DEVELOPMENT OF UNIVERSE SANDBOX MEDIA TO IMPROVE CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING ABILITY IN ASTRONOMY MATERIAL

Sabrina Ratih Kusumaningrum (Primary Teacher Education Study Program, Universitas Muria Kudus, Indonesia)
Khamdun (Primary Teacher Education Study Program, Universitas Muria Kudus, Indonesia)
Lovika Ardana Riswari (Primary Teacher Education Study Program, Universitas Muria Kudus, Indonesia)

Jurnal IPA Terpadu (JIT)
Vol. 9 No. 2 (2025): Jurnal IPA Terpadu (JIT)

This study aims to develop and examine the effectiveness of the Universe Sandbox learning media in improving elementary school students' ability to apply concepts in astronomy topics. The research employed the Research and Development (R&D) model with stages of Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, and Evaluate. The subjects were 32 sixth-grade studeents at SD Negeri 7 Gondosari. Research instruments included media validation sheets and student activity observation sheets. The validation results from media experts obtained an average score of 26 and  38  into the "highly feasible" category. Based on these findings, the Universe Sandbox media is declared feasible and effective for use in astronomy learning at the elementary school level.  The use of Universe Sandbox has been proven to facilitate students in understanding abstract concepts such as the Earth's rotation and revolution, planetary movements, and other astronomical phenomena through interactive visualization and simulation.