Fostering Wonder in Earth Science and Astronomy

by Monica Perumal

“When we consider creation, we are drawn into wonder and worship of the Creator. We see God’s order: His structure, His vastness, His detail, His beauty.”

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” (Isaiah 6:3)

These words illustrate why we study science. When we consider creation, we are drawn into wonder and worship of the Creator. We see God’s order: His structure, His vastness, His detail, His beauty.

Yet when I contemplated Earth Science and Astronomy, I wasn’t excited. My own experience in Earth Science was boring and forgettable. But this year, I saw the glory of God and joy and wonder in the hearts of our students.

I was struck by how much we could study in our own backyard. The San Francisco Amateur Astronomers’ Association hosts free monthly star parties. Our class joined them at the Presidio in October, and Astronomy came to life! We saw a comet, Saturn, nebulae, and even the moon, through the lenses and stories of people who studied the stars for fun. One guy had even built his own telescope from scratch!

The students’ joy in being under the stars was beautiful, and their hearts turned to God in wonder. I asked them to respond to these psalms:

—"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?" (Psalm 8:3-4)

—"He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name." (Psalm 147:4)

—"He took him outside and said, 'Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.' Then he said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.' " (Genesis 15:5)

Their responses blew my mind:

—"I really like Psalm 8 because it’s just so incredible how God made this with His own hands."

—"It makes me think about [the stars] as more magnificent and wondrous. I feel so little compared to the greatness of God’s creation."

—"There are thousands of millions of stars, each made by Him. He made each one differently and with a purpose, just like us."

When we turned to the solar system, I learned that doing a scale model correctly was quite hard. If you made Earth the size of a marble, Neptune would have to be 2 miles from the sun! But the kids wanted to try it! After a planetarium show at the California Academy of Sciences, we took string, GPS, and a video camera, and walked 2 miles across Golden Gate Park. I thought they’d complain about the 2-mile walk, but they loved it. For some, just having time to walk and talk with their friends made this their favorite field trip.

When we studied rivers and bays, I started by having the students fill out a blank map of the Bay Area. In the days of Google Maps, a lot of them didn’t really have a picture in their minds of where we lived. Then we went to Sausalito and saw the Bay Model, a 1.5 acre scale model of the San Francisco Bay area. They went all over the exhibit, excited to see the places they knew. And they really came to understand the San Francisco Estuary and Watershed, which drains water from 40% of California.

We did a deep dive on earthquakes. Central Park in Fremont lies right on the Hayward Fault (a branch of the San Andreas). We filmed a video about how the fault’s constant creep is breaking curbs, creating hills, and tearing apart the Community Center. It was amazing to see these scientific theories playing out right under our feet.

Our students love God and love to be out in nature. We got to experience the stars, the scale of the solar system, the San Francisco Bay, and San Andreas Fault in science class, and it filled their hearts with joy and worship. I am so thankful for the opportunities we have to discover God’s glory in Creation.

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Mrs. Monica Perumal partners with Donum Dei Classical Academy as our Mathematical Sciences and Curriculum Director and Logic II Co-Homeroom Teacher. Since 2013, Mrs. Perumal has taught 4th and 6th grade math and created programs for K-6 math support and 4th-12th math challenge. Prior to entering the classical education system professionally, she homeschooled her children from 1998 to 2013 using Singapore Math and classical principles.