Teachers in our (6-9) program presented the first of five Great Lessons in the elementary Montessori curriculum. This first lesson is called Coming of the Universe and piques the students’ curiosity and encourages their further exploration of astronomy, meteorology, chemistry, physics, geology and geography.
The teachers each played a part in the demonstration. Throughout the lesson, one of the teachers gave a dramatic narration of how the universe was formed from the empty vastness of space. The exercise began with the lighting of a candle to represent the sun. Then a balloon filled with glitter popped, scattering matter all about. The teachers demonstrated various layers of liquids, showing how the heavier-weight liquids sank to the bottom and how solids became liquids and liquids became gases. The demonstration ended with a volcanic eruption, representing the magma inside Earth, escaping through a volcano.