Nighttime activities for families to enjoy together
These resources are designed to help families explore and appreciate the night together. Whether you’re stepping outside to look up at the stars, observing nocturnal life, or learning something new online, there are many ways to connect with the night sky.
Family arts and crafts
- Make your own telescope
- Get creative with some coloring pages
- Make a cootie catcher
- Check out some stargazing crafts
Contribute to night sky citizen-science
Familiarize yourself with your night sky and contribute to important citizen-science projects:
- Globe at Night is your go-to international citizen-science program that people can do from their backyards at no cost.
- SciStarter offers three citizen-science programs to measure how light impacts our view of the night sky, as well as three projects to measure the diversity of life on Earth.
- The Satellite Streak Watcher citizen-science programs, also on SciStarter
- Dark Sky Meter, the phone app that acts like a sky quality meter.
Virtual tours
Can’t get out into the dark? Check out these options for exploring the night sky with virtual reality:
- Virtual night sky tour in Bryce Canyon International Dark Sky Park.
- View various NASA spacecraft in augmented reality.
- Check out NASA’s Eyes, a downloadable app to explore the solar system.
Resources for educators
- Check out the U.S. National Park Service’s Night Sky Ranger program.
- Peruse the light pollution education materials from National Geographic.
- Learn to explore space through online telescopes.
- Take advantage of free training webinars for formal and informal educators that demonstrate how to use NASA’s educational resources.
- Reach out to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab’s educational outreach department.
Also see
Check out more of DarkSky’s materials for educators.
