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C. A. Pilachowski, J. Barnes, S. H. Jacoby (NOAO), J. F. Lockwook (Tucson Unified School District), N. Sharp (NOAO)
We present a hands-on, teacher-tested activity for middle school and older students. Students measure the color and brightness of stars in the Jewelbox Cluster and other clusters from color images. They determine the ages of the star clusters by plotting their measurements in a color-brightness diagram. The activity develops classification and graphing skills and fosters observation, communication, and cooperative learning skills. Students are exposed to ideas about the nature of stars, temperature and color, stellar evolution, the time scales of astronomical phenomena, and how astronomers can determine the ages of objects in the universe.
The ``Jewels of the Night" is available over the World Wide Web at http://www.noao.edu/education/jewels/, effective January, 1999. The activity is designed to be printed for use in the classroom.
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The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: outreach@noao.edu