Schoolchildren in Virginia, United States, can look forward to a brighter future, thanks to an astronomy after-school club. Dark Skies Bright Kids (DSBK), an outreach programme that is organised by volunteers from the University of Virginia, is currently being piloted in elementary schools in Virginia’s Albemarle County.
DSBK runs weekly club meetings, in which children learn about astronomy through various hands-on activities. The programme’s lesson plans, which include building a model comet and investigating different types of light, are freely available on its website. DSBK also organise biweekly family observing nights, which take full advantage of the region’s rural location and dark skies.
DSBK volunteers are also putting the finishing touches to a bilingual (English and Spanish) astronomy art book for elementary school children, which is called Snapshots of the Universe. When the book is finished, a free digital version will be available on the DSBK website.
For more information about DSBK and to find out how you can volunteer, please visit the programme’s website.
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