Cosmic Evolution Materials

This list comprises materials needed for the entire module. Please note that specific materials lists are provided at the activity and lesson levels. Click here for information on where to obtain supplies that are hard to find or items that need to be special ordered. (This will open a PDF document in a new window.)

For Each Student


• Calculator
  
• Graph paper
  
• Diffraction grating
• Ruler
  

For Each Student Team

• Angle-measuring device
  
• Calculator
  
• Centimeter ruler
  
• One transparency pen
  
• Tape
  

For Teacher

• Overhead projector and pens
• Slide projector and screen
  
• Holographic diffraction grating
  
• Colored filters: red, green, and blue, each one a square of at least 15 cm (6 inches) on a side
  
• Red, yellow, and blue yarn for wavelength demonstration
  
• Three alcohol thermometers
  
• Black paint or permanent black marker
• Prism
  
• Scissors or a prism stand
  
• Cardboard box (photocopier paper box works well)
  
• Blank sheet of white paper
  
• Small candle
  
• Matches
  
• One-liter soda bottle or jar with a small opening
  
• Funnel, much wider across than the opening to the soda bottle or jar
  
• Watering can
  
• Hair dryer
  
• Binoculars or cardboard tube
  
• Dry ice
  
• Tongs
  
• Plastic container
  
• 5-10 gallon Aquarium, partially filled with water
  
• Small carton of milk
  
• Flashlight
  
• Index cards
  
• Ball 20 cm (8 inches) in diameter (for example, a children's soccer ball)
  
• Two peppercorns
  
• Three pinheads
  
• Chestnut, pecan or gooseberry
  
• Filbert (hazelnut) or acorn
  
• Two peanuts or coffee beans
  
• 100-meter tape
  
• Calculator
• Tape measure (5 m long for inside, 100 m if done outside)
  
• Material for marking baselines (chalk, masking tape, or string)
  
• Star facsimiles
• Tape
  
• Sound generator
  
• Slinky or large spring
  
• Meter stick
  
• Scissors
  
• String
  
• Adding machine tape
  
• Tennis ball and lead ball of about equal size (or two balls of about equal size but with very different masses, e.g., Nerf ball and softball of equal size)
• Rubber band
• Duct tape
  
• Emission tubes containing gases including neon, helium, and hydrogen, along with holders for the tubes
  
• Power supply for emission tubes
  
• Colored chalk (red, yellow, green, blue, purple)
  
• High-wattage, clear incandescent light bulb (with filament visible) and socket
  
• Variable transformer or rheostat hooked up to a light bulb socket to control the temperature of the filament
  
• Tennis ball
  
• Basketball
  
• Compressible ball (such as a Nerf ball)
  
• Broomstick
  
• Clay models representing stars and planets of different sizes (see preparation)
  
• Spinning stool
  
• Plumb bob or string with weight
  
• Object(s) weighing about 5 pounds (for example, two 3-pound weights or one 5-pound weight)
  
• Pushpins or tape to attach posters to classroom walls