Dark Skies Rangers Program
Welcome to the Dark Skies Rangers Program!
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, below is a table listing some handouts.
Overall, each of the activities in the list includes information on 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 one activity that is a little different from the others, named “Quiet Skies”. It focuses on Radio Frequency Interference, or RFI, which is the radio equivalent of light pollution. RFI effectively blinds radio telescopes at certain frequencies, making it impossible to study the Universe at those frequencies. The Quiet Skies activity (created by the U.S. National Radio Astronomy Observatory) introduces radio astronomy and the need for quiet skies to the public through an activity with an AM radio and a handheld fan. To learn more, visit www.quietskies.org.
In the Dark Skies Education Kit directory, there are materials you might need to reproduce the aspects of the light shielding demo that comes in the kit.
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, which includes the GLOBE at Night activity packets for teachers and families as well as the GLOBE at Night postcard and flyer. There is also a data directory with visual observations of the constellations used, as well as including observations using digital “Sky Quality Meters”. There are 2 files that direct you to be able to download Google Earth and Stellarium. 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 www.stellarium.org/.
We hope this is helpful. If you have any further questions, please contact me at 520-318-8535 or cwalker@noao.edu.
Best regards,
Connie Walker
director, Dark Skies Rangers program & the GLOBE at Night campaign
associate scientist & senior science education specialist, NOAO
| 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. |
| Spectra_of_Lights.pdf | An activity exploring the properties of different types of light bulbs using diffraction grating glasses to reveal |
| School_Outdoor_Lighting_Audit_grades5-8.pdf School_Outdoor_Lighting_Audit_grades9-12.pdf Outdoor_Lighting_Audit-generic.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 M11_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-Leo.pdf Constellation_at_Your_Fingertips-Crux.pdf J13_Disappearing_Orion.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 |
| GLOBEatNight&DarkSkiesRangers_Presentation.pdf | A presentation on light pollution and how to participate in GLOBE at Night |
| GaNActivityPacket_Teacher_2012_Orion.pdf GaNActivityPacket_Teacher_2012_Leo.pdf GaNActivityPacket_Teacher_2012_Crux.pdf |
Teacher packets for constellations Orion, Leo and Crux explaining how to do the GLOBE at Night program. Family packets also included. |
| GaN2012postcard.pdf | A postcard for advertising the GLOBE at Night program |
| GLOBEatNight_Poster.jpg | A poster of our Earth at night |
| Dark_Skies_Rangers_Certificate.pdf | A certificate of completion for students |
