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Zodiac Party Game Brief Summary

Banners showing the twelve Sun sign constellations of the zodiac are placed in a square around the audience space in the Galaxy Stage, with a model of the Sun in the middle. The presenter has visitors take their places in a circle so that their Sun signs are visible behind the Sun. Then he or she takes the visitors through a series of kinesthetic (movement) astronomy activities to explain basic phenomena such as the zodiac, the Sun signs, a day, a year and precession of the celestial sphere. The demonstration ends with everybody singing “Happy Birthday” to the visitors whose Sun sign corresponds to the current date.

Equipment Required

1. Laser pointer

2. Microphone

3. 12 zodiac banners attached to rope.(See sample at right.) The yellow SUN BALL

4. Galaxy Stage Lap Top Computer

5. Spinning plate prop (Optional)

Main Teaching Points

6. The Earth moves in three primary ways: o it turns once daily on its axis.o it orbits the Sun yearly.o it precesses on its axis.

7. You see different constellations in the night sky at different times of year.8. The celestial sphere (the dome of the whole sky) seems to move, but in reality, it is

Earth’s motion that creates the illusion that the celestial sphere is moving.


Educational Strategy

Sensory saturation, especially physical involvement, is a very effective means to enhance the storage of knowledge in the LTM (Long Term Memory). Zodiac Party Game is fun, and involves vision, kinesthetic sense, as well as listening. REMEMBER THE OPERATIVE WORDS HERE ARE “PARTY” and “GAME.”

Science Background: Constellations of the Zodiac

The zodiac is a belt of 12 constellations that surround the sky. They are significant because they lie on the path that the Sun and planets take as they appear to move across the sky.

The zodiac originated from astrology, which is not a science, but science later adopted the same names. Note, however, that scientists renamed two of these constellations, replacing Scorpio with Scorpius and Capricorn with Capricornus.

In the chart below times of year that these constellations can be seen in the night sky are given. This is different from the “zodiac sign” for your birthday. For example, people born on April 7th have Aries as their “sign”, but Aries is seen in the sky in winter.

Spring Cancer (CNC) Leo (LEO) Virgo (VIR)

Night sky con-stellations

Summer Libra (LIB) Scorpius (SCO) Sagittarius (SGR)


Fall Capricornus (CAP) Aquarius (AQR) Pisces (PSC)


Winter Aries (ARI) Taurus (TAU) Gemini (GEM)



The hand drawn figures vary considerably from one artist to another. There are no standards figures for the constellations. We have used the classic art of astronomer-artist Johannes Hevelius from the 17th Century.

Our BANNER drawing for Cancer shows a lobster not a crab. This is the way the figure was drawn by Hevelius.

Some Basic Facts about the Zodiac Constellations

Constellations (CODE)

Month of peak visibility

Blurb about the myth and configuration in sky

Aries (ARI) December The golden fleece from this ram was the prize that Jason and the Argonauts sought on their voyage. At the time the zodiac was invented more than 2000 years ago, the year began with the “first point in Aries.”

Taurus (TAU) January The figure of the bull goes back to at least 4000 BC. It represented strength and fertility. Taurus charges toward Orion below the zodiac who holds up a shield to defend himself.

Gemini (GEM) February After Castor died, his devoted twin brother Pollux was so overwhelmed with grief, that Zeus took pity on him and reunited the twins in the night sky. The twins wade in the stream of Milky Way.

Cancer (CNC) March Sent by the gods to aid Hercules in fighting the monster Hydra, Cancer was crushed, but was rewarded with immortality for his effort.

Leo (LEO) April The first of Hercules seven tasks was to slay this dangerous lion. The bright star Regulus means heart of the lion, named after the king of beasts.

Virgo (VIR) May Virgo is associated with the goddess Ceres, who oversaw planting of crops. The brightest star in Virgo, Spica, means “ear of wheat.”

Libra (LIB) June The scales (Libra) are one of the tools used by Astraea, the goddess of justice when she decided cases.


Scorpius (SCO) July Scorpius was sent by the gods to ward off Orion who was after the goddess Artemis. To keep Scorpius and Orion from fighting, the gods placed them as far apart as possible in the sky. Scorpius grabs the scales in his claws. The center of the Milky Way Galaxy is located near Scorpius’ stinger.

