Win! Yale-Peabody Summer Astronomy Fellowship!

EPIC WIN!

I get to spend three days with the telescopes and planetarium at the Yale University Leitner Observatory.  "Excited" doesn't even come close to describing how I feel about this.  

It also comes with some perks: free money, plus a membership to the Yale-Peabody Museum (the original dinosaurs, people) multiple field trips with bus costs, planetarium shows and museum admission covered for all of my classes.  But that's, like, not even the best part.  

TELESCOPES.  Have you seen their telescopes?  Yes!  I am especially interested in learning how to build a scope/viewer that will let me and my students observe sunspots (and future eclipses).  I have no idea if they will teach me how to do it, but I'm going to ask.  

Win! Yale-Peabody Summer Astronomy Fellowship!

TED-Ed Cricket Beat Box. TED Talk Tuesdays just got a boost.

I do this thing in my science class called "TED Talk Tuesdays" where we watch TED talks that I've previewed or that students have recommended.  Then, we talk about them.  It's way more fun than science current events from the newspaper.

The newest one I've seen is from the new-ish? TED-Ed series.  Science teachers, take note!

TED-Ed Cricket Beat Box. TED Talk Tuesdays just got a boost.

Science Vacations With Kids in Baltimore and DC

Okay!  So what does a science teacher do with her own children when on vacation?  I take them to fabulous science museums all over the country!  On the docket for this vacation:  a trip down to Baltimore and Washington DC.  Amtrak is having a deal on companion tickets to Baltimore: save 30%.  It's a pretty good deal and the kids love the train.

Why Baltimore? you ask.  The most amazing aquarium I've ever been to!  The Baltimore National Aquarium on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore.  When you get to the site, click Plan Your Visit>Discounts and Promotions to find deals on the tickets, which are pricey.

 I usually buy my tickets for everything a la carte, but you can find some packages for hotel, meals, and VIP admission to the aquarium right here at the Visit Baltimore Harbor Magic Site.  

Other destinations: the new science museum in Baltimore: The Maryland Science Center.  This museum is also right on the water in the Inner Harbor.  I booked my hotel on Priceline, and it allows you to select the Inner Harbor location.  

I haven't been inside YET, but I was in Baltimore in December and went for a walk around the beautiful harbor.  There was a long line outside the museum waiting for it to open on a sunny Sunday.  Both the Aquarium and the Science Center have incredible deals on Friday nights!  Starting at 5pm, they sell tickets for full admission for $8.  Amazing!  You can add on additional activities (like IMAX movies, 4-D theater, dolphin shows, etc.) for a small fee.

There are so many cool places to go with kids in Baltimore's Inner Harbor! But those are the two places I will take my kids in March.  

The next day, I have friends who live in DC, so we're staying with them and then going to the FREE museums there:  

The National Air and Space Museum is first on the list:  it's a classic!  I remember seeing my first IMAX film here in 1982...it was amazing!  The Space Shuttle Discovery is arriving there in April, so we'll be too early for that. 

Then, my older son is insisting on seeing the Hope Diamond at The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.  The best part is: we can go in and see the diamond and leave for lunch without worrying about admission:  the admission to the DC museums is free!

Science Vacations With Kids in Baltimore and DC

Free Study Tool! iPad Smartcover App: Evernote Peek

This is absolutely adorable.  About 20% of my students have iPads...they are going to LOVE this!  It's free in the Apple App Store.  Click here!

Free Study Tool! iPad Smartcover App: Evernote Peek

Science Project Timeline

I have been running science fairs successfully with my students for 12 years now.  For new teachers, managing a project of this size and scope can seem daunting.  Why not just copy what I've got so far and make changes where you'd like to make them?

This link will take you to my 6th and 7th grade Project Timeline, which has worksheets, guidelines and rubrics attached for most of the items that are to be submitted.  Let me know which work best for you...if you'd like me to post something in particular, drop me a comment!

Science Project Timeline

Edible Science Model Project: Part 4: Periodic Table of the Cupcakes!

Here we are, folks!  The Periodic Table of Cupcakes was a phenomenal success--thank goodness for 90 minute lab block periods...

We had a TON of extra cupcakes.  So, after all of the classes in the school had an opportunity to see the Table of Cupcakes, we sent representatives to the Lower Elementary School classrooms to explain what they were and to share them.  The younger kids got a real kick out of "eating Plutonium" or "eating arsenic".

