Virtual Family Day: Sun

Create and discover with your family! Activities are designed for all ages.

Sun rising in an orange sky, with mountains in the background and trees in the foreground,
UAF photo by Todd Paris, 2012

Discover the mysteries of the Sun. Explore how the Sun affects Earth, investigate how scientists study the Sun from far away, and make your own art using sunlight!

Activities To Do At Home:

The links are all PDF documents.

Make a Solar Viewer: Create a solar viewer to safely observe the Sun. Watch a how-to video here!
Arctic Seasons Model: Build a Sun-Earth model to explore changing seasons in the Arctic.
Create A Sundial: Explore how to tell time with the help of the Sun.
Make Snow Goggles: Discover traditional technology to protect eyes from sunlight. Learn more about snow goggles, and watch a video exploring how they work!
Build A Model Solar Probe: Discover the Parker Solar Probe and embark on a mission to the Sun. Watch a how-to video here!

Construction Paper Sun Prints: Use the Sun’s ultraviolet light to create art.
Straw Painting the Sun: Explore the dynamic Sun through the fun of straw painting. Watch a conversation about how scientists explore the dynamic Sun!

Design a Shoebox Solar Home: Explore solar energy and insulation with a hands-on experiment.

Snow goggles made of paper and colored to look like wood. Pieces of orange yarn are tied to each side. Child's hands holding a Arctic Seasons model next to a globe. Hand holding a model solar probe made of a toilet paper tube, paper, and cardboard.

Left to Right: Snow Goggles, Arctic Seasons Model, and Model Solar Probe.

Find more Sun activities, videos, and interviews with solar scientists at the Solar Week website!

BONUS: Give us feedback and receive a FREE family activity from a NASA educator!

Complete our short surveyand unlock a custom activity video from NASA! In the "Cosmic Survey" activity, your family will explore the size, distance, and age of objects in the universe compared to the Sun. Includes a link to downloadable Cosmic Survey cards.

Fill out the survey here!

Photo courtesy of Christina Milotte, NASA.

Videos:

Exploring the Sun with the Solar Orbiter

Watch a conversation about the Solar Orbiter mission with NASA scientist Dr. Teresa Nieves-Chinchilla!

Learn more about the Solar Orbiter mission.

Build a Model Solar Probe

Watch a video showing how to build a miniature model of the Parker Solar Probe!

Exploring the Sun

Discover fun facts about the Sun and make a colorful suncatcher!

Activity Sheet: Exploring the Sun: Create A Suncatcher: Make a suncatcher, inspired by images of the Sun!

For activities designed for kids ages 5 and under, go to our Virtual Early Explorers page.

For activities designed for kids ages 6-12, go to our Virtual Junior Curators page.

For more Sun activities, go to the Space Science Activities page.

Return to the Family Days page.

Museum Family Days are proudly presented by TOTE. THANK YOU!

UAMN is a proud partner of the National Informal STEM Education Network and member of the NASA Space Science Education Consortium.

This project was funded under NASA cooperative agreement NNX16AL65A. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.