Ticket to the Universe
Give students a new perspective on the scale of the Universe, and our place in it.
This presenter-led Planetarium show takes students on a journey from Earth, viewing cosmic microwave background radiation, visiting the solar system, the Milky Way galaxy, and surveying distant galaxies along the way.
This curriculum aligned show is based on real data sets, and the result is a journey through the most complete and accurate 3D atlas of the universe ever made.
Students will experience
- A tour of the night sky, calibrated to Melbourne at that time of year.
- Flying off from Earth to look at the layers of satellites surrounding Earth, including the GPS system.
- Venturing to the edge of our solar system to see the planets and dwarf planets.
- Zooming out further to see the structure of the Milky Way galaxy
- A look at our neighbouring galaxies, and the honeycomb structuring of the most distant galaxies we have detected.
- The most distant remnants of the big bang.
Students will learn
- That Earth is surrounded by hundreds of satellites that help us in our daily lives, such as the GPS satellites.
- That the Earth is part of a solar system containing planets, asteroids, dwarf planets and the Oort cloud.
- That the Milky Way galaxy is a spiral galaxy.
- How everything we observe and measure is from the perspective of Earth.
- About some of the surveys of distant galaxies that have allowed us to understand the structure of the Universe.
- That the cosmic microwave background radiation shows warmer and cooler areas, an echo of the big bang.
Related links
- Student activities 1-10 (PDF 732KB))| 732.19 KB .pdf file
- Student activities 11-20 (PDF 624KB)| 624.24 KB .pdf file
Availability
Terms 2 & 4, Monday to Friday
Duration: 45 minutes
Student information
Years 9 to 10
Minimum 15 students
Maximum 150 students
Bookings
Planetarium
Presented by a museum educator
Victorian Curriculum Links
Science: Levels 9 and 10
Earth and space sciences
- space exploration seeks to expand knowledge of the origins and structure of the universe and to resolve the challenges of humans travelling and living away from Earth’s surface (VC2S10U12)
- the universe contains features including galaxies, stars, solar systems and black holes; the big bang theory models the origin and evolution of the universe and is supported by evidence (VC2S10U13)
Nature and development of science
- advances in technologies have enabled advances in science, while science has contributed to developments in technologies and engineering (VC2S10H02)
VCE Physics
Unit 2: How does physics help us to understand the world?
- Area of Study 2: How does physics inform contemporary issues and applications in society?
Accessibility
Please view our accessibility page for general information. Contact our team on 13 11 02 or email us at [email protected] to discuss how we can support your visit.
Museums Victoria Learning Access Fund
The Museums Victoria Learning Access Fund aims to enhance access to our museums (Melbourne Museum, Scienceworks and Immigration Museum), programs and events by offering free or subsidised education programs for eligible schools. Find out more about the fund.
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