...too bad you can't taste them from there, the homemade marshmallow fondant was incredibly tasty.  Click here to view the inspiration for the project and the link for the recipe for the fondant.  Keep in mind--it's so easy a 7th grader can make it (a Very Smart 7th grader).

More Edible Science Model Project Posts...

1. Jello Cells
2. Cell Cakes

Got more edible Science Projects?  Contact me for a guest posting on my blog!

Edible Science Model Project: Part 4: Periodic Table of the Cupcakes!

Modeling the Scale of the Solar System? Try THIS one on for Size--It Covers the Entire Country of Sweden!

Many teachers of astronomy begin with activities or projects that help students to grasp the enormous scale of the solar system--which is a good idea, because all of the diagrams we see in textbook give us the poorest sense of it.  (See this post for more information on that...)

http://www.amusingplanet.com/2011/10/world-largest-scale-model-of-solar.html

However, here's the biggest one on our planet--in Sweden.  It begins with the Sun (the Ericsson Globe) in Stockholm--modeled at 110 m in diameter and ends at the Terminal Shock.  The Terminal Shock (the edge of the heliosphere) in the Swedish model is 950 km away from Stockholm!

Modeling the Scale of the Solar System? Try THIS one on for Size--It Covers the Entire Country of Sweden!

Educational Rap: Rhythm, Rhyme, Results has excellent new science songs!

They have SMASHING new songs--The Planets and The Periodic Table of the Elements.  My students request the songs regularly.  By  most accounts, they preferred The Planets right away; some students now are finding that they like the Periodic Table better, but maybe just because that is what we are studying.

Click here to view the lyrics, listen to samples of the songs and/or purchase the music.  Today only, you can download a FREE song on the Civil Rights Movement.

Educational Rap: Rhythm, Rhyme, Results has excellent new science songs!

Edible Science Model Projects: Part 3--The Periodic Table of Cupcakes!

Our success with the Cell Cakes in 6th year science inspired our 7th years to create the Periodic Table of the Cupcakes which will be occurring next week on Wednesday.  Maybe I'll ask Daria Musk to join us in a hangout of the creation!?   That would be really fun.  I will post photos and a student-edited video when we are done.

Instead of using icing for the writing, we are going to use edible cake pens (found here) and we are making our own Marshmallow Fondant.  Why the extra work?  The pre-made fondant that you can purchase tastes not-great, and by all accounts this easy recipe makes delectable fondant that you actually enjoy eating, instead of peeling it off the cake (like an orange rind) and then eating it.

Why fondant?  Because then we can pre-make the atomic symbol:  we can write out the symbol and the atomic number (and mass if we have the space) and then form an assembly line of sorts to put it all together. Theoretically.  We'll see.

Anyway, here's the YouTube video that inspired us and the Huffington Post article that describes the video.

Edible Science Model Projects: Part 3--The Periodic Table of Cupcakes!

Edible Science Model Projects: Part 2--Cell Cakes!

So this year, we made Cell Cakes instead of Jello Cells.
This is a project that you don't have to encourage the kids with--they want to spend all of their time discussing, planning and creating it.  They seem to have an inexhaustible supply of energy for learning about cell anatomy when they are going to be able to eat it!

The criteria for these cakes were:

1. Must contain all of the structures that were on the worksheet that I handed to them: (nucleus, golgi body, ER, rough ER, ribosomes, vacuoles, mitochondria, cell membrane and cell wall for plants) 
2. Must contain a minimum of three additional structures (this requires independent research)
3. Labels are clear and legible
4. Each structure is easily discernible from the others and looks as much like the real thing as is practicable.

The advantage of the Cell Cake over the Jello Cell:

• less messy 
• no heating required
• the cakes can be baked at home and brought to school
• more attractive and tastier product

Disadvantage:

• looks (usually) exactly like the diagrams in the text and online, so students don't get a sense of how all cells look slightly different--the ziploc bag animal Jello Cells took care of that.
• no opportunity for sectioning lessons, which was a MAJOR disadvantage

Edible Science Model Projects: Part 2--Cell Cakes!

Edible Science Model Projects

Montessori schools are big on tradition, and so am I!  Highly anticipated events in my classroom are something I strive for and at my new smaller, private school (I taught in public school for 12 years) it happens naturally.  Since I teach all three grades of science (6-8) and I'm the only science teacher, all of my students remember the major events or activities of all of the other grades and it creates a buzz of anticipation within the student body when they know another one of the events is coming up.

