Universe Interactive: Static Displays with Active Components

As the World Year of Physics (WYP) approaches, the AAPT WYP Committee would like to encourage everyone to consider ways to engage those around us in celebrating the science that makes us the proud geeks we are. The geek sentiment is my own, and does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the committee. This paper offers simple and inexpensive astronomy-related ideas for a bulletin-board-type display. The particular ideas presented below are hands-on classroom activities that I've adapted for display purposes. The display is static in that once constructed it does not require a personal facilitator, but each component invites interaction. At the end of the paper I revisit the idea of building a sundial¹ as a highly visible and artistic way to engage students and communities in physics. The activities presented here are available for use when constructing your own display. In addition, these examples are meant to illustrate how instructional products might be modified for display purposes, and I encourage others to consider their favorite activities for an interactive display.