What do we know about the sun? http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_21.html

The Sun is over 5 billion years old. The Sun is a STAR! It would take over 1,000,000 (1 million) Earth’s to fit inside of the Sun. The Sun is over 5 billion years old. The Sun is very hot, about 27 million degrees Fahrenheit at its core! The Sun is the center of our solar system. The Earth and the other planets travel around the Sun. The Earth is made up of mostly helium and hydrogen. The Sun is 93 million miles from Earth! It is the closest star to Earth! http://www.flickr.com/photos/hobbesken/235438038/

Why is sunlight important? If you place your hand on a window where the sun is shining in, you will feel the Sun’s heat. The Sun’s heat keeps the ground and air warm. Plants need sunlight to make food that keeps them growing. When plants make food they give off oxygen, a gas that people and animals breathe. We also eat plants to live. The sun helps you when you are lost! If you face the Sun in the morning, your direction is east. In the after noon, you face the Sun to the west. How can this help you if you are lost? The Sun can also help you to tell what time of day it is. http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs30/f/2008/119/6/c/summer_sun_by_neuthreeno.jpg

Solar Flares Huge events take place on the Sun’s surface, this is called solar activity. Solar flares are one kind of activity in which streams of superheated gas leap thousands of miles off the Sun’s surface into space! http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/undergrad/classes/spring2009/Hubbard_206-2/Lectures1/Jan27.htm

Sundials! You will each get your own paper plate, one straw, a pair of scissors, one ruler and some tape. Using a ruler, make a mark at the center of the plate. Mark on your plate, where you want north, east, south and west to be. Using the scissors, make four cuts in your straw (wait for me to demonstrate how to do it). Tape the straw perpendicular to the plate. Using your ruler, measure the straw from the base, and cut it to two inches in height. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2661/3744021999_cb362dfa47_o.jpg