Rotation.org Writing Team

JESUS’ ASCENSION
SCIENCE WORKSHOP

PASSAGE

Story: Acts 1:2-11

Key/Memory Verse: Acts 1:9b: "As they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight." (NRSV)

PURPOSE

Objectives for Rotation

Students will be able to:

locate the story of Jesus' Ascension in the New Testament books of Luke and Acts;
(Older students will learn that Luke and Acts were written by the same author.)

realize that Jesus' Ascension into heaven took place after forty days of appearances by the risen Christ to his disciples and followers;

learn that Jesus gave a promise to his followers that the Holy Spirit would come to empower them;

understand that Jesus' Ascension is a departure of the physically resurrected Jesus, but it prepares us for Christ's presence in a new way, in and through us;

know that God's mission to tell everyone about Jesus' life, death, and resurrection was entrusted to Christ's followers -- the disciples then and to us now;

realize that we are still waiting for Jesus' return, known as the Second Coming.

Objective for Science Workshop

Students will use Science to explore the mystery of Jesus’ Ascension.

PREPARATION

Read Bible Background.

Materials List

Bibles

Cornstarch

Glitter, pinch

Hand lotion

Measuring cup, 1 cup size

Mixing bowl

Plastic bags, snack size

Spoon, large

Water

PRESENTATION

Open – Introduction

Have the students introduce themselves.

Be sure and introduce yourself.

Open by saying the Lord’s Prayer together.

Does anyone know what we’re studying this rotation? We’re talking about the Ascension of Jesus.

What does “Ascension” mean? It means rising up.

Is this story in the Old Testament or the New Testament? We read about Jesus and his disciples in the New Testament.

Our story this rotation is in the book of Acts. Where is Acts in the New Testament? (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, the 5th book).

What do we call the first four books of the New Testament? (Gospels)

What does the word Gospel mean? (Good News)

After Jesus died on the cross, what was the Good News? (Jesus rose from the dead.)

This story happens after Jesus has risen from the dead.

For older kids:

Acts is a special book in the New Testament. It’s the only book in the New Testament that we say is a “History” book. It gives us the history of the early church. It was written by the same author as Luke.

Dig - Main Content

Have a student help pass out Bibles.

Help everyone open the Bibles to the middle to find Psalms (The book that begins PS for younger kids). Then, open the back part to the middle to find the beginning of the New Testament. Now, flip through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to find Acts. In Acts, we’re looking for chapter (big number) 1. We’re going to start with verse (little number) 2.

For older students, have students take turns reading verses 2-11. Always ask for volunteers; never force a child to read.

For younger students, read the story out loud to them.

Experiment #1 (Ooblek)

Pour 1 cup of cornstarch into a mixing bowl.

Ask everyone whether it’s solid, liquid, or gas. It’s a solid.

Hold up 2/3 cup of tap water. Ask everyone whether it’s solid, liquid or gas. It’s a liquid.
What do you think will happen if we add this to the cornstarch?

Slowly add the water to the cornstarch, stirring as you do.

If the result looks thin, add more cornstarch. If the cornstarch doesn’t all dissolve, add more water.

This stuff is called “ooblek.”

Scoop up some of the ooblek. Roll it into a ball. Press down on the ball.

Ask: Does this seem like a solid or a liquid? It seems more solid.

Stop pressing down on the ooblek. It should turn to ooze.

Ask: Does this seem like a solid or liquid? It seems more like a liquid.

Press on the ooblek again.

Jesus was on earth with the disciples, living as a human.

Stopping pressing on the ooblek.

At the Ascension, he went up into heaven. He was no longer with us as a human.

Press on the ooblek again.
Jesus told us he would come back to earth.

Scoop out ooblek into snack-sized plastic bags so kids can take some home with them.

(Be prepared to quickly make another batch if needed for the number of kids in the class)

The students can press on the ooblek through the plastic bags. Let them tell the story to each other using their ooblek

Let’s look at another experiment.

Experiment #2

Give everyone a squirt of hand lotion and have him or her rub it in well.

For one person (it could be you or the Shepherd), quietly add a pinch of glitter once the hands are coated in lotion.

Tell the students that they should pick a number between one and the number of people in the room. Have people tell their numbers.

Tell the students to go around the room and do a “high 5” with as many different people as the number they chose.

If you are the one with the glitter, choose a relatively low number (no more than ¼ of the students).

Once everyone is done, have everyone hold up his or her hands for hand-check. Count the number of people with visible glitter.

Say:

In Acts, Luke tells us that Jesus said “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Send everyone off to wash his or her hands.

Reflect – Closure

Today in experiment #2 we were spreading glitter. What does Jesus want us to spread? His Good News.

How can we spread the Good News of Jesus? Telling people about God and Jesus, bringing friends to church with us, leading good lives as examples, and so forth.

Does anyone know the memory verse? (If so, let them say it.)

Let's say it together.

Acts 1:9b: "As they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight." (NRSV)

(Repeat several times.)

Go around the room and give the children time to share Joys (happy things) and Concerns (sad things).

Close with prayer. If you wish, you may pray like this:

Thank you God, for the chance to be here today and learn more about you. Remind us that you are always with us. Help us to live our lives as you would have us live them. In your name we pray. Amen.

ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS

Adaptations - Younger Children

Read the story from a children’s Bible.

SOURCES

Breckenridge, Judy, Muriel Mandell, Anthony D. Fredericks, and Louis V. Loeschnig. 365 Super Science Experiments With Everyday Materials. New York: Scholastic, 2004.

http://www.hometrainingtools.c...-for-elementary.html

CONTRIBUTOR: Jo Oehrlein