Sagittarius (SGR) August Sagittarius was a centaur (half horse, half human) not only a skilled archer, but also knowledgeable in medicine and music. He aims his arrow at Scorpius. “The Teapot” structure at the top of Sagittarius is entirely located in the river of the Milky Way.

Capricornus (CAP) September These last three constellations have the nickname “The Sea” because they all have to do with water. Capricornus is a goat with a fish’s tail. 2000 years ago, the Sun reached its most southerly point on the ecliptic in Capricornus. That point is now in Sagittarius.

Aquarius (AQR) October Aquarius is Latin for “the water carrier.” This constellation may refer to the beginning of the rainy season in the Mediterranean area.

Pisces (PSC) November Venus and Cupid escaped a monster’s grasp by turning themselves into fishes and swing away down the Euphrates River.

Special Vocabulary

Consistent and correct use of terms in this demo is very crucial to success here. Otherwise confusion sets in and undermines the experience for visitors. Here are the terms that should be learned very accurately by the presenter and used fluently without a pause in the presentation.

NOTE: We’ve chosen to drop the word “revolve” entirely and use “orbit” instead in order to avoid confusion with the term “rotate.”

o CONSTELLATION--A pattern of stars that appear to be grouped together.o CELESTIAL SPHERE--The entire shell of stars that appears to form the dome

of heaven. o ZODIAC--The set of 12 constellations located on a belt around the middle of the

Earth. (The zodiac is a circle of animals and that’s why it’s a celestial zoo or zodiac.)o SUN SIGN--Any one of the 12 constellations such as Scorpius, Taurus or Libra

in the zodiac.o YEAR--the period of time Earth takes to ORBIT the Sun once.


o DAY--The period of time required for the Earth to TURN AROUND ONCE on its axis.

o PRECESSION--The very slow wobbling motion of the Earth on its axis. This motion has two effects: 1. It shifts the celestial sphere toward the east by one constellation every 2,200 years.2. It alters which star, if any, is the North Star. A north star is a star that appears to be

located directly above the Earth’s geographical north pole. Currently, the star at this location is Polaris, but 4,800 years ago, it was Thuban.

NOTE: It is better to avoid using pronouns such as “it” or “them” referring the to constellations, and other objects in this demo. As you introduce new words, it is helpful to the visitors to repeat the key phrases such as THE 12 CONSTELLATIONS OF THE ZODIAC, and PRECESSION OF THE CELESTIAL SPHERE instead of using pronouns.

Motions of the Celestial Sphere

Stars in the sky appear to be stuck to an inverted transparent bowl. This imaginary shell of lights surrounding the Earth is called the CELESTIAL SPHERE. It contains all the stars, the Sun and Moon, galaxies, planets, comets and other objects.

The CELESTIAL SPHERE appears to turn slowly around the Earth with three distinct motions: a 24 hour cycle, a 365 day cycle and a 26,000 year cycle. Of course, we now know that the celestial sphere itself doesn’t move, but that the Earth executing its threefold motion gives the appearance of motion in the sky above.

The first motion of the CELESTIAL SPHERE is its nightly motion. It turns around the sky once each night. Constellations rise and set each night in the same way the Sun rises and sets each day and for the same reason, namely that the Earth is turning once each day.

However, the nightly turn of the celestial sphere falls one degree short of a completing a 360 degree circle in 24 hours. If a star passes through the overhead point (the ZENITH) at nine o’clock tonight, it will be found at one degree to the east tomorrow night at the same clock time. The shift of one degree is due to the Earth’s other motion: orbiting the Sun at the rate of about one degree per day. (In fact, it was this motion that caused the Babylonians to choose 360 degrees for a circle.)

The second motion of the CELESTIAL SPHERE is its yearly orbit around the sky. For the Earth to travel once around the Sun and return to the place where a particular star is in exactly the same place at the same time of night requires exactly requires 365.25 nights.

The celestial sphere’s third motion is PRECESSION. PRECESSION refers to the wobbling motion of objects such as a toy top that causes its axis to draw a small circle in the air above it. The Earth’s PRECESSION causes the celestial sphere to slide gradually to the east one constellation every 2,200 years.

