Solar System Shuttle "Hi, I'm Solar Sis, your pilot on the Solar System Shuttle. The Shuttle flies you to exciting destinations in the solar system." "Pick a station in the list below to start your travels. I'll get you there at light speed!" Stations Solar System Trading Cards Make A Moon Profile Moon Myth Match Moon Phases The Wacky Planets   Solar System Trading Cards Solar Sis says, "Test your knowledge of your home solar system." What You Do Go to Solar System Trading Cards. Follow the directions when you get there. Collect as many as you can! Use the Back button on your browser to come back here.   Back to Top   Make A Moon Profile Solar Sis says, "Be a moonologist!" A moon is any natural object that orbits a planet. You already know a lot about Earth's moon. Many other moons are found in our solar system. Here is your chance to get to know some other moons. What You Do First, explore the other moons in our solar system. Go to the Table of Major Moons in the Solar System. Scroll down the list. Click the names of the moons to read about them. (The names of the moons are in blue.) Pick your favorite moon. Next, use the Moon Profile to tell about your favorite moon. Print out a Moon Profile. Fill in the facts about your moon on the Moon Profile. Draw a picture of your moon. Share your Moon Profile with a friend or your class. Back to Top   Moon Myth Match Solar Sis says, "Myths are mythsterious." Ancient peoples sometimes created myths to explain a natural phenomenon. There are many myths to explain the changing phases of Earth's moon. In this activity, you match the name of an ancient culture with the myth that culture created. What You Do Print out a Moon Myth Match Sheet. Go to Myths About the Moon. Read the moon myths from the Inuit, Aztec, Mayan, Fon, Chinese, and Japanese cultures. Draw a line to connect the name of the culture to the description of its moon myth. Write in the name of each culture's moon goddess or god. Now write your own myth about Earth's moon. In your myth, try to explain why the appearance of the moon changes. Be creative. Back to Top   Moon Phases Solar Sis says, "This won't phase you!" Earth's Moon appears to change shape over time. We call these changes in shape phases. We even have names for the Moon's phases. The names of the phases are: New Moon (when you can't see the Moon at all!), Waning Crescent, First Quarter, Waning Gibbous, Full Moon, Waxing Gibbous, Last Quarter, Waning Crescent. In this activity, you create pictures of different Moon phases. See if you can identify the phases. What You Do Print out a Moon Phases Sheet. Go to Virtual Reality Moon Phase Pictures. Scroll down the page until you see some boxes. (The first one says "Century.") Find out what phase the Moon will be in on New Year's Eve, 1999. Click to select the following information: Century Year Month Day Hour Time Zone 1900's 99 Dec. 31 20 Universal Click the Show Phase button to see the Moon phase picture. Click the Back button on your browser to go back to the input screen. Click the Reset button. Now find out what phase the Moon was in on the day you were born. Click to select the information for your date of birth. (If you don't know the hour you were born, just select "20." If you don't know the time zone, just pick "Universal.") Bonus Find out what phase the Moon will be in on your 21st birthday (or another birthday if you're already past that mark). Back to Top   The Wacky Planets Solar Sis says, "Be a Hero!" Use your problem solving skills to help save the Wacky Planets from the hungry Black Hole. What You Do Go to The Wacky Planets. Read the interactive story. Save the Wacky Planets!!!!! Back to Top