Star Stories 
Muin & the 7 Bird Hunters
The star stories activities were inspired by the Mi’kmaw story of Muin and The Seven Bird Hunters as well as the traditions of many cultures who have used the stars to guide their way. Muin and the Seven Bird Hunters explains the cycle of the seasons as observed by the Mi’kmaw people related to the movement of the stars.
Muin aqq L’uiknek Ntuksuinu’k from First Nation Help Desk on Vimeo.
What math do you notice related to this star story?
Find more information on Muin & the 7 Bird Hunters here
What other star stories do you know? Talk about star stories with your grandparents or another Elder in your community.
Follow the Drinking Gourd
The American folksong Follow the Drinking Gourd was used by an Underground Railroad operative to encode escape instructions. The directions helped people fleeing slavery by directing their way to freedom.
Listen to the song, Follow the Drinking Gourd, listen closely to the lyrics to begin to understand the meaning of this star story.
How does this star story relate to math?
To learn the meaning of all of the lyrics click here.
Activity 1) Build a Constellation using Pipe Cleaners
Follow the instructions for the “Pipe Cleaner Activity” on the google drive below to learn about the orientation of constellations.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L3jwC_gM8IFCjK7B-85yXGdWI9J-D854/view?usp=sharing
Follow the instructions in the pdf document and then think about the following questions;
- How does moving your body around the model change the view?
- How is you moving like the movement we see in the sky?
Activity 2) How High up is Space?
Follow the instructions for the “How High up is Space?” activity on the google drive below to help picture the size of the Earth’s atmosphere and understand where space starts.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19VRQ-m4HZEhFHAVBXlDtObJtdmT0mMef/view?usp=sharing
Follow the instructions in the pdf document and then think about the following questions;
- What would happen if we used a different scale factor for Mt. Everest?
- Find a rock (or other object) in your backyard and use that as the scale factor instead.
Activity 3) Skyview app
Download the “Skyview” app to locate Ursa Minor Outside!
Step 1) Use the drawing of the constellation to locate individual stars
Step 2) Record the magnitudes of the stars you can see. The magnitude of the stars in the number that is on the drawing.
- Which is the faintest? (has the most positive magnitude)
- Remain outside, in the dark, away from bright lights and repeat the observation
- Notice the lights that are around you (from the house, street lights, etc.), comment on the sky conditions, your own eyesight and experience
- Think about what impacts our view of the stars (light, pollution, etc.)
Materials:
- Pipecleaners
- Playdough
- Cardstock
- Graph paper
- iPad or iPhone for the Skyview App
For a full module outline and Nova Scotia Curriculum Connections visit our google drive found here;
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19sBUR47iyMLcyb9Uf92tFEBuommn0k0c?usp=sharing
Resources
https://spacemath.gsfc.nasa.gov/stars/10Page67.pdf
http://www.followthedrinkinggourd.org/What_The_Lyrics_Mean.htm
https://www.astrosociety.org/edu/activities/I11_How_High_Space.pdf
https://www.astrosociety.org/edu/publications/tnl/44/lightpoll4.html#4
With support from:
