Dark Skies Rangers Program
Everyone is a citizen of the world. At some level we should all be its stewards with accountability toward preserving its environment. One component of that is the preservation of dark skies or the prevention of light pollution. The preservation of dark skies is important for many reasons including astronomy, energy conservation, cost, wildlife and even human health. Through the Dark Skies Ranger Program, students learn about the importance of dark skies and experience activities that illustrate proper lighting, light pollution’s effects on wildlife and how to measure the darkness of your skies. A highlight of the program is the citizen science project, GLOBE at Night, which enlists the help of students to collect data on the night sky conditions in their community and contribute to a worldwide database on light pollution.
To facilitate any plans you may have to do any of the Dark Skies Rangers activities and/or carry out the GLOBE at Night campaign in your community, here are some handouts:
| Name of File | Contents of File |
|---|---|
| Dark_Skies_Rangers_Program_Flyer.pdf | An overview of the Dark Skies Rangers program |
| Demonstrating_LightPollution&Shielding.pdf | An interactive demo about how shielding an outdoor light can save energy & cost & provide a safer scenario below & a better view above. |
| School_Outdoor_Lighting_Audit_grades5-8.pdf School_Outdoor_Lighting_Audit_grades9-12.pdf Intro_to_Lighting.ppt |
An activity to audit the outdoor lighting around a school building to evaluate the energy efficiency & provide better solutions |
| LightingTech&EnergyPrimer.pdf | A lighting technology primer and an “All about Energy” primer. |
| The_Night_You_Hatched.pdf | An activity where students role play sea turtles and experience the effect of light pollution as they try to make it to the ocean after hatching |
| Do_They_See_the_Light_Grades_1-5.pdf Do_They_See_the_Light_Grades_5-8.pdf |
An activity on how light pollution affects insects (versions for primary and intermediate grades) |
| Student_Symposium.pdf | An activity where students plan, conduct and film a Symposium to educate others about light pollution and the dangers it can pose to the workforce, the local economy, wildlife, etc. |
| Constellation_at_Your_Fingertips-Orion.pdf Constellation_at_Your_Fingertips-Cygnus.pdf |
An activity with glow-in-the-dark puffy paints on transparencies (& a UV light) to visualize the constellation at night |
| How_LightPollution_Affects_the_Stars.pdf | An activity on how many stars are lost due to light pollution, and the concept of stellar magnitudes and limiting magnitudes |
| Dark_Skies_and_GLOBE_at_Night_Presentation.pdf | A presentation on light pollution and how to participate in GLOBE at Night |
| GaN2009_ActivityPacket_Teacher.pdf | Teacher packet explaining how to do the GLOBE at Night program (from 2009) |
| GaN2010postcard_lo_res.pdf GaN2010postcard_hi_res.pdf |
A postcard for advertising the GLOBE at Night program (low and high resolution) |
| GLOBEatNight_Poster.jpg | A poster of our Earth at night |
| Dark_Skies_Rangers_Certificate.pdf | A certificate of completion for students |
Overall, each of the 9 activities includes the appropriate grade levels, overview, purpose, standards (both U.S. National Science Education Standards and Arizona Science Standards), objectives, time involved, materials and tools, preparation/prerequisites, background information, lesson sequence, student worksheets extensions, questions, integrations, and teacher resources.
There is also a directory for brochures from the International Dark-Sky Association on the effects of light pollution on energy, safety, human health and wildlife (in color or black and white). In addition there is a directory with practical guides on “Introduction to Light Pollution—What’s the Problem?”, on light pollution and its effect on wildlife and on residential lighting (in color or black and white).
Finally there is a directory on GLOBE at Night data from 2009, which includes visual observations using the constellation of Orion, as well as including observations using digital “Sky Quality Meters”. You can use Google Earth to view GLOBE at Night data. The planetarium program Stellarium will show you what is up in the sky at any time or location. Both programs are downloadable on-line for free. Google Earth can be found at http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html and Stellarium can be found at http://www.stellarium.org/.
We hope this is helpful. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact Connie Walker (director, Dark Skies Rangers Program) at 520-318-8535 or cwalker@noao.edu.
