Happy Birthday Dr. Tombaugh!
Dr. Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto in 1930,
celebrated his *90th birthday on February 4th, 1996.
See Kids'
Birthday cards here
"Attend"
the Birthday Party here
THE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION:
ALL.....Students were asked to:
Research Clyde Tombaugh's background and
the discovery of Pluto by using library resources and
online resources.
You will find more related info on the discovery of Pluto at
Pluto Home Page :
http://dosxx.colorado.edu/plutohome.html
THEN.....Students chose to do one or more of the following:
- Make a group birthday card which highlights Clyde's achievements
or contains poetic verse in celebration of his discovery of
Pluto or have students simply write a special personal
message to Clyde! Use your creativity!
- Have individual cards created using a paint program (like KidsPix
or Paint Shop Pro, etc.) showing Clyde on the night of
his discovery in 1930.
- Students can create an acrostic birthday card using PLUTO as
the key word... or use a related word/phrase and decorate
the card with images, drawings, special greetings! ex
P--perseverance and persistence in believing in yourself
L--late nights scanning the heavens
U--underworld -- Pluto is named after this mythical god
T--telescope.... "know your telescope" your slogan!
O--observatory at Lowell where Pluto was discovered
These acrostics can be generated on the computer through
a paint program or word processing program. Please print
out your student's work and have them sign with a special
greeting to Clyde.
- Have students write an imaginative 1 page short story about
their own imaginary planetary discoveries and what
happened the night they became "junior Clyde Tombaugh's"..... what did they
name their planet? What does it look like? What struggles did they encounter
as they searched the heavens?
During the project, the Passport team saw to it that all greetings and items were delivered to
Dr. Tombaugh during a special presentation.