One of these traditions is an Edible Project.  Last year, the 6th years made models of cells out of Jello with candies for the organelles and other structures.  We made plant cells using brick-shaped "tupperware" containers for the cell wall, with ziploc bags as the cell membranes.  The animal cells were made of the same materials but without the containers.  

Great things about Jello cells:

• realism: the plant cells had a rigid structure and could be stacked like a brick wall to make plant tissue, and the animal cells were flexible in their ziploc bags--if you layer them in a large bin as they cool, they molded to each other to create something that resembled epithelial cells (each cell was not identical to the next).
• You could practice sectioning the cells (and teaching the names of sections--longitudinal, saggital, transverse, etc) .  This shows how the diagrams in the text (and everwhere else) are perfect cross sections of the cell and that not every organelle is shown in each section.  It also gives the opportunity show that the same organelle will look very different if you slice it another way.

Bad things about Jello cells:

• the water dissolved some of the candy and coloring
• they tasted and looked unappetizing (to most students, not all)

This year, my students wanted to try Cell Cakes.

Edible Science Model Projects

Tools for Science Projects!

*Also check out my other posts on Science Project Tools:

1. Science Buddies = True Science Project Love
2. Using Google Docs in your Science Project Fair
3. Paperless Science Fairs
4. Memonic--your own Internet Research Secretary

We have our first big project of the year starting this month--the amazing 8th Year Expert Project!  This is the capstone project for our Montessori 8th graders at Fraser-Woods School in Newtown, CT.   Essentially a huge independent-study project, their job this month was to write the proposal for the project in a middle-school sized "thesis proposal" format.  Essentials for beginning a large scale project at the middle school level:

1. One of the most important tools I have is my Timeline.  It helps me organize myself with backwards-design principles...starting from the nights I know they have to present and having an idea of how long each stage will take, I design the timeline to fit the time we have.  My class webpage is on Google Sites, and Google Sites has a page template called a "List" that you can use to create your timeline.  
2. If you take a look at my timeline, you'll see that it is formatted like a checklist and has four columns, including one that is called "Related Documents".  This is my favorite column.  It allows me to attach a link to a template, related website, how-to video or google document that the students need to complete the assignment.  This relieves everyone of the "I lost my copy of the assignment" excuse and, frankly, the kids love this feature. **Note, if you put a link there to a google document, make sure you share the document publicly in GoogleDocs first.  
3. I ask that all of my students print out the list at the beginning of the project and tack it up somewhere at home where they can easily refer to it at any time.
4. You can update the list at any time.  I update due-dates regularly, because we are a Montessori school and our schedule is interrupted often with special events, trips, speakers and activities.  I always announce list updates clearly in class and I will often provide copies for major changes so the kids are aware of the changes.

• To create that type of page, click on the create page icon on the top right side of the homepage after you have signed in.  Then click on the drop-down menu under the heading Select a template to use.  Select List from the dropdown menu.
• Name the page.  Try a name that includes "Timeline", like "Science Fair Timeline".
• You can even customize the URL of the timeline page by clicking change URL.  This will only change the last part of the url to your desired characters.
• Select a location for the page.   If you have created the Google Site solely to create the timeline, then click Put page at the top level>Create and voila!  Your timeline page has been created.
• Now the page prompts you to choose a template for the list.  If you know you have specific column headings for the list you want, click Create your own>use template.
• A box entitled "Customize Your List" will pop up.  If you want your timeline to look like mine,  you will need four columns.  Type the column name "Completed?" into the box.  Click Type>Checkbox.
• Add New Column>"Assignment name" under column name.  Type>Text
• Add New Column>"Due Date" under column name.  Type>Date
• Add New Column>"Related Documents/Websites" under column name. Type>URL
• To sort your items by due date (which I recommend, but you can change this at any time by clicking Customize this list once you have created the list) click First Sort by> Due Date>Ascending>Save.  
• To add items to the list once it is created, click the Add Item button.  Don't check Completed? until the due date for the item has passed.  Enter the assignment name, the due date and any related documents that you'd like to attach.  
• There you go!  Project timeline Checklist!

Tools for Science Projects!

Teaching Students to Tell Time with the Stars and Google Sky

Wow!  The set of lessons on "telling time with the stars" from ARIES Exploring Navigation: Location, Direction and Latitude  was just amazing!  My middle schoolers loved it, too--on their self evaluations it was the highest rated set of explorations for them.

