Constellation Can Viewer for 4th grade end of the year project

1. Ask students to collect the tall Pringles cans with the metal bottom. No plastic cans.

2. Clean out any crumbs that may have been left in the cans.

3. Poke a hole in the center of the metal bottom with a nail and hammer.

4. Cover the outside of the can with a piece of fadeless art paper that is 10 ¼” x 10”. Cut and have ready the colors laying on the tables when the class comes in to begin the project.

5. Cut notebook paper into 3 ½” x 5” pieces to write their legend for the 12 constellations. See attachment for the templates of the constellations.

1. Big Dipper

2. Cygnus (The Swan)

3. Orion (The Hunter)

4. Lyra (The Lyre)

5. Aquila (The Eagle)

6. Cepheus (The King)

7. Draco (The Dragon)

8. Leo (The Lion)

9. Hercules

10. Cassiopeia (The Queen)

11. Little Dipper

12. Bootes (The Herdsman)

6. The templates are stapled at the top and bottom to a piece of black construction paper.

7. T-pins may be used to poke the holes for the stars (only the dots on the templates).

Cover the cans using one line of glue and place the paper over it. Then wrap the rest of the paper around the can and add second line of glue and hold the paper down for at least 20 seconds so that the paper sets.

Copy down the 12 constellation names on the small piece of lined paper. Add 4 drops of glue to the corners and place it over the seam that was made from the colored paper. At the next class meeting, start by punching the holes in the templates, one page at a time. Go to the floor with each page separately and punch using the carpet as their back. By doing this the paper doesn’t get torn. Once both pages are complete, model each step before they start and show them how to cut out the templates. (This saves a lot on explanations). The project takes about 2 to 3 library sessions and then they are taken home to work with over the summer.

Before students go to camp in the 5th grade, we make a constellation wheel for use while they are at camp.