HelioRoom
HelioRoom simulates the movement of the planets, adopting the conceit that the center of the classroom coincides with the center of the Solar system: the Sun.
Networked computers are affixed to the classroom walls; each display represents a “viewport,” providing a radial perspective from which to observe planetary motion. As the planets orbit around the Sun, they pass through the viewports, temporarily disappearing as they
travel through interstices between displays, then reappear in the next viewport along a counter-clockwise path.
HelioRoom is intended for use in lower elementary grades as a follow-on activity to an introductory unit on the Solar system. The specific content of such units includes the principle of heliocentrism, along with the planets’ order, size, and orbital periods.
Ordinarily, this represents “tacit” knowledge for young learners: a set of facts without immediate applicability. HelioRoom is designed to provide an environment within which new knowledge about the planets’ order and relative orbital periods may be reinforced by applying it in a problem-solving context. In support of those learning goals, HelioRoom takes several liberties. The planets are presumed to orbit along strictly planar, circular paths. The depiction of the planets as they pass through the viewports ignores visual differences owing to distances, size, or surface features; all of the planets are represented by uniform-sized solid circles of different colors. (Common color associations, e.g., red Mars or green Earth, were intentionally avoided.)
The orbital periods of the planets are shortened, but proportional consistency is maintained.
The instructional challenge to the students is to determine which color has been used to represent each planet. To accomplish this task, they must utilize information gained from observation within two evidentiary systems; the relative order of the planets as indicated by occlusions as one planet passes in front of another and the relative orbital speeds of the planets.