Raising the profile of physics is particularly important in girls' schools. Here we describe a range of astronomical activities and observations that we have used, which we hope will inspire teachers at other schools to do likewise.

Early in 2010, a group of year 11 students (age 15-16) studying GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) Astronomy at The Radclyffe School, Oldham, in the UK, teamed up with a similar age group from Tianyi High School, Wuxi City, in China, to undertake a joint astronomy investigation. This article outlines the outcome of the first stage…

To acknowledge both conceptual and situational factors, children's understanding of the Earth was considered from three angles: 1. the perspective as the physical point or direction from which something is seen or depicted; 2. conceptual frameworks; 3. the relevance of explanations in a situation. Fourteen children were interviewed individually in…

Trigonometric parallax is a powerful method to work out the distance of celestial bodies, and it was used in the past to measure the distance of the Moon, Venus, Mars and nearby stars. We set up an observation campaign for high school and undergraduate students with the purpose to measure both the Moon's and Mars' parallax. To have a large enough…

Provided are reviews of science films, slides, audio cassettes, and wall charts. Each review includes title, source, country of origin, description of subject matter presented, appraisal, and target audience. Among the topics considered are smell/taste, grasshopper behavior, photography, bat behavior/flight, pond life, exploring planets, locusts,…

This science curriculum is an activity-oriented program in which an attempt has been made to provide sufficient information for non-science specialists to enable them to offer an effective course at the grades 10 and 11 levels. This curriculum offers a solution to the unique needs of life in the Canadian Northwest Territories. The role of…