Setting Up the Demo


SETTING UP THE LAPTOP 1. On the stage laptop, go to the dock at the bottom of the screen, find the preset file

named cc, and click to open it. 2. To get rid of the borders from the screen, PRESS and HOLD DOWN THE fn key on

the lower left of the keyboard. 3. With this preset running, use the OCC to boot up SHOW 15 for the street theatre light

effect Select STAGE LAPTOP TO LEFT AND RIGHT SCREENS. This rolling image will help to attract an audience.

SETTING UP THE DEMO SPACE 4. Re-arrange benches in the Galaxy Stage demo area into a square as large as

possible.5. Take the A-Frame cart which holds the SUN SIGN BANNERS from storage and wheel

it down to lower left corner of the stage in the vicinity of HOOK # 1. (See below.)6. Unreel the first several BANNERS from their pegs, and place the rope “leg” marked

LOOP # 1 onto HOOK # 1.

GALAXY STAGE

HOOK # 4 WINTER NIGHT SKY HOOK # 1

Ĵ Ĵ GEM TAU ARI

CNC PSC

SUNSPRING LEO AQR FALL

NIGHT SKY NIGHT SKY BALL

VIR CAP

LIB SCO SGR

HOOK # 2 SUMMER NIGHT SKY HOOK # 3 Ĵ Ĵ

ENTRY CORRIDOR

7. Roll the A-FRAME CART diagonally across the demonstration space to the area just below HOOK #2, and unfurl the BANNERS in pairs as you go. Lay them gently on the floor. BE VERY CAREFUL NOT TO STEP ON THEM!!

8. Place LOOP # 2 of rope over HOOK # 2. 9. Find LOOP # 3 place it on HOOK # 3. THIS REQUIRES GOOD FOOTING. MAKE

SURE A BENCH IS IN POSITION BEFORE YOU TRY THIS.


10.Place the long length of rope over HOOK #4, and pull it downward to relieve the tension on the support rope. Slide LOOP # 4 onto HOOK #4. The BANNERS are ready to go. This arrangement gives the demo space an artistic feel and helps attract an audience.

11.Take the yellow SUN BALL from the A-frame cart and hang it from the SUN HOOK above the center of the demo floor space. You are now ready to announce the show and gather a crowd.

12.We are concerned that children might hang on the ropes or BANNERS or bat the YELLOW SUN BALL Please have one MGG stationed in the demo area at all times to minimize breakage.

Running the Demo

Staff members have worked out this demonstration over a span of several months, and unlike some other demos, the sequence provided below, we feel, is the best way to do this demonstration; we ask all performers to stick to this sequence of events. We begin with the audience seated, then call up visitors one by one. Three reasons to start your show with the audience seated and only a single visitor demonstrating the motions of the Earth are these:

1. You have more control at first when you are trying to direct only a single person than trying to direct the whole group

2. When the audience first walks in, they don’t have any idea of what is happening, so it is better to let them be an “audience” at first, and only after they are comfortable, bring the whole group into the action.

3. When you are directing only the single person at the start of the show, you are de facto giving instructions to the whole audience of what they will be doing later.

STEP-BY STEP PROCEDURE

This script is written as a 2-person demo. Performers are designated as PERSON A and PERSON B.

PREPARATION A & B As per above Set Up Procedure, make sure the demo area is set up properly

and your mics are on.

A & B Once you have gathered an audience, have them sit anywhere on the benches.

GAINING THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE TO SEE THE ZODIAC A Open ZodiacPartyGame#2.snf. This preset animation shows a top view of the

planets orbiting the sun.

B Point out that we are watching the planets orbit the Sun. A Switch modes in ZodiacPartyGame#2.snf so that you can tilt the whole solar

system,and illustrate this motion.

B Point out that all the planets lie nearly in the same plane. Pluto is the odd ball; it’s


orbit is tilted at 17 off the plane of the rest of the planets. Also point out that now we can see the meaning of the zodiac. The zodiac is the belt of 12 constellations that the Sun, planets and the moon travel on in their journey across the sky. The fastest way to find the zodiac is by finding the path of the moon.

