Dark matter and Dark energy (Part 1) – Discovering the main components of the Universe

In this activity, students play role of scientists to explore the possible existence of other components of the Universe besides the normal matter. As they understand how dark matter and dark energy are discovered, they also realize that science understanding can change over time as new discoveries are made, adding to or modifying our prior knowledge. They also understand that what they can see is not everything in the Universe, there are still a lot of mysteries. This activity helps students develop scientific thinking and method of scientific investigation.
This activity can be followed by: “Dark matter & dark energy (Part 2) – Understanding the nature of dark matter and dark energy”