You can't get the lessons for free, however, you can contact Charlesbridge Publishing to receive some sample lessons, or purchase a download license for all of the teacher and student lesson materials ($30) from the website.

The tool that you and your students will build to tell time with the stars (and you'll learn how to find latitude and longitude with the stars, too)  is called a Nocturnal. or star dial, nocturlabe or horologium nocturnum.   It has been used for centuries to navigate by the stars.  The photo at the right is a working nocturnal that can be worn as jewelry!

The tricky part to these explorations is that you need to practice in the classroom to make sure the kids know how to use the tool, but they must actually do the star-gazing at home.  The teacher materials provide detailed ideas on posting constellations and guide-stars on the wall in the appropriate locations...but I had a fabulous idea!  Why not use Google Earth (in Space mode) and have the stars in the correct locations already?

I actually used the Google Earth method as a way to give my students a performance assessment on the proper use of the nocturnal.  It worked like a charm, because I could change the positions of the stars accurately for each class, without having to climb the wall.

Here are some photos of my students during their "test":

Teaching Students to Tell Time with the Stars and Google Sky

Exploring the Reason for the Seasons in Middle School--with ARIES from Charlesbridge Publishing

There is one essential question in middle school science that often is misunderstood, mistaught, undertaught or simply overlooked that is central to our experience here on planet Earth and that exists as a standard in every state curriculum in the United States and probably most all over our world (especially in areas north of the Tropics):  "What is the reason for the seasons?".

Many people, many extremely educated people (register with Annenberg Media to see the video "Private Universe" and you'll believe it when you see the Harvard professor and graduates explain their own misunderstandings) have incomplete or incorrect ideas about the reason for the seasons.  An overly-simplified reason is "The tilt of the Earth causes the seasons".  This answer is incomplete and provides lots of room for the insertion of ideas that are at odds with what scientists have agreed are the real "reasons for the seasons".  

An example of one of those ideas is that the orbit of the Earth around the Sun is a greatly exaggerated ellipse.   It is no wonder that most people hold onto this idea--it is reinforced by thousands of textbooks and diagrams that show the orbit of the Earth around the Sun at an oblique angle to save page space; the result is that the (nearly) circular orbit of the Earth ends up represented as an elongated ellipse--often with the Sun at the center.   Shown are several examples of that type of diagram:

 http://www.nationsonline.org/bilder/earth_rotation_axis.jpg


Having seen so many of these images, which certainly COULD be useful for teaching some concepts accurately, but have so far managed to do more misinforming than informing--a student could hardly be blamed for believing that the the orbit is an extremely eccentric ellipse with the Sun located at the center, and not at one focus of the ellipse.

Here are more accurate (from above) diagrams that could help disspell these myths if used more widely...but simple exposure to the ideas illustrated here is not the answer, either.

"  Images from http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/6h.html



Oh, alright alright...the whole point of this post is to offer a curricular resource that I have used for many years that addresses all of these ideas.  The ARIES physical science curriculum by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (published by Charlesbridge) is an effective answer.  Students love the freedom of exploration.  Teachers love the lesson extensions and discussion questions, with included assessments of all types...including performance assessment ideas.

I worked with faculty from Harvard to train with and test the curriculum and I've used it for years.  It's fantastic and you can even buy apparatus bins...you only need to provide glue and scissors, usually.

Exploring the Reason for the Seasons in Middle School--with ARIES from Charlesbridge Publishing

StarDome: Astronomy.com's Interactive Star Map--Personalized for You!

Fantastic for use on an Interactive Whiteboard, or simply for use as a projection in the classroom.

"StarDome simulates a naked-eye view of the sky from any location on Earth, at any time and on any date. StarDome gives you a graphical overview of the sky and detailed information about stars, deep-sky objects, planets, and selected asteroids and comets. 

You can quickly jump to the next eclipse, transit of Venus, Mars opposition, or Full Moon. View the constellations and explore data on more than 2,500 stars, or zoom in for a closer look at planetary configurations.

The first thing you'll notice when StarDome displays is the large circular, all-sky map. This is an interactive version of the map you'll find every month inAstronomy's pull-out section. The zenith (the point directly above an observer's head) is in the center of the map, and the horizon, complete with compass directions, forms the outer boundary. 