A Go back to the first preset ZodiacPartyGame#1.snf. and let it roll.

EARTH’S YEARLY MOTION A Pick a kid about 10 years old. Ask his or her name. Ask kid’s birthday and place

him or her in correct position (opposite his Sun sign).

A Ask how many times he or she has gone around Sun. (This number is the same as the

kid’s age.) A Have the kid run around Sun that many times (counter-clockwise).

EARTH’S DAILY MOTION B Ask audience what other motions Earth does (start with daily rotation). B Get person who answers correctly to come up. B Put him or her in correct birthday-spot.

B Person spins around once to show Earth’s daily motion. (Be sure he or she goes counterclockwise as seen from above, to the left.)

EARTH’S WEEKLY MOTION A Ask, “who can do a week?” A Put person in birthday-spot. A Spins seven times. A Mention that Earth also goes around Sun. The Earth advances about one

degree per day.(In fact the number of days in a year was chosen to fit closely to the days per

year.) A Ask audience how far the Sun goes in a week (ANS: 1/52nd of a circle or 7

degrees of the way around the Sun).

A Have that kid or someone else illustrate the spinning: 7 times and the 7 degrees of

progress around the Sun. (Use your judgment to avoid getting kids dizzy or out of control so they fall down.)

PARTS of the DAY: NOON, SUNSET, SUNRISE and MIDNIGHT B Bring another person up. B Put on Birthday-spot. B Use him or her to demonstrate parts of the day. B Noon – belly button faces Sun. B Midnight – away from Sun.


B Hands out: Right hand = west; left = east. (When you see the Sun at your left hand, the time of day is dawn, at the left hand, it is dusk.) Place your hand with “hitch hikers thumb” on your navel to illustrate. The thumb here represents a person with the thumb being the head. Noon = time of day when Sun is overhead.

B Illustrate Noon – dusk – midnight – dawn – noon.

PARTS of the DAY and NIGHT SKY for the WHOLE AUDIENCE A & B Help the whole audience find places on the circle where they can see the Sun

in front of their Sun sign. (This is done by checking to find which dates on the BANNER contains his or her Birthday.)

A & B Have visitors rotate through Noon – dusk – midnight – dawn – back to noon A & B Everyone turns to midnight. A & B Point out that the constellations you see now on the banner represent the stars

you see at night.

A & B Ask a few visitors what stars they can see at night on their birthdays. A & B Have everyone shuffle half around the circle to represent moving through six

months of the year as Earth goes around the Sun.

A & B Turn your back to the Sun so you can see the BANNERS. This represents midnight: Ask, “now what stars do you see?”

MOVEMENT OF THE ZODIAC A Have visitors look at side screens showing the moving zodiac constellations.

The speed is 700,000 times normal. Note the Earth in the foreground and the moon whizzing by. Each moon cycle is a month long, so we can see that each constellation is in the center of the sky for about a month. In addition, each constellation can be seen to the sides of the sky for several months before and after its optimum.

A Explain to visitors what they are seeing: the apparent motion of the zodiac as the Earth

moves through one year. B Name each constellation in the zodiac and give a short blurb of information

about it. (See Science Background section above.)

B Have visitors recite names of zodiac signs in unison as they pass by. A Have visitors continue moving around the Sun till they get back to their original

birthday-spots. A Have visitors tell what sign they would see if there were an eclipse of the Sun

and you could see the see the actual constellation behind the Sun on your birthday.

B Explain that on your birthday, your Sun sign is the constellation “behind the Sun.”


B These zodiac signs you see now fit your birthday 2000 years ago. To see correct

positions now, take a giant step to left one Sun sign. (Clockwise) A or B (Optional) Use spinning plate to explain precession A or B Find out whose birthday is closest to the present date. A & B Have everyone sing “Happy Birthday” to visitors whose sign falls nearest to

today’sdate. Sing: “Happy Birthday, dear Aries.”

Some Additional Content “Jelly Beans” —Warning: These are tasty little morsels but too many will make the audience sick! In other words, don’t try to add ALL these tidbits to the same show. That much factual knowledge will stop the show dead in its ecliptic.

