Two new VEXcode VR activities related to science were published this week.
For Science, Constellation Mapper asks students to use the Pen of the VR Robot to draw lines between stars to form known constellations like Orion and Ursa Minor. Because these constellations also include well known stars like Betelgeuse and Polaris, they are also asked to include the color of the star.
- For example, Rigel is a blue-white super giant, so they need to fill in the star Rigel light blue
The slideshow linked in the activity doc also identifies the location of these stars and the layout of the constellations if students are unfamiliar.
Building off of the constellation theme, Constellation Creator asks students to take a set of randomized stars and create a shape using the Pen of the VR Robot. They then need to come up with a story to explain that shape. This provides great options for connections to science and language arts through the storytelling, but it also gives context to mythology stories that were historically used to remember these constellations. The sample Activity Answers provided in the Teacher Portal (here) have stories given in context of the shapes.
- Level 1 solution shows an elephants trunk and discusses the historic events of Hannibal crossing the Alps with his band of elephants around 200BC
- Level 2 solution shows a leaf and explains the story of a leaf floating around the world who then lands among the stars
- Level 3 solution draws a cat and tells the story of a curious cat who kept climbing trees until they jumped into the sky
What kind of constellation will you create? Share your creations and stories here!
I can’t wait to see what comes from these in the community!