Teaching Tools for Astronomy
This is a collection of printable teaching aids I developed while teaching astronomy to schoolchildren. The collection consists of PDF files that you can download, most of it containing printouts to be labeled, cut out, and used as the basis of some activity or other. Officially, I am making all of these works available under a Creative Commons — Attribution License, which means you may do anything you like with them, as long as you give me credit as the creator. If you find these materials valuable, I’d love it if you'd tell all your friends.
A Simple Horizontal Sundial
An easy-to-make, two-piece paper sundial for kids to cut out and assemble.
A Simple Equatorial Sundial
An easy-to-make, two-piece paper sundial for kids to cut out and assemble.
A Cube Sundial
A paper polyhedral sundial for kids to make. All five faces tell time whenever they are in sunshine.
The Compass Rose
Printable outlines of compass roses for kids to color, with or without solstice marks.
Slideshow — The Circles of the Sun
A graphical visualization of how the sun crosses the sky in different latitude of the world.
A Lunar Phase Dial
A paper 'phase clock' for kids to label, cut out, assemble, and use to predict moon phases and rise times.
A Paper Celestial Sphere
A paper 'map of outer space' for kids to label, cut out, and form into a pair of hemispheres.
2020 Planet Calendars
Charts showing where to look for the planets in the sky.
Polyhedral Globes
Printable paper polyhedra, for kids to cut and fold into blank shapes, or into globes of the Earth, the Moon, and Mars
Homemade Globes
Printable templates for making your own globes of the Earth, the Moon, and Mars, with paper, glue, and wooden or styrofoam craft spheres.
Printable Astrolabes
A color paper version of the classic celestial model and astronomical calculator, for students of astronomy to cut out and assemble.
Printable Planispheres
A map of the constellations for kids to label, cut out, assemble, and use as a constellation calendar.
Printable Polygonal Paper Planispheres
An easy-to-make paper constellation map for kids, with straight edges and few windows.