At present (2004) the Sun passes through o Virgo for the autumnal equinoxo Sagittarius for the winter solsticeo Pisces for the spring equinox.o On the boundary line between Taurus and Gemini for Summer solstice, just

above the bright star Betelgeuse.

To get to the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, head toward Scorpius’ stinger. With telescopes, it’s hard to get good pictures of this part of the sky because of all the space dust between the core of the galaxy and our current position.

Use plate to from spin demo illustrate the shape of the Milky Way Galaxy. Point out that our solar system is located about ⅔ of the distance from the core to the edge.

To go out the top of the spiral galaxy, go toward the area just below the Big Dipper, which is not shown in the set up, but would be overhead and closest to Gemini.

Orion is NOT a zodiac constellation, but lies right below Taurus. (Demonstrate his position by kneeling on the floor on one knee with club in the right hand to whop Taurus between the eyes.

There are a handful of bright stars in the zodiac (or near it).

Star Constellation Comment

Regulus Leo The 18th brightest star in the northern hemisphere sky.Spica Virgo A rare blue giant star, 11th in brightness in northern

hemisphereAntares Scorpius Antares is a red giant star located very near the path of the

planets. The name Antares means rival of Mars, using the Roman name for Mars (Ares) rather than the Greek.

Aldebaran

Taurus Light from the V-shaped group of stars that forms the bull’s head has been traveling through space since Abraham Lincoln was president. Aldebaran is the bull’s eye star.

Betelgeuse

Orion Orion’s right shoulder, a red supergiant star. The 7th brightest star in the sky.

Rigel Orion Orion’s left knee. Another rare blue giantSirius Canis Major One of Orion’s dogs, the brightest star. When the Sun rises


near the dog star in July, we have the hot dog days of summer.

POST DEMO WRAP UP

Offer to stick around to answer questions and show some more clips on the laptop. Put everything back into position the way you found it, and stow the props in their

designated places. To re-stow the BANNERS, reverse the procedure for installing them. TO PRESERVE THE THESE VERY EXPENSIVE BANNERS PLEASE FOLLOW THE STEPS CAREFUL AND IN THE RIGHT ORDER.

Operating Tips

To avoid confusion, ask visitors frequently if they are with you. If not, repeat your explanation, but try to approach the topic from a different angle, using slightly different words. Often, this will go around learning blocks.

Be selective in telling facts about the Earth and night sky. Don’t let the pace get bogged down.

You can add your own sky lore or “jelly beans” as long as they are well researched and totally correct. But beware of the common urge to add more and more facts that will spoil the pace of the show. REMEMBER THE OPERATIVE WORDS HERE ARE “PARTY” and “GAME.”

Remind visitors that they should never look directly at the REAL Sun.

Questions and Answers

Q: I can never find the constellations, especially my Sun sign. Where are they? A: Only a handful of the constellations look much like the figures you see on the BANNERS. Most other constellations such as Hercules are just semi-imaginary representations of well-known story characters rather than visible outlines. Scorpius, Leo and Taurus in the zodiac are easy to spot; north or south of the ecliptic you can find the bright constellations Orion, the


Big Dipper and Cygnus. Be patient and don’t expect the Disney-like figures to hover in the sky. Also, start by learning the easy few constellations, then later go for the rest of the constellations of the zodiac which are some of the hardest constellations to find because they have so few bright stars. Also, the zodiac is often near the horizon where clouds and haze obscure them.

Q: Is astrology a science? Does it work?A: Scientists refer to astrology as psuedo-science, or false science. Astrology’s central belief is that the position of the stars and planets affects human behavior and human fate. Within a framework of science, that belief is not grounded in any observable and reproducible results, for example, why don’t people born in the same hospital at the same time have parallel lives?

Q: If astrology doesn’t work, then why does every culture worldwide have so may astrologers, more numerous in fact than astronomers? A: Good question, one better answered by a psychologist. Possibly it’s because the little newspaper horoscope predictions are gentle suggestions that guide a person toward wiser behavior; for example, “don’t make any rash purchases today,” or “though people you deal with today will cause you stress, you should not let them bother you, because you will have rewards later this month.” Seems appealing to have daily reminders to act for the long-term gain rather than the short term impulse.

Q: What causes the Seasons?A: Not only are summer days longer and winter days shorter, but also the Sun’s rays hit the ground at a steeper angle in summer, and so the energy in the rays is more concentrated in one location and can heat the ground better than in winter when they strike the ground at a lower angle.

Rays at noon in Denver on: Jun 21 Dec 21

= 73 degrees = 27

degrees

One square foot of surface in June gets the same energy that 3 square feet gets in December!

Other Cool Stuff to Try

In the demo it is possible to illustrate why the seasons happen, though the extra information may put your audience over the top as far as information is concerned. Be careful to make sure you have a fairly well informed audience before launching into that complex topic.

This demo can lead into many post demo discussions using SNP.


Fast Facts It was probably the Minoans, the sea-faring ancestors of the Greeks, who first mapped

out the zodiac more than 3,000 years ago. The Scorpion, the Bull and the Lion go back to 4,000 BC.

The zodiac concept apparently spread in prehistory from culture to culture because you can find similar representations of the zodiac from the near east to China, though the Chinese animals are mostly farm animals: horse, duck, pig, snake, etc.

Potential Problems

Moving too fast. Better to edit the material down so that visitors walk away with just one clear understanding than several ill-formed ones. Fuzzy understanding is very quickly erased from the memory and has no lasting effect except to discourage visitors from trying to understand the material the next time they encounter the material.

Lack of coordination of the parts. With props and a laptop to manage, rehearsal of the sequence of this show is important.

Getting into a lecture or even an extended question and answer period. It’s better to keep up the pace and not let this demo go over 10-12 minutes.

Background materials (websites, videos, articles, digital collections links)

Constellationshttp://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/constellations.html

Mythology of the Constellations http://www.emufarm.org/~cmbell/myth/myth.htmlConstellations with explanations http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/1364/Constellations.htmlZodiac—Encarta Encyclopedia http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560429/Zodiac.htmlThe Constellations of the Zodiac http://www.griffithobs.org/IPSrealrealconstellations.htmlThe Eight Motions of the Earth http://geology.50megs.com/space/earth8/earth8.htmlPeterson Field Guides: Stars and Planets—An excellent resource on stars, constellations and Earth’s motion.

Self assessment suggestions

After doing the ZODIAC PARTY GAME demonstration several times, complete the checklist, then highlight the box in the rubric that best describes your performance. Have your team leader observe your demo then complete an identical rubric. Discuss your presentation technique with your team leader along the lines of the rubric.

http://geology.50megs.com/space/earth8/earth8.html

http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761560429/Zodiac.html

http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Launchpad/1364/Constellations.html

http://www.emufarm.org/~cmbell/myth/myth.html

http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/constellations.html


Assessment for ZODIAC PARTY GAME DEMO DATE________ PRESENTER_______________

Checklist of pre-requisite skills

1. Can set up, operate & put away all props and media equipment

2. Can articulate in layman’s terms the three motions of Earth: daily, yearly and precessional.3. Fully understands the concepts of motions of the Earth, celestial sphere, the zodiac and Polaris.4. Can incorporate Starry Night Pro preset seamlessly into your presentation

5. Knows the sequence of this demo 1) Gather your audience 2) illustrate yearly and daily motions 3) Place one visitor in the circle according to his or her Sun sign 4) Have entire group do daily motions 5) Have group look at what stars they can see in the night sky at different times of year 6) Explain precession 7) Sing “Happy Birthday” to the visitors with the appropriate Sun Sign.

B. Rubric for ZODIAC PARTY GAME

QUALITY LEVELS OK EXCELLENTTRAITS

Presentation style Can gather and engage a crowd.

Presentation sparkles. Enthusiasm, humor, connection with crowd all make this an amusing and informative event.

Knowledge of the background science

Can answer visitor questions correctly

Can go beyond visitor question and add interesting facts gleaned from various resources

Effectiveness using props Can make a smooth presentation using each prop at

Can do the demo using several different approaches


some time during the demo and can incorporate props in any order

Educational strategy Presents a step-by-step explanation, allowing visitor to digest one concept before going onto another one.

Uses a step-by-step approach and actively insures visitor is ready to move on by asking appropriate questions

Fluency with media Can boot up and use all specified media bits without delay

Can also use other media resources for enrichment

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