The second thing you'll notice is that the only active tab is the one labeled Explore the Sky. All of the other functions are available in StarDome Plus, an observing tool available only to magazine subscribers."


"Tech talkStarDome is a small program — called an applet — written in the Java language from Sun Microsystems. When you visit Astronomy.com, your web browser downloads the applet and executes it. For StarDome to function, you'll need the Java Runtime Environment version 1.3 or higher, and you'll need to set your web browser to enable Java content."


Click here to go to the Astronomy.com webpage for full instructions on how to use StarDome

StarDome: Astronomy.com's Interactive Star Map--Personalized for You!

Google Music and My Friend Daria Musk--free download of her newest single!

Daria Musk is a dear, sweet friend and she also happens to be an unbelievably incandescently accomplished musical artist who has found recent, explosive international fame via Google+ Hangouts.  To read her whole story and listen to her music, click here or here.

To read about Google Music, click this link.

Daria has her 4th Google Hangout Concert tomorrow night, 7pm Eastern Standard Time (New York City).  View it live at www.HangoutParty.com, or join the hangout on Google+ (if you can snag a front row seat).

Google Music and My Friend Daria Musk--free download of her newest single!

Take your kids picture with Santa...ON THE MOON!

Science Santa is in the building! Forget the typical Santa pictures. Have your family photo taken with Science Santa on the moon, floating in space, or next to a rocket ship! Science Santa will be here until 3pm today and from 11AM-3PM on Saturday and Sunday for the Science Santa Extravaganza!

Take your kids picture with Santa...ON THE MOON!

Stargazing with your family on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov 24, 2011!

http://www.astronomy.com/en/News-Observing/Sky%20this%20Week/2011/11/STW%20NOV23-DEC02.aspx

With family and friends visiting this Thanksgiving, why not take them outside tonight for some stargazing?  It is a favorite activity for kids, teens and adults.  No fancy equipment necessary, but sometimes it helps to have an idea of stuff to look for to hold everyone's interest.  

Tonight in Connecticut, it is a beautiful evening to stargaze, and the stars will hold the spotlight tonight because there is a new moon (not visible) at around 1 a.m.   

Highlights include transit of Ganymede in front of Jupiter on Monday night--you need a telescope for this one...

Friday, November 25 New Moon occurs at 1:10 a.m. EST. At its new phase, the Moon crosses the sky with the Sun and typically remains hidden in our star’s glare. But for a few lucky people, that won’t be the case today. Observers in South Africa (during the morning hours) and Tasmania (late afternoon) will witness the Moon take a tiny bite of the Sun. Viewers on New Zealand’s South Island will see the Moon devour some 30 percent of our star as the pair sets. Remember that when viewing the Sun during a partial eclipse, protect your eyes with a safe solar filter. Saturday, November 26 Look just above the southwestern horizon early this evening and you’ll see a waxing crescent Moon paired with brilliant Venus. The two will present a pretty photo opportunity with the colors of twilight serving as a backdrop.

Eunomia reaches its peak in late November, when it glows at 8th magnitude while passing in front of the California Nebula (NGC 1499) in southern Perseus. Astronomy: Roen Kelly Sunday, November 27 The asteroid 15 Eunomia glows at 8th magnitude among the background stars of southern Perseus. This normally wouldn’t be an object to highlight, but tonight the 200-mile-wide (320 kilometers) space rock sits right on the edge of the California Nebula (NGC 1499). Although this glowing gas cloud appears prominent in photographs, it is difficult to see through a telescope. Use a Hydrogen-beta filter and observe under a dark sky to make it more noticeable. In contrast, Eunomia stands out because only a few stars in its vicinity shine as bright.

Monday, November 28 If your sky is clear, head outside as darkness falls and look to the southwest. There you’ll see a lovely crescent Moon silhouetted against the background stars of Sagittarius. Although just 17 percent of our satellite is in sunlight, look carefully at its unlit side and you should see a faint illumination. This is “earthshine” — light from the Sun that reflects off Earth, hits the Moon, and then bounces back to our eyes. It shows up well on a thin lunar crescent because, from the Moon’s point of view, Earth appears almost completely lit. Tuesday, November 29 Target Jupiter with a telescope this morning and you’ll swear the giant planet has a black eye. In reality, the dark spot traversing the jovian disk is the shadow of the solar system’s largest moon, Ganymede. The satellite itself first appears against the planet’s bright atmosphere at 1:51 a.m. EST (10:51 p.m. PST on the 28th). Its tiny disk takes just over 100 minutes to cross the gas giant’s south polar regions. But the more interesting event begins at 4:55 a.m. EST (1:55 a.m. PST) when Ganymede’s shadow first falls on the planet’s cloud tops. This conspicuous shadow transit, which occurs after Jupiter sets along the East Coast, lasts until 6:48 a.m. EST (3:48 a.m. PST).

