Classroom Activities

This page's resources are intended as tools for teachers and educators to implement to engage their students in hands-on STEM activities. If you'd rather have a LIGO educator come to your classroom to lead an activity, please check out our "Bring LIGO to You" page.

Direct Observation of Gravitational Waves: LIGO Educator's Guide: This Educator’s Guide provides a brief introduction to LIGO and to gravitational waves, along with two simple demonstration activities that you can do in your classroom to engage your students in understanding LIGO’s discoveries.

To view lessons by gradeband, select the gradeband pages linked here: K-5 Lessons, 6-8 Lessons, 9-12 Lessons.

LIGO Lesson Plans	Lesson Title	Topic	Recommended Grades
	Black Hole Hunter	Astronomy	4th - 12th
	Multi-Messenger Astronomy	Astronomy	9th - 12th
	Multiwavelength Matching	Astronomy	6th - 12th
	Electrostatics	Electrostatics	6th - 12th
	Fan Cart	Forces, Motion	6th - 12th
	Gravitational Spandex Model   Gravity Sheet	Gravity	5th - 12th
	Colored Shadows	Light	6th - 12th
	Paper Plate Model of the Atom	Light, Absorbtion, Emission,	6th - 12th
	Permanent Oil Slick	Light, Diffraction	6th - 9th
	Diffraction Gratings and Spectra	Light, Diffraction	9th - 12th
	LASER Speckle	Light, Waves, Interferrence	6th - 12th
	Build Your Own Interferometer	Light, Waves, Interferrence	10th - 12th
	Width of a Hair   Laser Diffraction	Light, Waves, Interferrence	9th - 12th
	Magnetism	Magnetism	3rd - 9th
	Walking Functions	Mathematics	4th - 9th
	Coupled Pendulum	Mechanics	6th - 8th
	Gravitational Wave Template Matching	Waves	9th - 12th
	Wave Machine	Waves	1st - 6th
	String & Slinky Wave Exploration	Waves	K - 5th
	Nature of Science: Mystery Boxes	Waves	3rd - 6th