For parents & teachers
Compare the exhibit with these expected answers. Accept equivalent explanations and make space for visitors' own observations.
Answers print separately from the student worksheet. For the most consistent paper layout, use the two-page PDF; choose “Fit to page” for A4.
STELLA / EXHIBIT EXPLORER / ANSWER GUIDE
Follow six exhibit clues, record your discoveries, and sketch something that makes you curious.
For parents, teachers and curious visitors. Discuss the explanation, then compare it with the exhibit. Accept equivalent answers.
Bring a pencil. Write, sketch or work with someone who can record your ideas. Explore in any order using exhibit labels and clues. No planetarium show or telescope session is needed. If a stop is closed or hard to find, mark it and try another. Follow staff directions. Check current visitor access and temporary closures before traveling. This independent Stella activity does not include admission. Ages and exploring time are suggestions.
Look for: W.M. Keck Foundation Central Rotunda
This experiment reveals a motion we usually cannot feel. What motion of Earth is the pendulum designed to demonstrate?
Answer: Earth's rotation: our planet spins on its axis.
Griffith Observatory: Foucault Pendulum · Checked 2026-10-29
Look for: Ahmanson Hall of the Sky
Find hydrogen in the Elements display. What is its atomic number?
Answer: 1.
Griffith Observatory: Elements · Checked 2026-10-29
Look for: Ahmanson Hall of the Sky
Read about the Moon's phase cycle. About how many days pass from one New Moon to the next?
Answer: About 29.5 days. The 27.3-day orbital period described in the exhibit is a different measurement.
Griffith Observatory: Moon Phases · Checked 2026-10-29
STELLA / EXHIBIT EXPLORER / ANSWER GUIDE
Follow six exhibit clues, record your discoveries, and sketch something that makes you curious.
Continue exploring. You may visit the stops in any order.
Look for: Wilder Hall of the Eye
Read how the Camera Obscura works. Where does the scene projected onto its table come from?
Answer: The outside world around the Observatory: views of Los Angeles. Visitors can use the description if the live image is unavailable.
Griffith Observatory: Camera Obscura · Checked 2026-10-29
Look for: Edge of Space mezzanine
Track down the Moon-rock story. Which Apollo mission collected the rock nicknamed Big Bertha?
Answer: Apollo 14. Griffith displays a piece of that rock, not the entire Big Bertha specimen.
Griffith Observatory: Our Moon · Checked 2026-10-29
Look for: Gunther Depths of Space; related labels on the Edge of Space mezzanine
Use The Big Picture's exhibit descriptions. How do stars look different from distant galaxies in this image?
Answer: Stars look like crisp dots; galaxies appear as fuzzy patches. Reading the exhibit descriptions is enough; using a telescope is optional.
Griffith Observatory: The Big Picture · Checked 2026-10-29Griffith Observatory: Observing Telescopes · Checked 2026-10-29
These sources support the expected answers; availability and exact display labels may change. Check the current visitor guide before traveling.