Stellar Generations

DCS Code: 8B50.90 Last Updated: March 27, 2026
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Purpose

Models stellar nucleosynthesis using colored marbles to show how successive generations of stars enrich the interstellar medium with heavier elements. Students see why our Sun contains ~2% heavy elements — they were produced by earlier stellar generations.

Glass bowls of various sizes containing sorted colored marbles — clear, yellow-green, orange, and blue-purple — with a small beaker of mixed marbles and a white mesh bag holding marbles
Figure 1: The demonstration setup showing clear marbles representing hydrogen and colored marbles representing progressively heavier elements (helium, carbon/oxygen, iron) produced through stellar nucleosynthesis. The mesh bag represents a star's core where fusion occurs.
Equipment