Starfinder Holder
Starfinder Holder
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Star Wheel
Simple Star Field
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Star Wheel
Complex Star Field
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Starfinder Holder Backing
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