WHY ARE THE STARS

ONLY VISIBLE AT
NIGHT?
 HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY YOU CAN ONLY
SEE STARS AT NIGHT? LET’S DO AN ACTIVITY THAT
CAN HELP US UNDERSTAND WHY…

• For this activity you will need a partner and some supplies:
• Push Pin
• Scissors
• Tape
• Paper or Plastic Cup
• Flashlight (x2)
• Handout (x2)
STEP 1: USE YOUR SCISSORS TO CUT OUT
THE BIG DIPPER ALONG THE DOTTED
LINES
STEP 2: USE YOUR TAPE TO SECURE THE
CUTOUT OF THE BIG DIPPER TO THE
UNDERSIDE OF YOUR CUP
 STEP 3: USE YOUR PUSH PIN TO POKE A HOLE
THROUGH EACH STAR ON THE BIG DIPPER
THROUGH THE UNDERSIDE OF YOUR CUP
Be careful when doing this, the push pins are very sharp! Have your partner help you poke
the holes with your push pin.
STEP 4: GRAB A FLASHLIGHT AND TAKE
YOUR ‘BIG DIPPER CUP’ INTO A DARK
ROOM
Get positioned in the room with your supplies and have your partner shut off the lights,
the room needs to be completely dark. In the next steps the darkness will represent that
it is night time.
 STEP 5: SHINE YOUR FLASHLIGHT THROUGH YOUR CUP, LIKE
PICTURED BELOW. MOVE THE FLASHLIGHT UPWARDS AND
DOWNWARDS IN ORDER TO PROJECT THE BIG DIPPER ONTO YOUR
HANDOUT
 STOP & THINK

If you were to shine a second flashlight around your ‘Big Dipper

Cup’, what do you think would happen?
 STEP 6: GRAB YOUR PARTNER AND HAVE THEM SHINE A
SECOND FLASHLIGHT TOWARDS YOU AS YOU CONTINUE TO
SHINE YOUR FLASHLIGHT THROUGH YOUR ‘BIG DIPPER CUP’

• Your partner’s flashlight represents the Sun, which is the largest star in our Solar System.
• What happened to The Big Dipper when the second flashlight (that represents sunlight)
shined on it?
• Have your partner mimic the Sun’s daily pattern (remember, the Sun rises in the East and sets
in the West) with their flashlight.
• Did anything change when the sunlight appeared? What about when the sunlight
disappeared?
 STEP 7: SWITCH POSITIONS WITH YOUR
PARTNER AND REPEAT STEP 6

• Switching positions will give you a different perspective.

• The flashlight that you are holding represents the Sun.
• Use your flashlight to move the Sun from the right side of the page, to the left side of the
page (this mimics the Sun’s daily pattern).
• Did you notice anything different from this perspective?
 REFLECT: WHY DO YOU THINK THE STARS
ONLY COME OUT AT NIGHT?

• Leading Questions:
• What effect does the Sun have on the stars?
• What time of day do the stars come out?
• Do you think the stars are always present? Why or why not?
 NIGHTTIME ACTIVITY!

Watch the sunset with your family this evening. When the stars
begin to shine in the sky, share the knowledge that you have
discovered today with them!
• NGSS:
• 1 ESS1-1. Use observations of the sun, moon, and stars to
describe patterns that can be predicted.
• Resources:
• Mystery Science