Messages from Space: The Solar System and Beyond : Grades 5-8

Building on collaborative work between SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) Institute and the Lawrence Hall of Science, Messages from Space takes advantage of our fascination with extraterrestrial to catalyze study of the solar system and beyond. The activities create an exciting context for students to engage in creative learning, gaining a great deal of astronomical knowledge.

The unit begins when students attempt to decode a fictitious message from outer space. Imagining that they are SEIT scientists, students begin to analyze, where, in the solar system and beyond, there may be conditions favorable for life. They investigate how our solar system and other planetary systems may have formed, and consider how what we know about the solar system and other planetary systems fits into a bigger picture of the universe. Throughout, students consider whether life could exist "out there" and, if so, how we might communicate with those life forms. Students also gain valuable experience distinguishing science fact from sensationalized fiction.