Satellites are often used by people in the aerospace industry, television broadcasts, and for predicting the weather. Communication satellites are used to relay radio, television, and teletype messages around the earth. We are able to watch people and events in other countries through the use of satellites. This fun activity will help you to understand how satellites beam information from one area of the earth to another.

Remember it is always best to share your activity with an adult.

Materials
egg cartons
popsicle sticks
pipe cleaners
aluminum foil
string
glue
flashlight

What to do
1. Use the egg carton as the body of the satellite. Decorate your satellite with popsicle sticks and pipecleaners. Place a layer of aluminum foil, shiny side out, on the flat side of the egg carton.

2. Hang you satellite from the ceiling.

3. Turn off the lights and shine the flashlight on the bottom of your satellite, the beam should bounce back to the floor.

Some things to think about
Did you notice that the light beam bounces back to the floor? Communication satellites work the same way. Radio or television signals are sent into space above the earth, and the beam reflects down to another spot. Aiming the signal is very important. If the signal was aimed at the wrong satellite the beam would be sent to the wrong target!

Some more things to try
Look at the spot where the beam reflects and try to guess where beams will reflect by the angle of the satellite.

Listen to the television news where people in faraway countries talk about satellites.

More places to learn about satellites.

View from a Satellite
Choose from many satellites to view the earth!

Weather Satellite Views
This document contains images generated by a geostationary satellite orbitting 22,000 miles above the equator looking at the United States. This includes visible, infrared and water vapor images and a set of images that concentrate on Indiana.

Tracking Elephants by Satellite
On 16 March 1997, the Malaysian Wildlife Department began trans-locating a small herd of elephants in the Bandar Penawar area of the state of Johor. The herd lives in a forest surrounded by plantations and housing developments. They regularly feed in the plantations causing great destruction.

TOPEX / POSEIDON Project
The Ocean Topography Experiment (TOPEX/Poseidon) is a cooperative project between the United States and France to develop and operate an advanced satellite system dedicated to observing the Earth's oceans.

The Great Satellite Search
In the Satellite Presentation Project, the students will be asked to find information on the Internet and make a presentation to the class on a satellite.

Note: The satellite activity was inspired by the book More Mudpies to Magnets. Publishers Gryphon House, Inc. were nice enough to let me share their articles with you. Please visit their website. They have some great books for kids!

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