The Summer Triangle – one of the first sights you’ll see on fall evenings – doesn’t even belong to the autumn sky. It consists of the three bright stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair. Photo by Jan Kald Wednesday, November 30 Although the calendar may say late November, the Summer Triangle of bright stars remains prominent during early evening hours. Look high in the west-northwest after darkness falls and you’ll spot Deneb, a conspicuous point of light despite being the faintest of the three. Brighter Vega lies directly below Deneb (and nearly halfway to the zenith), while Altair lies about 45° (one-eighth of a complete circle) to Vega’s left.

Brilliant Venus appears less than 1° north of the Teapot asterism's lid December 1. Astronomy: Roen Kelly Thursday, December 1 Venus lies among the background stars of Sagittarius the Archer this week. Shortly after sunset tonight, you can see the brilliant planet less than 1° north of 3rd-magnitude Lambda (λ) Sagittarii, the star that forms the lid of the Archer’s Teapot asterism. The eclipsing variable Algol in Perseus reaches minimum brightness at 6:18 a.m. EST tomorrow morning. If you start watching it during late evening, you can see its brightness diminish by 70 percent over the course of about 5 hours as its magnitude drops from 2.1 to 3.4. Algol appears nearly overhead in late evening and dips lower in the northwest after midnight. Friday, December 2 First Quarter Moon occurs at 4:52 a.m. EST. The Moon doesn’t rise until shortly after noon local time, however, and by the time darkness sets in, our satellite appears 55 percent lit. It then lies in western Pisces, just west of that constellation’s Circlet asterism. Venus appears 0.8° southwest of the globular star cluster M22 this evening. You will likely need large binoculars to see the cluster in the darkening sky shortly after sunset.

Stargazing with your family on Thanksgiving weekend, Nov 24, 2011!

Prezi, online presentation app--educators get a 500megabyte license for free!

I was just snooping around on the Edmodo Science Community and I found a presentation posted by Eric Jones on Falling and Gravity.  Very cool NOVA Science Now video embedded about digging a hole through the Earth, by the way.

I've never heard of Prezi before today...so cool!


Normally, the accounts with some bells and whistles cost about 60 dollars per year, but if you are an active teacher, you can get a free account with 500 megs of online storage space for FREE!
Click here for the link to the teacher account page.

Prezi, online presentation app--educators get a 500megabyte license for free!

Leonid Meteor Shower This Week! They Might Be Giants Explains Meteors in a Song.

Prime Viewing Tomorrow and Friday nights!

For those teachers that are in Astronomy units with their students right now, be aware that the Leonid Meteor Shower is in prime viewing position on Thursday and Friday nights this week:

Though the meteors can be viewed all night long, on both days, just around midnight and at around 3 a.m. local time, those who stay up should be rewarded with the best view of the rain of falling stars if it's not cloudy. 


Though the annual shower will be less spectacular than in some years, "the Leonids are pretty famous for having a good number of bright ones," says Ben Burress, staff astronomer at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland.  


For those who don't want to get up in the middle of the night, just before moonrise is a good time to watch, Burress says. Thursday, that will be around 11:30 p.m. On Friday night/Saturday morning, moonrise will be at 12:30 a.m. Saturday morning.  Though the shower itself lasts for several weeks, the peak comes at around 3 a.m. both Friday and Saturday morning, when the maximum number of meteors should be falling. Because the moon will be in quarter phase, its light will wash some of the shower out, so go out before moonrise.  


Next year, the meteor shower viewing conditions will be better.  It is easier to see the meteors when the moon is in crescent phase or new phase.


If you are wondering how to explain to your students what a meteor (or shooting star) is, this simple and very catchy tune by They Might Be Giants from their grammy winning album "Here Comes Science" will help to clear things up.  The actual song starts at around 2:30 in the video...this is a live performance of it with sock puppets.

Leonid Meteor Shower This Week! They Might Be Giants Explains Meteors in a Song.