Our Sky is a series of Out-of-School Time and museum educational programs that inspire an appreciation and understanding of Earth and Space Science (ESS) in a diverse population of children ages 3-10 and their parents, caregivers and educators. All resources are developed through a partnership between Boston Children’s Museum and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts. The vision for Our Sky is that children ages 3-10 and their adult caregivers will gain an appreciation for celestial objects and phenomena as a foundation for understanding of Earth and Space Science. All resources and activities will be designed to realize this vision, and to:
Serve a diverse range of audiences, with an emphasis on urban and low-income children and families;
Increase appreciation among diverse adults and children of the sky as an accessible science learning resource;
Share NASA resources with, and help develop foundational STEM skills in children;
Encourage adults to engage in and guide ESS learning experiences with children;
Inspire practical application of STEM skills by children and adults as they explore celestial objects together; and
Expand the capacity of museum staff and afterschool educators to engage families in learning STEM skills through ESS exploration.
Our Sky activities will result in:
A series of museum-based programs that incorporate NASA resources and ESS activities across a range of content areas; and
A series of new ESS-focused activities for the award-winning “Beyond the Chalkboard” afterschool curriculum that include NASA resources and will reach hundreds of thousands of children around the world.
Families and school-aged constituents at 30 urban, inner-city neighborhood community-based organizations and teachers and students in earth science classes in 40 middle schools. Intent: This project will prepare neighborhood and community leaders in Philadelphia to use simple but effective observation tools and NASA’s educational web content to help their inner-city Philadelphia neighbors learn about space science and technology – and about their city and themselves – by knowledgably exploring the sky. Project Goals: 1. Create multiple opportunities for inner-city children, adults and families to observe and learn about the solar system through neighborhood and city-wide events. 2. Equip CBO’s with the knowledge, skills and materials they need to make space science-related events and activities a sustained part of programming for their constituents. 3. Stimulate interest and engagement in NASA’s missions and resources among residents of traditionally underserved, inner-city neighborhoods through astronomy experiences and NASA’s websites. 4. Create and strengthen collaborative ties between The Franklin Institute, CBO’s, city residents, and local amateur astronomers. Programs/Products produced: 1. Repeatable ‘Galileoscope’ workshops and activities in 30 CBO’s 2. Solar observing activities for 30 CBO’s and 40 middle schools. 3. School assembly-type audience interactive program about observational astronomy for use in schools and community organizations. 4. Recurring neighborhood star parties facilitated through on-going partnerships with local amateur astronomy clubs. 5. Participation in city-wide star party as part of the annual Philadelphia Science Festival.