What can we learn by looking closely at images of the Sun? Is it just a fiery ball or are there discernible features? The Solarscapes curriculum supplement for the middle school level provides an overview of solar phenomena, and then focuses on the most prominent feature of the Sun -- sunspots. Solarscapes is designed to accompany the traveling exhibition entitled, Electric Space: Bolts, Jolts, and Volts from the Sun.

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If we count sunspots over the years, does a pattern emerge? Why is this pattern important and can we predict it? As an embedded assessment, students are asked to predict the beginning of the next sunspot cycle and the number of sunspots at maximum. Students are invited to submit their predictions right along with solar scientists to the Space Environment Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, located in Boulder, Colorado. Finally, students are asked if they can learn anything about the rotation of the Sun by observing the movement of sunspots across the surface of the Sun? Can they calculate the Sun's rotation period? Can they apply this knowledge to the rotation of other objects in the solar system?

Summary of Solarscapes Activities:

• Features of the Sun
  Students study various features of the Sun in order to understand how the Sun varies.
  
  
• Yearly Mean Sunspot Numbers
  Students find the patterns that emerge when sunspot numbers are plotted over a period of time.
  
  
• Determining the Rotation Period of an Object
  Students learn how to determine the rotation rate of a sphere with identifiable features.
  
  
• Rotation Period of the Sun
  Students learn how sunspots can be used to determine the rotation period of the Sun.

Solarscapes was developed by Beverly Meier (Boulder Valley School District), Carol McLaren (Science Discovery, University of Colorado), Ramon Lopez (University of Maryland), and Paul Dusenbery (Space Science Institute).