50+ Middle & High School Astronomy Resources for a FUN Year

Check out these middle school astronomy resources as a supplement or just for fun for your space-loving kiddo.

Last summer, my youngest asked to do astronomy for 7th grade. He has long loved astronomy (the further from Earth, the more interesting to this kiddo), so I was eager to fulfill his request.

The first problem? There aren’t many homeschool curricula that focus on space. There are even fewer that approach it from a view that isn’t Young Earth. And even fewer that are aimed at middle or high school.

We settled on REAL Science Odyssey’s astronomy text. The next problem? It’s a 12-week program. We discussed a few scheduling options and decided on a cycle of one week of text/two weeks of supplements.

The last problem? How to fill those other 24 weeks!

So I set off on a hunt for interesting and <fingers crossed> challenging middle school astronomy resources. While these sources were chosen for middle school, don’t rule them out if you have a younger or older kiddo. Many of these are great for a wide range of ages, though better for high school than elementary kiddos.

Middle School Astronomy Curriculum

In Your Ears: Space-Themed Podcasts

Two or three times a week, Kiddo #3 would choose a podcast from the playlist and listen. I didn’t assign specific podcasts, just whatever sparked his interest that day. Most days, he would give an oral summary of what the podcast was about, how the content connects to his prior knowledge, etc.

13 Minutes to the Moon
365 Days of Astronomy
The Actual Astronomy Podcast
Ask a Spaceman!
Naked Astronomy (no, there’s no nudity talk in this!)
Pythagorean Astronomy
Radio Astronomy
Short Wave (not just space — but there’s a lot of it!)
Small Steps, Giant Leaps (NASA)
Space by the BBC
StarTalk Radio
The Supermassive Podcast

Space-Themed Novels (that aren’t sci-fi)

No, they likely won’t learn any facts about astronomy when they pick up a novel. But does that have to be the goal? Even in science, it’s okay to add something fiction just for the enjoyment of it. (As I do below with the movie list!) But if you can’t make the leap, add a few to your kiddo’s regular reading list.

First Woman (free graphic novel by NASA)
Astronauts: Women of the Final Frontier (graphic novel; on Amazon, on Bookshop)
Laika (on Amazon, on Bookshop)
Planet Earth is Blue (on Amazon, on Bookshop)
We Dream of Space (on Amazon, on Bookshop)
What We See in the Stars (on Amazon, on Bookshop)

Non-Fiction Space Books

There are — no joking — nearly a bajillion non-fiction books about space. From general to ridiculously specific and at all sorts of reading levels. There is no way to give an exhaustive list that your teen may enjoy. Instead, I gathered a sampling of topics, types, and reading levels. Let these titles inspire you.

Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry (on Amazon, on Bookshop)
Death by Black Hole & Other Quandaries (Audible)
Exoplanets: A Visual Guide to the Worlds Outside Our Solar System (on Amazon, on Bookshop)
NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Observing the Universe (on Amazon, on Bookshop)
The Planets: The Definitive Visual Guide to Our Solar System (on Amazon, on Bookshop)
Rocket to the Moon! Big Ideas That Changed the World (on Amazon, on Bookshop)
What We See in the Stars (on Amazon, on Bookshop)

Astronomy Memoirs & Biographies

If your middle schooler hasn’t read many biographies, this is a great time to start. They are at an age that, while very self-focused, can also find it easier to put themselves into someone else’s shoes.

Don’t discount ones written for an adult audience. Since they are story-driven, the writing is usually more approachable than content-driven books written for adults.

Endurance: A Year in Space, a Lifetime of Discovery (on Amazon, on Bookshop)
Hidden Figures: Young Reader’s Edition (on Amazon, on Bookshop)
Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe (on Amazon, on Bookshop)
Starstruck: A Memoir of Astrophysics and Finding Light in the Dark (on Amazon, on Bookshop)

Astronomy Documentaries for Teens (and Their Adults!)

on Netflix

Black Holes: The Edge of All We Know
Challenger: The Final Flight
Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space
Mercury 13
A Trip to Infinity

on PBS

Ancient Skies (3 episodes)
Comet Encounter
The Fabric of the Cosmos
How Sun Mythologies Are Universal
Looking for Life on Mars
Origins (4 episodes)
The Planets (5 episodes)
Project Asteroid
Star Gazers (series)
Searching
Stellar (series)
Touching the Asteroid
Ultimate Space Telescope
Universe Revealed (6 episodes)
A World Without NASA

on Prime Video

Everything and Nothing
Goodnight Oppy
Last Call for Titan!
The Jupiter Enigma
The Saturn V Story
Seeing the Beginning of Time

Astrophotography

Educational Resources from NASA

NASA — over all of their various sites — has a bazillion astronomy resources for all ages. Maybe a bazillion and one. It’s pretty overwhelming to sort through. This is a scattering of some of their resources. Here’s one place to start. Don’t forget to check their YouTube channels, too.

Free ebooks (as .pdfs)

Activities & lesson plans

Art Activities, Photo Galleries of Space & Art Videos
At Home Experiments & Projects
Activities & Lesson Ideas from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Exoplanet Travel Bureau
Kennedy Space Center Activities

And a few more resources

Do you have a co-op or homeschool group with similarly-aged kiddos? Schedule a free virtual field trip.

Mary Jackson, one of the “Hidden Figures” (above)
Apollo 1 practicing getting out of their capsule (left)

Astronomy Channels on YouTube

More Middle School Astronomy Resources

Have you ever watched the ISS fly overhead and wondered who’s up there? Find out here. And you can track the space station here.

Without realizing that he was the guy from Crash Course Astronomy AND the guy who wrote Bad Astronomy ( a book I read a few years ago), I follow Phil Plait on Twitter. One day, I saw him mention his new substack, Bad Astronomy. I mentioned it to Matthew, who made the connections for me. That solidified it — I signed him up & that substack became one of the biggest hits this year.

How does the International Space Station work? Take a tour through the ISS & find out.

Just for Fun: Space Movies & Shows

Apollo 10 1/2 (Netflix)– check
Apollo 13
Interstellar
The Martian
The Mars Generation (Netflix)
The Cat from Outer Space
Space Camp
Hidden Figures

Out & About: Astronomy Field Trips

The National Park Services holds annual astronomy festivals at national parks every year. Check out this list to see if there is one near you.

If a national park isn’t on your itinerary for this year, check out these ideas that may be closer to home.

Adler Planetarium (Chicago, IL)
Aerospace Museum of Californi (Sacramento, CA)
Albert Einstein Planetarium (Washington, DC)
Burke Baker Planetarium (Houston, TX)
Cosmosphere Science Education Center and Space Museum (Hutchinson, KS)
Griffith Park Observatory and the Samuel Oschin Planetarium (Los Angeles)
Hayden Planetarium (New York City)
Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum (New York City)

Morrison Planetarium (San Fransisco, CA)
Morehead Planetarium & Science Center (Raleigh, NC)
Museum of Flight (Seattle, WA)
New Mexico Museum of Space History (Alamogordo, NM)
San Diego Air & Space Museum (San Diego, CA)
Space Center (Houston, TX)
Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum (Ashland, NE)
U.S. Space and Rocket Center (Huntsville)
USS Hornet – Sea, Air and Space Museum (Alameda, CA)
Wallops Flight Facility (Wallops Island, VA)

Astronomy Resources for Littles

If you have younger kiddos in your home, here are a handful of resources just for them.

Storytime from Space — Follow along as your favorite astronauts read books while in space.
The Space Place — NASA’s site for little learners

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